SOHO International Film Festival Reveals 2026 Lineup Featuring Over 100 Premieres

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JACKRABBIT, GANGLAND, and JESUS LAND headline the festival's star-studded lineup featuring Lou Diamond Phillips, Juliette Lewis, and Harvey Keitel.

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The SOHO International Film Festival (SIFFNYC) has announced highlights from its 17th edition, taking place October 7–13, 2026, with a wide-ranging program featuring more than 100 premieres, including 35 World Premieres, alongside special presentations, filmmaker conversations and industry programming that bring together established talent and emerging voices from New York and around the world.

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This year's festival places New York City at the center of the conversation, pairing a global film program with a major collaboration with the New York City Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) and a special screening series presented with New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT).

The festival will open with the U.S. feature JACKRABBIT, the new mystery-comedy-thriller from Emmy and Peabody Award winner Ballard C. Boyd, a longtime producer and director for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert . Shot on location in New York City, the film stars Kuhoo Verma , Taylor Ortega, Saamer Usmani , Soojeong Son and Mark Gessner and follows an investigative journalist and struggling actress forced to work together after their mutual best friend mysteriously disappears.

Boyd and members of the JACKRABBIT team are confirmed to attend Opening Night.

'With more than 100 premieres and filmmakers joining us from across the world, this year's festival reflects exactly what makes New York such an extraordinary place for independent film,' said Sibyl Reymundo-Santiago, Executive Director and Head of Programming of the SOHO International Film Festival.

Among the festival's major special presentations is GANGLAND, director Vincent Grashaw's crime drama starring Lou Diamond Phillips , Nick Stahl, Dana Namerode, Irene Bedard and Elisha Pratt. Phillips, who also serves as an executive producer on the film, is confirmed to attend the festival and participate in a post-screening conversation.

SIFFNYC will also present 3 DAYS RISING, a psychological drama, suspense and horror reimagining of Edgar Allan Poe 's The Fall of the House of Usher. The film features the final leading performance of Peter Greene, who stars as Eric Usher and also served as a producer. The ensemble includes Mickey Rourke , Ice-T, Frank Whaley , Paul Ben-Victor , Bo Dietl , Vincent Young, Kelly Monrow, Fredro Starr and Sticky Fingaz.

The screening offers audiences an opportunity to see one of Greene's final works following the actor's death in 2025, with his performance anchoring filmmaker Craig Cukrowski's dark reinterpretation of Poe's classic.

JESUS LAND, adapted from Julia Scheeres' bestselling memoir, brings Juliette Lewis to the festival program in writer-director Saila Kariat's feature adaptation. Starring Ella Anderson , Xavier Jones and Lewis, the film follows a white teenage sister and her adopted Black brother as their bond is tested by racism, religious fundamentalism and an abusive reform school. Kariat, who grew up across India, Canada and the United States, has cited her own experience navigating cultures and belonging as an influence on her filmmaking.

Director Louis Nero's MILAREPA brings together Academy Award nominee Harvey Keitel and Academy Award winner F. Murray Abraham in a visually ambitious post-apocalyptic coming-of-age story. Set in a world in which nature has overtaken technology, the film follows a young girl who, after losing her father, embarks on a journey into the magic arts that forces her to confront revenge and its consequences.

Also featured is writer-director Andrew Zappin's THE KING OF BLACK GOO, starring DJ Qualls alongside Kathleen Wilhoite , Harriet Sansom Harris, Margaret Cho , Michael McShane and Matt Malloy. The darkly comic feature centers on a bitter, isolated man who undergoes a personality-altering medical procedure in the hope of becoming worthy of love.

Beyond the screen, the 2026 festival will create a direct conversation between New York's independent filmmaking community and the city officials helping shape the future of film and television production across the five boroughs.

SIFFNYC is partnering with the New York City Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment to host a session of the 'Made in NY' Filmmaker Listening Tour, an initiative led by NYC Film Commissioner Rafael Espinal and Deputy Commissioner for the Film Office Kwame Amoaku.

Espinal and Amoaku will join filmmakers for a conversation designed to give members of New York's independent film community an opportunity to share feedback and engage directly with the city on issues affecting production in New York.

'Film and television production is back in New York City, but a strong industry also means making sure all filmmakers can afford to create and build their careers here,' said Commissioner Rafael Espinal of the NYC Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME). 'That's why we launched the 'Made in NY' Filmmaker Listening Tour. To hear directly from filmmakers about the barriers they face and what they need from the City. Our second stop, at the SOHO International Film Festival, will help inform how we approach production incentives, permitting, and City resources so New York remains a place where film can thrive.'

The collaboration reinforces SIFFNYC's longstanding connection to the city and its independent creative community at a time when conversations surrounding production, resources and the future of filmmaking in New York have taken on increased importance.

SIFFNYC continues its partnership with the New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) for a Member Screening Series, presenting a selection of short films that showcase NYWIFT members working in key creative roles and highlighting women shaping independent film both in front of and behind the camera.

The 2026 program extends well beyond the United States, bringing filmmakers and stories from across the globe to New York.

From South Korea comes KARLOVY VARY, a comedy-drama about the chaos of trying to make an independent movie, following a rookie filmmaker navigating the collision between artistic ambition and commercial reality. The film features Lee Je-yeon, Oh Ji-ho and Shin Ji-won, the singer and actress formerly known as Johyun of the K-pop group Berry Good. The film's director is scheduled to travel from Korea to New York for the festival.

Japanese filmmaker Toshio Sekine's SHAMBHALA STORY travels from Tibetan Buddhism to Japan for a story of spirituality, duty and forbidden love. Filmed over a multi-year journey spanning three countries, the drama stars Morning Tzu-Yi Mo as a Tibetan monk sent to Japan to continue his studies and internationally recognized martial-arts actress Rina Takeda as a woman whose relationship with him forces an impossible choice between human connection and religious devotion. Sekine is scheduled to attend the festival.

France is represented by filmmaker Emilie Tommasi's THE GLIWENSBOURG CHRONICLES, an ambitious World War I-era time-travel fantasy blending supernatural mystery with the iconography of a Western. Starring Arnaud Thery, Myriam Caucheteux, Romain Pirosa, Laurent Brebion and Adil Jbilou, the series World Premieres in New York following recognition on the international festival circuit for categories including directing, acting, production design, costume design and cinematography.

Across seven days, SIFFNYC's 2026 edition will showcase established performers alongside emerging filmmakers, international discoveries and New York storytellers, continuing the festival's mission of bringing independent cinema from around the world to audiences in the city.

Additional programming, filmmaker appearances, special guests, screening times and the complete 2026 festival schedule will be announced.

Founded by Jorge Ballos in 2009, the SOHO International Film Festival (SIFFNYC) celebrates innovative storytelling across film and digital media while providing a platform for both established and emerging filmmakers from New York City and around the world. Now entering its 17th edition, the festival brings together filmmakers, artists, industry professionals and audiences for premieres, screenings, conversations and special events in New York City.

The 17th SOHO International Film Festival takes place October 7–13, 2026. Festival information is available at sohofilmfest.com .

Photo Credit: Champion Hamilton.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwmusic/article/SOHO-International-Film-Festival-Announces-2026-Program-With-100-Premieres-20260929)._