Spotlight films include Fall Festival Standouts Club Kid, The Debut, Gentle Monster, I Play Rocky, A Talent for Murder, and Tender Loving Care
Individual festival tickets for NOFS members on-sale today at 12 PM CT at neworleansfilmsociety.org; General public tickets on sale October 1
Festival Dates: October 22 – 27, 2026
Virtual Cinema: October 22 – November 1, 2026
NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Film Society (NOFS) is thrilled to announce its Centerpiece and Spotlight Films for the 37th Oscar®- qualifying New Orleans Film Festival (NOFF), taking place in-person October 22–27 and virtually October 22–November 1 through the NOFF Virtual Cinema (available globally). NOFF will bring two of the season’s most talked-about international festival films to New Orleans as its 2026 Centerpieces: Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi’s La bola Negra, winner of the Best Director prize at Cannes and the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, and Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine, which earned a 14-minute standing ovation at its Venice world premiere before going on to win the Volpi Cup for Best Actor for John Malkovich as well as screen at Telluride and Toronto.
The Centerpiece selections are joined by six Spotlight films arriving in New Orleans after premieres and appearances at some of the world’s most prestigious fall festivals: Jesse Eisenberg’s The Debut, starring Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti; Jordan Firstman’s Club Kid, which has played Cannes, Telluride, and Toronto; Marie Kreutzer’s Gentle Monster, starring Léa Seydoux and Catherine Deneuve; Peter Farrelly’s I Play Rocky, which won the first runner-up for the top audience prize at Toronto; Anton Corbijn’s A Talent for Murder, starring Helen Mirren and Alden Ehrenreich; and Mike Leigh’s latest—and potentially final—film Tender Loving Care.
Together, these films represent the kind of international and independent cinema that has defined the fall festival season—and offer New Orleans audiences the opportunity to see some of the year’s most anticipated films on the big screen, after their appearances at Cannes, Venice, Telluride, Toronto, and New York.
“We’re excited to bring some of the most talked-about films of the fall festival season to New Orleans,” said Clint Bowie, Artistic Director of the New Orleans Film Society. “These are films that have been making waves from Cannes and Venice to Telluride and Toronto, and we can’t wait to share them with our audiences. It’s a great feeling to bring that energy home to New Orleans and give people here the chance to see these films on the big screen at NOFF.”
These films will accompany 175 previously announced titles from around the world—features and shorts—selected from nearly 4000 submissions. Included in that prior announcement was the festival’s Opening Night selection Victory, a documentary from director Ben Chace about New Orleans icon Irma Thomas. NOFF’s Closing Night feature will be announced soon.
All Access Passes are now available, with individual tickets for NOFS members available to purchase today at 12 PM CT at neworleansfilmsociety.org (general public on sale October 1). Thanks to the continued support of The Helis Foundation, the “First Ticket On Us” campaign returns for its fourth year, offering every New Orleanian a promotion code (ARTFORALL) good for one free ticket to any film or shorts block during NOFF.
Festival screenings will take place at The Broad Theater, Contemporary Art Center (CAC), The Prytania Theatre, and The Historic New Orleans Collection between October 22 – 27. The NOFF Hub will return to the CAC, which will be open to the public and include the main NOFF box office, Sazerac Bar, Worklight Pictures Warehouse Theater, MBS Black Box Theatre, LMP Studios Conference Stage, merchandise store, the home for many special events and so much more.
CENTERPIECE FILMS
- La Bola Negra | Directors: Javier Ambrossi, Javier Calvo; Producers: Javier Ambrossi, Javier Calvo, Jorge Pezzi; 115 min; Spain, France.
- Synopsis: From Cannes-winning directors Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi—popularly known as Los Javis—La Bola Negra follows three generations of men across pivotal moments in Spanish history, bound by pain, desire, and love. Carlos (Milo Quifes) longs to belong in a fractured Spain. Sebastián (Guitarricadelafuente) finds connection across enemy lines. And Alberto (Carlos González) uncovers a long-buried family secret—one that finally gives voice to truths the past tried to erase. The film also stars Miguel Bernardeau (Rafael), Goya winner Lola Dueñas (Teresa), Academy Award® winner Penélope Cruz (Nené), Golden Globe® winner Glenn Close (Isabelle), and Emmy®-nominated Julio Torres (Juan Pablo). A Netflix release.
- Screens Saturday 10/24/2026 at 8:00PM at the Contemporary Arts Center Warehouse Theater.
- Wild Horse Nine | Director: Martin McDonagh; Producers: Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Martin McDonagh, Anita Overland; 118 min; United States, Chile.
