MoMI Reveals Initial 2026 Programming Schedule

      The Museum of the Moving Image has announced its lineup for the 15th iteration of First Look, the Museum’s festival dedicated to new and innovative international cinema, which is scheduled for April 23–May 3, 2026. The festival will kick off with James N. Kienitz Wilkins’s The Misconceived and will conclude with Isabel Sandoval’s Moonglow. In addition, it features Rachel Lambert’s Carousel, starring Chris Pine and Jenny Slate; Ildikó Enyedi’s Silent Friend, featuring Tony Leung Chiu-wai; and Ramzi Bashour’s Hot Water.

      “In this fifteenth edition of First Look, we’re thrilled to present fresh perspectives and ideas at the festival, with the unique and entirely independent artists behind our opening and closing night films, James N. Kienitz Wilkins and Isabel Sandoval, exemplifying the adventurous spirit of First Look,” stated Michael Koresky, MoMI’s Senior Curator of Film and head programmer for First Look. “Working with an expanded group of programmers has been a delight, as their diverse perspectives and voices are reflected in the films and have contributed to an excellent, democratic selection process. This year, we are excited to feature titles across various genres, including horror, documentary, romance, and works by a new generation of ‘cult’ filmmakers.”

      Explore the lineup below and find more information here.

      Features:

      100 Sunset (Dir. Kunsang Kyirong)

      The Bend in the River (Dir. Robb Moss)

      Carousel (Dir. Rachel Lambert)

      Feels Like Home (Dir. Gabór Holtai)

      Hot Water (Dir. Ramzi Bashour)

      Humboldt USA (Dir. G. Anthony Svatek)

      I Fell in Love with a Z-Grade Director in Brooklyn (Dir. Kenichi Ugana)

      Ideas of Order (Dir. Erin Espelie)

      It Goes That Quick (Dirs. Ashley Connor and Joe Stankus)

      Joybubbles (Dir. Rachael J. Morrison)

      Krakatoa (Dir. Carlos Casas)

      The Misconceived (Dir. James N. Kienitz Wilkins)

      Moonglow (Dir. Isabel Sandoval)

      Morte Cucina (Dir. Pen-Ek Ratanaruang)

      One in a Million (Dir. Itab Azzam, Jack Macinnes)

      Roqia (Dir. Yanis Koussim)

      Silent Friend (Dir. Ildikó Enyedi)

      To the Victory! (Dir. Valentyn Vasyanovych)

      Tropical Park (Dir. Hansel Porras Garcia)

      We Put the World to Sleep (Dir. Adrian Țofei)

      The Whole World Is a Lie (Dir. Charlie Birns)

      Shorts:

      Afternoon Hearsay (Dir. Peng Zuqiang)

      A Date with Shirley (Dir. Ken Jacobs)

      Dissonance (Dir. Jordan Strafer)

      E-Minor (Dir. Callum Hill)

      El Sistema (Dir. Marco Godoy)

      (for once I dreamed of you) (Dir. Kate Solar)

      Late September (Dir. Lewis Klahr)

      Make Heaven Crowded (Dir. Steve Reinke)

      The More I Zoom in on the Image of These Dogs, The Clearer It Becomes That Old Masters (Dir. Basma Al-Sharif)

      Orpheus (Dir. Lewis Klahr)

      Slideshow (Dir. Janie Geiser)

      Super, Natural (Dir. Kyath Battie)

      They Are Related to the Stars (Dir. Alexandre Koberidze)

      The Tree (A árvore) (Dir. Ana Vaz)

      Veronique (Dir. Friedl vom Gröller)