Exclusive Trailer for Prismatic Ground 2026 Introduces the Future of Film to NYC

      Returning for its sixth installment, Prismatic Ground stands out as one of the most diverse yearly exhibitions of experimental documentary and avant-garde cinema, showcasing the enduring vitality of the cinematic medium. Established and directed by Inney Prakash, and co-presented by Screen Slate, the 2026 edition is scheduled to unfold from Wednesday, April 29 to Sunday, May 3, featuring five “waves” of screenings at several venues including the Brooklyn Academy of Music, DCTV’s Firehouse Cinema, Light Industry, Anthology Film Archives, and Metrograph, along with an online component called the virtual selection wave ∞. As the festival approaches, we’re excited to present the exclusive trailer, edited by Graham Carter.

      The event will commence with the North American premiere of Ka Ki Wong’s I Heard That They Are Not Going to See Each Other Anymore, followed by Nicolás Pereda’s Cobre on Opening Night at BAM.

      According to Screen Slate, “The complete lineup includes new works by Dane Komljen, Nolitha Refilwe Mkulisi, Rajee Samarasinghe, Dianna Barrie and Richard Tuohy, Onyeka Igwe, Adam and Zack Khalil, Lee Jangwook, and more; three early pieces by Iraqi-Lebanese filmmaker Parine Jaddo; ‘Horror, or the Splendour of’, which is a night of poetry and film guest curated by Courtney Stephens and Shiv Kotecha for the second consecutive year; a tribute by Blair Barnes to the Sony AVC Vidicon camera series, featuring Andrew Bujalski, the filmmaker behind Computer Chess, in attendance; a spotlight on Chinese avant-garde short films co-presented by Tone Glow; a tribute to June Givanni by Onyeka Igwe; and enhanced performances and readings by Rhayne Vermette, Chae Yu, Félix Caraballo, Xiaolu Wang, and Samy Benammar. This year’s Ground Glass Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Field of Experimental Media will be awarded to Japanese filmmaker Kohei Ando, who is slated to attend a screening of his work on May 2 at Anthology Film Archives. Prismatic Ground 2026 will culminate at Metrograph the evening of May 3 with the New York premiere of Isiah Medina’s Gangsterism.”

      Check out the exclusive trailer below, along with the full lineup. For more information and tickets, visit the official site. If you’re interested in past editions, be sure to explore the Criterion Channel series.

      **Opening Night**

      Brooklyn Academy of Music — Wednesday, April 29, 2026

      7 PM I Heard That They Are Not Going to See Each Other Anymore (Ka Ki Wong, 2026, 86 min.) + Q&A

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      **Wave 1: Murder Mystery of the Mind**

      Brooklyn Academy of Music — Wednesday, April 29, 2026

      9:15 PM Cobre (Copper) (Nicolas Pereda, 2025, 79 min)*

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      *Co-presented by Cinema Tropical

      DCTV’s Firehouse Cinema — Thursday, April 30, 2026

      12:30 PM Programming Censorship Workshop

      Free Registration

      3 PM Goodbye, Crescent Moon (Xiaolu Wang, 2025, 17 min, Expanded) + A Flower Falling Back Into the Earth (Rajee Samarasinghe, 2026, 8 min) + A Bundle of Silences (Sofía Gallisá Muriente, 2026, 24 min) + Penkelemes (Onyeka Igwe, 2025, 19 min) + New World (Darryl Daley, 2026, 5 min) + Q&A

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      5 PM Afterlives (Kevin B. Lee, 2025, 88 min) + Q&A

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      7:30 PM The Creature of Darkness (Lisa Malloy, Ray Whitaker, 2026, 15 min) + Let Them Be Seen (Nolitha Refilwe Mkulisi, 2026, 75 min) + Q&A

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      9:30 PM Swing Swish Sway (TT Takemoto, 2026, 7 min) + Uchronia (Fil Ieropoulos, 2026, 97 min) + Q&A

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      11:45 PM Anna (Chae Yu, 2025, 15 min, Expanded) + That Sanity Be Kept (Michael Barwise, 2026, 10 min) + A Shrimp’s Daily Rehearsal (Ka Ki Wong, 2026, 10 min) + My Structuralist Film (Angelo Madsen, 2026, 6 min) +