- Synopsis: Shortly before the 1973 Chilean coup, CIA agents Chris (John Malkovich) and Lee (Sam Rockwell) are dispatched from Santiago to Easter Island by their bureau chief, MJ (Steve Buscemi). Amongst the Island’s iconic statues, and as the longtime partners wrestle with their dark pasts and present conspiracies, Chris’s newfound bond with a pair of rebellious students (Mariana di Girolamo and Ailín Salas) threatens to send everyone’s trip to this remote paradise sideways. From Oscar®-winning director Martin McDonagh (“In Bruges” and “The Banshees of Inisherin”). A Searchlight Pictures release.
- Screens Monday 10/26/2026 at 7:30PM at the Prytania Theatre Uptown.
SPOTLIGHT FILMS
- Club Kid | Director: Jordan Firstman; Producers: Ryan Heller, Michael Bloom, Alex Coco, Galen Core; 122 min; United States. Synopsis: Jordan Firstman’s wildly funny and touching feature debut follows a washed-up New York party promoter whose hedonistic life is upended when the 10-year-old son he never knew he had arrives unexpectedly. Starring Firstman in the lead role, alongside Cara Delevingne, Diego Calva, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, and newcomer Reggie Absolom, the film is a sharp, tender, and irreverent story about growing up, unexpected parenthood, and finding family in unconventional places. An A24 release.Screens Sunday 10/25/2026 at 5:30PM at the Contemporary Arts Center Warehouse Theater.
- The Debut | Director: Jesse Eisenberg; Producers: Emma Stone, Dave McCary, Ali Herring, Jesse Eisenberg; 105 min; United States. Synopsis: Jesse Eisenberg follows his Oscar®-winning directorial debut A Real Pain with this deliriously funny A24 comedy starring Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti. Mona Friedman (Moore) is a shy New Jersey housewife with no acting experience when she unexpectedly lands a small role in a community theater musical. Under the demanding direction of Jerry (Giamatti), Mona throws herself into the part with increasingly obsessive commitment, discovering a new sense of purpose—and losing her grip on where the character ends and she begins. A funny, affectionate satire of community theater and the transformative power of making art. An A24 release. Screens Sunday 10/25/2026 at 1:00PM at the Contemporary Arts Center Warehouse Theater.
- Gentle Monster | Director: Marie Kreutzer; Producers: Alexander Glehr, Johanna Scherz; 114 min; Austria, Germany, France, Sweden. Synopsis: From director and writer Marie Kreutzer (Corsage, Austria’s submission for Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards®), Gentle Monster tells the story of concert pianist Lucy (Léa Seydoux), who has just relocated her family to a country house hoping to ease her husband Philip’s (Laurence Rupp) severe burnout. Before they have a chance to set up their new home, an early morning police visit tears their life apart. Trapped between the man she loves and the fear of what he may have done, Lucy must face the situation alone as her world unravels. With a cast that includes Jella Haase alongside the legendary Academy Award® nominee Catherine Deneuve, Gentle Monster asks what we do when someone we love turns out to be someone we never really knew. A Netflix release. Screens Saturday 10/24/2026 at 2:15PM at the Prytania Theatre Uptown.
- I Play Rocky | Director: Peter Farrelly; Producers: Toby Emmerich, Christian Baha, Peter Farrelly, Michele Weiss, Paul Currie; 127 min; United States. Synopsis: Directed by two-time Academy Award® winner Peter Farrelly (Green Book), this irresistible underdog story is pure crowd-pleasing movie magic.Behind the juggernaut success of one of the most beloved sports films in history—celebrating 50 years since its original release—is an equally inspiring underdog story driven by ambition and perseverance. “I Play Rocky” chronicles the electrifying true events of a then-unknown actor named Sylvester Stallone who fought tooth and nail to prove his unshakable belief that he wasn’t just meant to write “Rocky”—he was meant to be Rocky Balboa. An Amazon MGM release. Screens Saturday 10/24/2026 at 4:45PM at the Prytania Theatre Uptown.
