AFI Fest turns 40. The American Film Institute’s festival runs Wednesday, October 21, through Sunday, October 25, 2026, at the TCL Chinese Theatre and TCL Chinese 6 Theatres in Hollywood. It opens with the U.S. premiere of LAIKA’s stop-motion fantasy Wildwood and closes with Siân Heder’s Being Heumann, starring Ruth Madeley and Mark Ruffalo.
Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the directors of Project Hail Mary, are this year’s Guest Artistic Directors. Canva returns as presenting sponsor. Passes are on sale now, the full lineup drops September 29, and individual tickets go on sale October 3. Here is what AFI has announced as of September 28, 2026.
The quick version
| When | Wednesday, October 21, through Sunday, October 25, 2026 |
| Where | TCL Chinese Theatre, 6925 Hollywood Blvd., and TCL Chinese 6 Theatres, 6801 Hollywood Blvd., Level 3, Hollywood, CA 90028 |
| Opening night | Wildwood (U.S. premiere), Wednesday, October 21 |
| Closing night | Being Heumann, Sunday, October 25 |
| Passes | Star Pass $300, Patron Pass $600, plus the new Marquee Pass and an Industry Pass |
| Tickets | Individual tickets on sale October 3; 2026 prices not yet posted |
| Parking | Ovation Hollywood, with TCL Chinese Theatres validation |
| Official site | fest.afi.com |
What’s screening
AFI Fest is built around five sections: Red Carpet Premieres, Special Screenings, World Cinema, Documentaries, and Short Films. The first two are public so far. The rest arrive with the full lineup on September 29.
Red Carpet Premieres
All Red Carpet Premieres play the historic TCL Chinese Theatre.
- Wildwood, opening night, Wednesday, October 21. Travis Knight directs this LAIKA stop-motion adventure based on Colin Meloy’s novel, about a teenager chasing the crows that took her baby brother into an enchanted forest outside Portland. The voice cast includes Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Jacob Tremblay, Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali, Angela Bassett, Awkwafina, and Tom Waits.
- The Mosquito Bowl, world premiere, Thursday, October 22. Peter Berg directs the World War II story of four college football stars who enlist in the Marines after Pearl Harbor, with Nicholas Galitzine, Bill Skarsgård, Ray Nicholson, and Tom Francis. It is based on Buzz Bissinger’s book.
- I Play Rocky. Peter Farrelly tells the true story of the unknown actor who believed he was meant to play Rocky Balboa, not just write him.
- Ray Gunn. Brad Bird’s long-gestating retro-futuristic neo-noir mystery, with the voices of Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson, and Tom Waits.
- Being Heumann, closing night, Sunday, October 25. Heder, an alum of AFI’s Directing Workshop for Women, adapts disability rights activist Judith Heumann’s memoir about the 1977 occupation of a federal building. Apple Original Films opens it in theaters November 6.
Special Screenings
- 14th, from Ava DuVernay
- Ashes (Ceniza en la boca), Diego Luna’s fourth feature as director
- Behemoth!, with Pedro Pascal as a cellist who comes home to Los Angeles, scored by nine composers
- Bitter Christmas (Amarga Navidad), from Pedro Almodóvar
- Bunker, Florian Zeller’s marital thriller with Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz
- Clarissa, Arie and Chuko Esiri’s Lagos take on Mrs. Dalloway
- Elsinore, with Andrew Scott as actor Ian Charleson
- Josephine, Beth de Araújo’s Sundance Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award winner
- The Man I Love, Ira Sachs’ 1980s New York musical drama with Rami Malek
- Mouse, with Katherine Mallen Kupferer and Sophie Okonedo
- Tangles, Leah Nelson’s animated adaptation of Sarah Leavitt’s graphic memoir
- Wild Horse Nine, Martin McDonagh’s CIA story set in Chile, with Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi, Tom Waits, and John Malkovich
A small game for the week: Tom Waits is in three of these films (Wildwood, Ray Gunn, and Wild Horse Nine). Sam Rockwell is in two.
An Evening with Lord and Miller
On Saturday, October 24, at the TCL Chinese Theatre, Phil Lord and Chris Miller do a Q&A followed by a screening of 2001: A Space Odyssey. They also picked three films that inspired Project Hail Mary: Harold and Maude (1971), The Muppet Movie (1979), and Rififi (1955). Past Guest Artistic Directors include Pedro Almodóvar, Guillermo del Toro, Ava DuVernay, Greta Gerwig, David Lynch, and Agnès Varda.
Passes and tickets
Everything is sold through FEST.AFI.com. AFI says passes are limited.
- Star Pass, $300: access to all screenings except Red Carpet Premieres, early screening selection, priority theater access, the Festival Lounge, an invitation to the Festival Mixer, a tote, and free rush access to all screenings.
