New Directors/New Films Announces 2026 Schedule Featuring Adrian Chiarella’s ‘Leviticus’ as Opening Night Film

New Directors/New Films Festival to Feature Unique Lineup, Opening with Adrian Chiarella’s Leviticus

The 55th edition of the New Directors/New Films festival in New York will kick off with the premiere of Leviticus, directed by Adrian Chiarella. The film explores a small Australian town plagued by religious zealots intent on “curing” local boys of their queer desires.

The festival will conclude with the U.S. premiere of Donkey Days, directed by Rosanne Pel, which presents a darkly comedic tale of two adult women vying for their mother’s affections.

This year’s lineup includes films from over 25 countries, showcasing numerous premieres and award-winning entries from prestigious festivals. Highlights include Erupcja, premiering at TIFF, featuring Charli XCX as a party girl confronting the realities of adulthood, and Maddie’s Secret, the feature debut by John Early, which juxtaposes the challenges of a returning eating disorder with a sharp critique of social media.

New Directors/New Films is a collaborative initiative between Film at Lincoln Center and The Museum of Modern Art, designed to elevate filmmakers with distinctive perspectives. The festival will run from April 8 to 19 in New York City. Leviticus made its debut in the Midnight section of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, while Donkey Days premiered in Locarno.

La Frances Hui, Curator of Film at MoMA and a co-chair of this year’s festival, expressed enthusiasm for the selection, stating, "We are thrilled to spotlight two distinctive new directors," and emphasized the contrasting tones yet shared emotional depth of the opening and closing films.

The festival will feature an extensive lineup of 24 feature films and 10 short films, encompassing one world premiere, 17 North American premieres, four U.S. premieres, and 12 New York premieres. Among these are Sho Miyake’s Two Seasons, Two Strangers, which won the Golden Leopard at Locarno, and several noteworthy Berlin selections such as Forest High, Panda, and Trial of Hein, the latter having received the Teddy Jury Award.

Notable films from previous festivals have included works by acclaimed directors such as Pedro Almodóvar, Souleymane Cissé, and Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, among others. Screenings will be held at either the Walter Reade Theater or the MoMA Titus theaters.

The festival’s diverse lineup reinforces the commitment to artistic storytelling, as indicated by ND/NF co-chair Dan Sullivan. He remarked that the featured artists “aren’t afraid to make political films nor to make films politically," suggesting that their work serves as a guiding light amid contemporary challenges.

Featured Films in the Lineup:

• Opening Night: Leviticus
  Director: Adrian Chiarella, 2026, Australia, 88m, New York Premiere

• Closing Night: Donkey Days
  Director: Rosanne Pel, 2025, Netherlands/Germany, 107m, U.S. Premiere

• Notable Entries:
  Agon by Giulio Bertelli, North American Premiere
  Brand New Landscape by Yuiga Danzuka, New York Premiere
  Maddie’s Secret by John Early, New York Premiere
  Variations on a Theme by Jason Jacobs and Devon Delmar, North American Premiere

The festival promises a captivating array of narratives and cinematic experiences for audiences, emphasizing the power of film as a reflection of its time.