After announcing its opening night film and some other high-level programming, the Sarasota Film Festival (SFF) has released the full slate of programming for this year's fest, which takes place April 10-April 19, 2026. This year, the festival will screen 47 feature films, including four world premieres and 17 Florida premieres in a variety of categories, as well as  39 short films.

Opening and Closing Night Festivities

The festival kicks off on Friday, April 10, with an opening night screening of the Remy Harlin-directed, Gene Simmons-produced Deep Water at the Sainer Courtyard at New College, followed by a party on the bayfront, also at New College. The festival will close on Saturday, April 18, with Schnabel’s In the Hand of Dante, starring Oscar Isaac, Gal Gadot, Al Pacino and Martin Scorsese. Schnabel will also receive the festival’s Achievement in Directing Award.

Spotlight Presentations

This year's Spotlight presentations include Adam Carter Rehmeier’s Carolina Caroline, a romantic crime thriller starring Samara Weaving as Caroline Daniels, whose desire to leave her small Texas town brings her into the orbit of a charismatic con man; I Want Your Sex, Gregg Araki’s tale of sex, obsession and power; Kent Jones’ Late Fame, starring Willem Dafoe as a legendary New York poet whose forgotten works captivate an eccentric group of young creatives; Maddie's Secret, John Early’s directorial debut in which he stars as Maddie, a plucky dishwasher who leaps to viral superstardom at a trendy food content creation company where mounting professional pressures threaten to reawaken a hidden secret from her troubled past; Trishul Thejasvi’s locally produced Mala, about a woman named Reema who arrives on a small island off the Florida Keys to claim an inherited beachside estate, only to discover that secrets lurk behind the surface; Ari Selinger’s On The End,  in which Tom, a down on his luck auto mechanic, whose unexpected romance is put in jeopardy when the town of Montauk conspires to forcibly remove him from his home; Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine’s Everywhere Man: The Lives and Times of Peter Asher, a portrait of musician, producer, and manager Asher, whose life intersects with some of the greatest artists and moments of the last six decades, from The Beatles to James Taylor, Carole King, Linda Ronstadt and more; Carl Deal and Tia Lessin’s Steal This Story, Please!, spotlighting journalism’s power—and peril—amid rising corporate control and political attacks on the press while following Amy Goodman's journey from the wisecracking granddaughter of an Orthodox rabbi to an intrepid journalist undeterred by soldiers, riot police, and smear campaigns;  The Floaters, directed by Rachel Israel and starring Jackie Tohn as a struggling musician who takes a job at her childhood summer camp; Normal, directed by Ben Wheatley and starring Bob Odenkirk as the new sheriff of a small Minnesota town who uncovers a dark secret while investigating a botched bank robbery; Omaha, directed by Cole Webley; and Rory Kennedy’s The Trial of Alec Baldwin, a provocative look at the public vitriol set in motion by the tragic accidental death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the movie Rust in 2021.

Competitions

The 2026 Narrative Feature Competition includes Charliebird, directed by Libby Ewing; Honeyjoon, directed by Lilian Mehrel; Late Fame, directed by Kent Jones; The Scout, directed by Paula González-Nasser; and Two Pianos, directed by Arnaud Desplechin.

The Documentary Feature Competition includes Cookie Queens, directed by Alysa Nahmias; Nuisance Bear, directed by Gabriela Osio Vanden and Jack Weisman; A Portrait of a Postman, directed by Chris Charles Scott;  Soul Patrol, directed by J.M. Harper; and The Trial of Alec Baldwin, directed by Rory Kennedy.

This year's narrative jurors include award-winning stunt coordinator Jayson Dumenigo, Flamingo Magazine journalist Steve Dollar, and producer Jennifer Sims. The documentary jury includes director Libby Ewing and Variety and New York Times contributor Addie Morfoot.

Special Events

Special events and screenings include the SFF Sports Program, a panel discussion featuring experts in the industry, including former NBA star Kenny Anderson; a 2026 World Cup Tribute including a youth soccer clinic with past and present local players; a screening of Ski Dawgs, an offbeat short comedy about what it takes to be great, featuring an unconventional speaker, 30 unruly kids, and a few U.S. Olympians; and a screening of the 1981 film Victory, directed by John Huston, starring Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine, Pelé and more, at New College of Florida.

Additional special screenings include films from Ringling College students Zachariah Steele, Alexander Maxwell, Thomas Hall and Finn Zuccarini, Tyler Smith, and Tim Ritter; Sidecar Sadie to the Rescue, directed by Jan Soderquist and Gareth Rockliffe, with a Q&A and a Humane Society of Sarasota County showcase following the film; Call It What It Is, in which local filmmaker by KT Curran joins students, school staff and community experts for a panel discussion on bullying prevention and youth resilience; Fish Fry & Fellowship, directed by Paul Ratner, and preceded by—you guessed it—a fish fry; The Healing Mirror, a film from Sarasota-based Second Heart Homes directed Bubba Henson, Cedric Hameed and Megan Howell; and Killjoy + Tether, the premiere of new short films by two local filmmakers, followed by a Q&A.

For a full lineup of films (including the entire narrative, documentary and short film slate), screening times, special events and more, click here.