- A Talent for Murder | Director: Anton Corbijn; Producers: Carolyn Marks Blackwood, Mickey Liddell, Troy Lum, Kurt Martin, Andrea Occhipinti, Jim Robison, Pete Shilaimon, Karl Spoerri, Gabrielle Tana; 106 min; United Kingdom, Italy. Synopsis: An ambitious young New York publisher (Tony Award winner Alden Ehrenreich) travels to remote Switzerland to persuade the reclusive, eccentric writer Patricia Highsmith (Academy Award® winner Helen Mirren) to write one final installment of her world-famous Ripley anthology. As the pair seek to bring one of literature’s most unforgettable sociopaths back to life, a mysterious woman (Olivia Cooke, “House of the Dragon”) appears in town, and life and fiction begin to blur. Director Anton Corbijn crafts a delicious, twisted thriller that both celebrates the undeniable legacy of Highsmith’s writing and interrogates the darkness that lies beneath the surface of high society. A Bleecker Street release. Screens Friday 10/23/2026 at 7:45PM at the Prytania Theatre Uptown.
- Tender Loving Care | Director: Mike Leigh; Producer: Georgina Lowe; 107 min; United Kingdom. Synopsis: After a painful breakup, social worker Amy (Kate O’Flynn, Emmy® winner from “Widow’s Bay”) moves in with her longtime friend Rosie (Alice Bailey Johnson), whose own work caring for vulnerable people leaves little room for her personal life. Meanwhile, Amy’s aging parents face a crisis of their own. As their lives intersect with the people they care for, Leigh finds humor, heartbreak, and unexpected tenderness in the everyday act of showing up for one another. A Bleecker Street release. Screens Sunday 10/25/2026 at 1:00PM at the Prytania Theatre Uptown.
WHAT’S NEW AT NOFF 2026
- The NOFF Filmmaker Conference presented by NOTCF happens under one roof at NOFF Hub at the Contemporary Arts Center (900 Camp St.). All 40+ conference events, including panels, workshops, and fireside chats, run there all festival long. The Hub opens with the Ribbon Cutting at 1 PM on Friday, October 23, and stays active through the rest of the week. Every conference event is free and open to the public.
- NBCUniversal is the exclusive sponsor of the NBCU South Pitch Celebration Networking Reception, a new 1.5-hour networking event celebrating South Pitch filmmakers and connecting them with industry guests. NBCUniversal is also the sponsor of the Best Documentary Award at the Filmmaker Awards Ceremony.
- NOFF is piloting the Wellness Intermission, a program that gathers mental wellbeing programming into one place for filmmakers and festival-goers across the festival week. The program, in partnership with Mark Berger, offers a Lunch-and-Learn on Friday, October 23 at noon in the VIP Lounge at The Shop at NOFF Hub, and Breathwork on the CAC rooftop on Saturday, October 24 at 9:30 a.m.
- Additionally, The Broad Theater will run one “pay what you will” screening room for the entire festival, letting audiences name their own price for a full slate of NOFF films.
- NOFF is also hosting many exciting events throughout the week, including the Opening Night Party at Gallier Hall, with music by Cha Wa plus a special cameo from DJ Jubilee; the Fri-YAY Bounce Party at the CAC Festival Hub, with the King of Bounce himself, DJ Jubilee, on the decks; and the Saturday Night Andscape Party, a laid-back, loungey evening at Sunnies celebrating the festival’s presenting sponsor.
- On Sunday, Paramount Presents: From Screen to Stage at the Dew Drop Inn will close out Music x Film Day with a rare live performance by the legendary Bobby Rush. At 92 years old, Rush remains one of the great living figures in American blues and soul music, a three-time Grammy Award winner, Blues Hall of Fame inductee, and recipient of the B.B. King Entertainer of the Year Award. Over a remarkable career spanning more than seven decades, he became known as the “King of the Chitlin’ Circuit,” carrying forward a musical tradition rooted in the Black clubs and theaters that sustained generations of performers across the South. Earlier that day, audiences can experience his extraordinary story in the Documentary Feature King of the Chitlin’ Circuit, before seeing Rush himself take the stage that evening at the historic Dew Drop Inn.
- Monday’s Made in Louisiana Day will culminate with the Independent Filmmaker Party at The Broadside, a celebration of the independent filmmakers, crews, artists, craftspeople, and larger film industry that make New Orleans such a vital filmmaking community. The evening will also feature something particularly special: Shawscope will screen footage shot during Friday’s fan-favorite 35mm Film Workshop. Participants will see the work they created on actual film projected on the big screen just three days after shooting it, taking their work from celluloid to premiere in a single festival weekend.
- Finally, the Closing Night Cocktail Hour at the CAC Festival Hub will bring filmmakers, audiences, guests, and friends of the festival together one last time to toast the end of an exciting week of cinema and celebration.
NOFF TICKETS
Festival-goers can purchase tickets now at www.neworleansfilmsociety.org.
