AFI Fest turns 40 this month. The American Film Institute‘s festival runs Wednesday 21 to Sunday 25 October at the TCL Chinese Theatres in Hollywood, with 157 films from 50 countries. AFI says 45% of the official selections are directed by women and 32% by BIPOC filmmakers. It opens with the US premiere of LAIKA‘s stop-motion fantasy Wildwood and closes with Siân Heder’s Being Heumann. In between are Brad Bird’s Ray Gunn, Peter Farrelly’s I Play Rocky and an evening with Phil Lord and Chris Miller.
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Here is what is on, what it costs and how to get in.
The Red Carpet Premieres
Five films get the full gala treatment at the TCL Chinese Theatre, according to AFI’s festival listings:
LAIKA Studios
- Wildwood (opening night, Wednesday 21 October, 7:30 p.m.): Travis Knight directs LAIKA’s adaptation of Colin Meloy’s novel, written by Chris Butler and shot by Caleb Deschanel. The voice cast includes Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Jacob Tremblay, Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali, Angela Bassett and Awkwafina. “For 16 years, we’ve been finding our way through Wildwood,” Knight said in AFI’s announcement.
- The Mosquito Bowl (Thursday 22 October, 7:30 p.m.): a world premiere from Peter Berg, based on Buzz Bissinger’s book about four college football stars who enlist in the Marines after Pearl Harbor. Nicholas Galitzine, Bill Skarsgård, Ray Nicholson and Tom Francis star.
- I Play Rocky (Saturday 24 October, 2 p.m.): Farrelly’s drama about how an unknown Sylvester Stallone fought to star in Rocky, with Anthony Ippolito as the young Stallone alongside AnnaSophia Robb, Toby Kebbell, Tracy Letts and Matt Dillon.
- Ray Gunn (Sunday 25 October, 1 p.m.): Bird’s retro-futuristic noir, with Sam Rockwell as a private eye in the city of Metropia, Tom Waits as his alien partner Eyera and Scarlett Johansson as the pop star Venus Nova. It comes from Skydance Animation for Netflix.
- Being Heumann (closing night, Sunday 25 October, 7:30 p.m.): Heder’s adaptation of the memoir by disability rights activist Judith Heumann, with Ruth Madeley, Mark Ruffalo and Dylan O’Brien, from Apple Original Films.
Lord and Miller pick the classics
This year’s guest artistic directors are Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the duo behind Project Hail Mary. “We feel so lucky to be the Guest Artistic Directors for AFI FEST 2026,” they said in AFI’s announcement. Their four picks are films that inspired Project Hail Mary: 2001: A Space Odyssey, Harold and Maude, The Muppet Movie and Rififi. “An Evening with Lord and Miller”, a Q&A followed by 2001: A Space Odyssey, takes place at the TCL Chinese Theatre on Saturday 24 October.
Beyond the galas
The rest of the program is spread across Special Screenings (12 films), Luminaries (13), Discovery (18), World Cinema (16), Documentary (17), After Dark (3) and the AFI Conservatory Showcase (24). Special Screenings include Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine, Diego Luna’s Ashes, Pedro Almodóvar’s Bitter Christmas, Florian Zeller’s Bunker with Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz, Ira Sachs’s The Man I Love with Rami Malek, and Beth de Araújo’s Josephine, which won the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award in Sundance’s US Dramatic Competition this year.
For awards watchers, 10 films in the line-up are their countries’ submissions for Best International Feature at the 99th Academy Awards. They include Nina Roza (Canada), Possible Love (South Korea) and All of a Sudden (Japan).
The shorts that can win Oscars
The Short Film Competition has 45 films. The Academy recognizes AFI Fest as a qualifying festival in the live action, animated and documentary short categories, so a win here can put a short in Oscar contention. AFI Fest also qualifies shorts for the British short film categories at the BAFTA Film Awards and the British Independent Film Awards. Shorts tickets are the cheapest way into the festival.
Tickets and passes
Individual tickets went on sale on 3 October at FEST.AFI.com. AFI lists these prices:
- Feature films (excluding Red Carpet Premieres): US$19
- Short film programs: US$12
- Red Carpet Premieres: US$25 matinee, US$30 evening
- 10-ticket bundle: US$175 for any mix except Red Carpet Premieres, limited quantities
- Star Pass: US$300, covering all screenings except Red Carpet Premieres
- Patron Pass: US$600, covering everything including Red Carpet Premieres, with two tickets to each gala
A pass alone does not get you in: AFI says every screening needs a ticket reserved in advance online, and there is a limit of four tickets per person per screening. Passes are non-transferable and non-refundable. AFI members get 20% off tickets, and groups of 10 or more can contact the festival box office by email.
Sold out does not always mean shut out. AFI says both passes include free Rush access to all screenings, which is how festivalgoers try for seats released at the door.
Where to watch
- AFI Fest 2026: TCL Chinese Theatres, Hollywood, Wednesday 21 to Sunday 25 October; tickets at FEST.AFI.com
- Wildwood: US cinemas from Friday 23 October (Fathom Entertainment)
- Ray Gunn: Netflix worldwide from Friday 18 December
- I Play Rocky, The Mosquito Bowl and Being Heumann: release dates to be confirmed by their distributors
Sources
- AFI: AFI FEST 2026 presented by Canva unveils full lineup, 29 Sept 2026
- AFI: I Play Rocky and Brad Bird’s Ray Gunn named Red Carpet Galas, 25 Sept 2026
- AFI: Phil Lord and Chris Miller named Guest Artistic Directors of AFI FEST 2026, 23 Sept 2026
- AFI: US premiere of Wildwood to open AFI FEST 2026, 9 Sept 2026
- AFI: Siân Heder’s Being Heumann to close AFI FEST 2026, 16 Sept 2026
- AFI: 40th AFI FEST to take place 21 to 25 Oct 2026 (Oscar-qualifying shorts), 20 Jan 2026
- AFI FEST: Tickets
- AFI FEST: Passes
- AFI FEST: Film listings 2026
- Netflix: Netflix previews its animation slate for 2026 and beyond
- LAIKA: LAIKA partners with Fathom Entertainment for domestic distribution on Wildwood, 20 Jan 2026
- LAIKA: Wildwood film page
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