Hit Sundance Queer Horror ‘Leviticus’ to Open New Directors/New Films 2026 — Full Lineup

New Directors/New Films is now in its 55th year of celebrating up-and-coming filmmakers with something generally new to say. Spike Lee, Luca Guadagnino, Agnieszka Holland, Pedro Almodóvar, Kelly Reichardt, and more have all been featured as part of a festival that “champions filmmakers with distinctive visions and bold new ideas that push the artform into new terrain,” per Film at Lincoln Center and MoMA.

They’ve now shared the lineup for the 2026 edition, which opens with Adrian Chiarella’s queer Sundance favorite “Leviticus,” which Neon bought during the Utah festival. The festival will close with the U.S. premiere of Rosanne Pel’s Locarno debut “Donkey Days.”

Overall, the lineup includes 24 features and 10 shorts, including one world premiere, 17 North American premieres, four U.S. premieres, and 12 New York premieres. Last year’s festival opened with “Familiar Touch” and closed with “Lurker,” two of 2025’s most acclaimed films.

Per MoMA film curator and 2026 New Directors/New Films chair La Frances Hui, “We are thrilled to spotlight two distinctive new directors whose compelling works bookend this year’s festival. In ‘Leviticus,’ Adrian Chiarella harnesses horror’s visceral power to confront homophobia with intelligence and imaginative flair, transforming a story of young love under siege into a gripping, urgent debut. In bold counterpoint, Rosanne Pel’s ‘Donkey Days’ is a darkly comic exploration of family dynamics, ingeniously blending Dogme-inspired naturalism with flashes of surrealism to create a work that is at once caustic and unexpectedly tender. Startlingly different in tone yet united in emotional candor and fearlessness, these two films exemplify the diverse, unflinching, and defiant spirit of this year’s lineup.”

Film at Lincoln Center programmer Dan Sullivan added, “The lineup for this year’s edition of New Directors/New Films is replete with artists who — to paraphrase Jean-Luc Godard — aren’t afraid to make political films nor to make films politically. Their curiosity and courage offer us something like a guiding light in our present darkness. Cinema has borne witness to most of recent history’s worst moments, and there’s something—maybe not comfort, but something like it—in knowing that the filmmakers of today and tomorrow won’t shy away from this immense responsibility.”

Other buzzy highlights include John Early’s feature directing debut “Maddie’s Secret” (an IndieWire fave), Pete Ohs’ “Erupcja” starring Charli XCX and Jeremy O. Harris, and many more. See the full lineup below. The festival runs April 8-19 at Film at Lincoln Center and MoMA.

Features

Agon dir. Giulio Bertelli
Aro Berria dir. Irati Gorostidi Agirretxe
Brand New Landscape dir. Yuiga Danzuka
Chronovisor dirs. Kevin Walker, Jack Auen
Cold Metal dir. Clemente Castor
Do You Love Me dir. Lana Daher
Donkey Days dir. Rosanne Pel
Erupcja dir. Pete Ohs
Fantasy dir. Isabel Pagliai
Forest High dir. Manon Coubia
If on a Winter’s Night dir. Sanju Surendran
Kika dir. Alexe Poukine
Leviticus dir. Adrian Chiarella
Maddie’s Secret dir. John Early
Memory dir. Vladlena Sandu
Next Life dir. Tenzin Phuntsog
Panda dir. Xinyang Zang
The Prophet dir. Ique Langa
The River Train dirs. Lorenzo Ferro, Lucas A. Vignale
Strange River dir. Jaume Claret Muxart
Trial of Hein dir. Kai Stänicke
Two Mountains Weighing Down My Chest dir. Viv Li
Two Seasons, Two Strangers dir. Sho Miyake
Variations on a Theme dirs. Jason Jacobs, Devon Delmar

Shorts

Bleat! dir. Ananth Subramaniam
Buckskin dir. Mars Verrone
Division dir. Paul Dallas
The Following Day dir. Conor Fay
Marseille, 14th July dir. El Mahdi L. Youbi
Only Angels dir. Clément Pinteaux
Sabura dir. Falcão Nhaga
Taxi Moto dir. Gaël Kamilindi
Time to Go dir. Renzo Cozza
Unleaded 95 dirs. Emma Hütt, Tina Muffler