- All Access Pass ($350): Good for all in-person and NOFF Virtual Cinema screenings, parties and events.
- Unlimited Film Package ($85 NOFS members, $99 GA, included with Scene Stealer Membership): Watch as many films as you desire, virtually or in-person.
- Virtual Pass ($75): Watch all festival films virtually October 22 – November 1.
- Individual tickets (Spotlight Ticket $20 GA | $17 NOFS Members; Standard Ticket $16 GA | $13 NOFS Members; Virtual Ticket $11 GA | $8 NOFS Members): Available for every screening (NOFS Member individual tickets are on sale today at 12 PM CT; general public on sale October 1).
- Student + Teacher Passes ($75): Students and teachers can purchase a discounted pass for access to all virtual and in-person screenings.
New Orleans Film Society members receive $50 off of All Access passes, $3 off of in-person screening tickets, and $3 off of NOFF Virtual Cinema tickets. Become a member today and save with these great benefits! Sign up for membership here.
All festival transactions will be contactless; cash or check payments will not be accepted–– acceptable forms of payment include credit and debit cards, and Apple and Google Pay. Click here for more details.
Support for NOFF 2026 Comes From
The 37th New Orleans Film Festival is presented by Andscape. The festival’s marquee sponsors are the Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans Tourism and Cultural Foundation, and Worklight Pictures. The festival’s producing sponsors are Film New Orleans, ELEMENT, Gilead, Henderson Hutter Group, Keslow Camera, and LMP Studios. The festival’s premiere sponsors are The Chloe, The Helis Foundation, MBS, NBCUniversal, and Paramount. The festival’s feature sponsors are Goldring Family Foundation, Liberty Bank & Trust, MUBI, Positive Vibrations Foundation, and Shawscope. The festival’s supporting sponsors are AOS Interior Environments, Columns Hotel, Cool Brew, COOL Cooperative, Crescent 9 THC Seltzers, Dan Lucas Memorial Fund, Delta Marine Logistics, Dew Drop Inn, Film Prize, Freret Napoleon, Historic New Orleans Collection, Innovative Strategic Partners, Katherine Klimitas, Kino Film Collection, Kodak Film Lab Atlanta, LEUCHTTURM1917, The McEnery Company & McEnery Residential, Mockly, Poste, Premium Parking, OWC, Quiet Creatures, Raising Cane’s, Recording Academy, Reel South, Richard’s Disposal, SAGindie, SERIOUS PLAY, The Shop Workspace, The Solomon Family, Tulane Cuban and Caribbean Studies Institute, Tulane Roger Thayer Stone Center for Latin American Studies, and Q&C Hotel. The festival’s media partners are WBOK 1230AM, WWNO 89.9, WWOZ 90.7, The Advocate, Times-Picayune, NOLA.com, The Gambit, Antigravity Magazine, New Orleans Magazine, and Louisiana Weekly. Grantors include Azby Fund, the City of New Orleans through a Community Arts Grant administered by Arts New Orleans, Entergy, Ford Foundation, Greater New Orleans Foundation’s LGBTQ Fund, Jazz & Heritage Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, New Orleans & Co., Perspective Fund, and Science on Screen.
For more information on the New Orleans Film Society and 2026 New Orleans Film Festival, visit www.neworleansfilmsociety.org.
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ABOUT ANDSCAPE
Andscape is a content studio that explores the depth of Black identity through its power in sports and culture. Magnified by the power and reach of The Walt Disney Company, the Andscape umbrella includes daily journalism, film, television, book publishing and music. For more from Andscape, visit www.andscape.com.
ABOUT THE NEW ORLEANS FILM SOCIETY
The New Orleans Film Society (NOFS) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization committed to promote, nurture, and amplify the diverse voices of filmmakers and to facilitate conversations through film and film-related programming that inspire, educate, challenge and entertain our audiences.
Founded in 1989, NOFS produces the Oscar®-qualifying New Orleans Film Festival annually and invests year-round in building a vibrant film culture in the South to share transformative cinematic experiences with audiences, and connect dynamic filmmakers to career-advancing resources. Year-round programming includes free and low-cost screenings for members and the broader community of cinephiles in New Orleans, the French Film Festival, the longest-running foreign language film festival in the United States, featuring contemporary and classic Francophone cinema, and filmmaker professional development programs created to nurture diverse voices in filmmaking in the American South.
The New Orleans Film Society is supported by grants from the Ford Foundation; The Azby Fund, Perspective Fund; and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The City of New Orleans supports NOFS’s programs through a Community Arts Grant administered by Arts New Orleans.