AFI FEST 2026: 157 Films and Canva Sponsorship

The American Film Institute published the complete AFI FEST 2026 programme on September 29. The 40th edition runs October 21–25 in Hollywood around the TCL Chinese Theatre, presenting 157 films from 50 countries, including ten national submissions for the Best International Feature Oscar.

A layered programme

The slate includes five Red Carpet Premieres, 12 Special Screenings, 13 Luminaries titles, 18 Discovery films, 16 World Cinema selections, 17 documentaries and three After Dark films. It also contains four Guest Artistic Director presentations, 45 Short Film Competition entries and 24 AFI Conservatory Showcase works.

AFI says women directed 45% of the official selections and BIPOC filmmakers directed 32%. New works by Lee Chang-dong, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Werner Herzog, Asghar Farhadi, Céline Sciamma, Mike Leigh and Hong Sang-soo are among the international highlights.

Two-stage ticketing

Festival passes are already available. Sales for individual screenings begin October 3, allowing AFI to serve full-festival buyers first and then viewers choosing specific films after studying the complete programme.

Sponsor portfolio

Canva is the exclusive Presenting Sponsor. FIJI Water is Official Water Sponsor and American Airlines is Official Airline, giving distinct categories to creative technology, hospitality and travel.

The scale of the programme supports themed routes, travel packages, industry hospitality and personalised recommendation tools. A structured film catalogue can itself become technology-partnership inventory.

The official AFI announcement includes a graphic, but no clear permission for republication on FestivalTV was verified. The finished article is therefore blocked pending an authorised visual.