- Patron Pass, $600: everything in the Star Pass plus Red Carpet Premieres (two tickets to each), priority screening selection, and a premium tote.
- Marquee Pass: new this year, with premium access, personalized service, and hospitality. It is reserved by contacting AFI directly; no price is listed.
- Industry Pass: for accredited film and media professionals, subject to approval.
- Individual tickets: on sale October 3. AFI has not posted 2026 prices yet. For reference, the festival’s FAQ lists 2025 prices of $19 for a feature, $12 for a shorts program, and $25 to $30 for Red Carpet Premieres.
- AFI members get 20% off tickets, and complimentary tickets at the Cinephile level and above.
The fine print: a pass alone does not get you into a screening. Passholders reserve a ticket for each screening in advance, one ticket per screening, and cannot book overlapping showtimes. Passes are nontransferable, with no refunds or exchanges.
Key dates before the festival
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| August 18 | Passes went on sale |
| September 29 | Full lineup announced |
| October 3 | Individual tickets on sale |
| October 7 | ASL interpretation requests due (14 days before the festival; later requests are handled when possible) |
| October 21 to 25 | AFI Fest |
Venues
- TCL Chinese Theatre, 6925 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, CA 90028. Home of every Red Carpet Premiere.
- TCL Chinese 6 Theatres, 6801 Hollywood Boulevard, Level 3, Hollywood, CA 90028. In 2025, the festival box office was in this lobby.
How to plan
The festival’s How to Fest page still carries its 2025 rules, so treat these as last year’s playbook until AFI updates it:
- Rush lines: sold-out screenings get a first-come, first-served rush line, subject to seating. Rush is cashless. Passholders and bundle holders pulled from the line got in free.
- Arrive early: AFI suggested arriving an hour before showtime. Seating started 30 minutes before, and anyone not seated 15 minutes before start time could lose their seat.
- Seating: only Red Carpet Premieres had assigned seats. Everything else was open seating, with passholders entering first.
- Sold out is not always final: AFI noted that more tickets may be released for sold-out screenings, and some same-day tickets may be available at the box office.
- Ratings: festival films are not rated, and viewer discretion is advised.
- Q&As: many screenings have programmer introductions or filmmaker Q&As; each film’s page says which.
Getting there
- Metro: the Hollywood/Highland station drops you in front of Ovation Hollywood.
- Parking: Ovation Hollywood, 6801 Hollywood Boulevard. The FAQ lists $3 for up to four hours with TCL Chinese Theatres validation, otherwise $2 every 20 minutes with a $20 daily maximum. See Ovation Hollywood’s visit page for current rates.
Accessibility
All AFI Fest venues are wheelchair accessible with designated seating, and service animals are welcome. Audio description devices, assistive listening devices, and personal captioning devices are available in limited supply. Some festival films are pre-release versions without captions or audio description, so AFI asks you to confirm what is available for a specific film.
ASL interpreters should be requested at least 14 days before the festival. Patrons who need a personal attendant can request a complimentary companion ticket. Patrons with disabilities who bought before access information was posted can get a full refund if venue access concerns come up. Send requests to fest.theaterops@afi.com.
A little history
This is AFI Fest’s 40th edition. The Academy recognizes it as a qualifying festival for the Live Action, Animated, and Documentary Short Film Oscars, and it also qualifies British shorts for the BAFTA and British Independent Film Awards. Past tributes have honored Halle Berry, Sophia Loren, Rita Moreno, Tilda Swinton, and Barry Jenkins, among others.
Still to come
The full lineup (World Cinema, Documentaries, and Short Films), screening times, 2026 individual ticket prices, box office hours, and an updated 2026 FAQ. The 824 Journal will update this guide as AFI releases them.
Sources
- AFI Fest, official site
- AFI Fest Passes 2026
- AFI Fest Tickets
- AFI Fest: How to Fest and FAQs (2025 edition information: ticket prices, rush lines, arrival, venues, parking, Metro)
- AFI Fest: Accessibility and Inclusion Information
- AFI Fest: Mission and History
- AFI: AFI Fest 2026 Dates Announced and Submissions Open (January 20, 2026)
- AFI: 2026 Festival Passes Now On Sale (August 18, 2026)
- AFI: U.S. Premiere of Wildwood to Open AFI Fest 2026 (September 9, 2026)
- AFI: Being Heumann to Close AFI Fest 2026 (September 16, 2026)
- AFI: World Premiere of The Mosquito Bowl (September 22, 2026)
- AFI: Phil Lord and Chris Miller Named Guest Artistic Directors (September 23, 2026)
- AFI: I Play Rocky and Ray Gunn Named Red Carpet Galas (September 25, 2026)
Featured photo: Chris English via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
