The 29th annual Sonoma International Film Festival is unveiling its 2026 lineup, including films in feature and documentary competition, and the opening, closing and centerpiece selections.
The cinematic event in California wine country, which runs March 25-29, will kick off with the California premiere of Poetic License, the feature directorial debut of Maude Apatow, which stars her mother, Leslie Mann, as well as Cooper Hoffman and Andrew Barth Feldman. The festival will close with the California premiere of Under the Lights, a film shot in Sonoma that stars Lake Bell, Pearce Joza, Nick Offerman, Randall Park, and Mark Duplass, among others.
Michael Cole and Ian McKellen in ‘The Christophers’
Sonoma International Film Festival
Steven Soderbergh’s The Christophers, starring Ian McKellen and Michaela Cole in a “razor-witted chamber comedy,” will serve as the centerpiece film. Artist-filmmaker Julian Schnabel, meanwhile, will come to SIFF with his new film In the Hand of Dante, which stars Oscar Isaac, Gal Gadot, Gerard Butler, John Malkovich, Al Pacino, Jason Momoa, and Martin Scorsese. That screening will be followed by a conversation with the director, “examining Schnabel’s career across visual art and cinema.”
The festival’s 2026 program includes 41 narrative features, 16 documentary features, and 47 shorts.
“Following last year’s record-setting edition, we’re raising the bar again with a lineup that reflects the full spectrum of contemporary cinema — from internationally celebrated auteurs to bold genre voices,” noted SIFF Artistic Director Carl Spence. “We’ve assembled the finest films we discovered throughout the year — including exceptional works that deserve a larger spotlight — alongside in-person conversations with visionary filmmakers and our signature culinary program. Sonoma isn’t just a festival; it’s a destination where world-class cinema meets an unforgettable experience.”
‘Fork in the Road’
Sonoma International Film Festival
On the nonfiction front, Sonoma will host the world premiere of Fork in the Road, directed by Jonathan Nastasi and Vivian Sorenson, a film exploring “the profound connections between people, the land, and the future of our food system.” Brydie O’Connor’s Barbara Forever, which premiered at Sundance before heading to the Berlinale, will screen at SIFF, as will the documentary Kim Novak´s Vertigo, a film about the actress and her signature role in the Hitchcock classic. (Vertigo itself will also screen at the festival). Other nonfiction films in the lineup include Yanuni, directed by Richard Ladkani, and Our Land (Nuestra Tierra), directed by Lucrecia Martel.
The 29th SIFF will also host several industry conversations:
- “The Art of Casting: The Craft Behind the New Oscar,” exploring the Academy’s newest category and the evolving role of casting in shaping performances and careers including director/writers Barry Jenkins (Moonlight), Lulu Wang (The Farewell), and casting directors Kerry Barden, and David Ruben.
- “The Power of Storytelling,” a discussion with documentary filmmakers on impact-driven filmmaking and audience engagement.
- “Film Veterans Tell All,” featuring Academy members and industry insiders offering candid perspectives on today’s film landscape.
- “Food, Film & the Future,” examining how cinema influences conversations around sustainability, culture, and the global food system.
These are the films in Feature Competition:
Ky Nam Inn (Director: Leon Le/Vietnam)
Maspalomas (Director: Jose Mari Goenaga, Aitor Arregi/Spain)
My Tennis Maestro (Director: Andrea di Stefano/Italy)
Orphan (Director: Lászlo Nemes/Hungary)
Silent Rebellion (Director: Marie-Elsa Sgualdo/Switzerland)
The Soundman (Director: Frank Van Passel/Belgium)
Sundays (Director: Alauda Ruiz de Azúa/Spain)
Vainilla (Director: Mayra Hermosillo/Mexico)
These are the films in Documentary Competition:
The Art of Adventure (Director: Alison Reid/Canada)
Barbara Forever (Director: Brydie O’Connor/USA)
The Big Cheese (Director: Sara Joe Wolansky/USA)
Fork in the Road (Director: Jonathan Nastasi, Vivian Sorenson/USA)
Jane Elliott Against the World (Director: Judd Ehrlich/USA)
Kim Novak´s Vertigo (Director: Alexandre O. Philippe/USA)
Newport and the Great Folk Dream (Director: Robert Gordon/USA)
Raoul’s, A New York Story (Director: Greg Olliver, Karim Raoul/USA)
State of Firsts (Director: Chase Joynt/USA)
For the complete festival lineup, click here.
You can watch the festival’s trailer here:
