Five days of premieres, filmmaker conversations, and special events turn Santa Fe into a meeting place for movie lovers from around the world at the Santa Fe International Film Festival. This year’s festival from October 14-19 brings bold new films, industry voices, and emerging talent to venues across the city, creating a lively celebration of cinema both on and off the screen.
Santa Fe International Film Festival 2026
Santa Fe International Film Festival (SFiFF) expects more than 13,000 attendees, filmmakers, producers, screenwriters, and cinephiles from around the country and the world for five days of premieres, showcases, and panel discussions in Santa Fe. As a bonus, this “Festival Worth the Entry Fee” as named by MovieMaker Magazine every year since 2023, has partnered with Variety magazine to host a 10 Screenwriters to Watch, and is working on a deal with The Hollywood Reporter. It is also an Academy Award®-qualifying festival in the categories of Documentary Short, Narrative Short, and Animated Short.
Film Festival Programs and Community Events
“We’re hosting major award presentations at the Lensic to bring the community together,” says Stephanie Love-Riner, Associate Director of the Santa Fe Film Institute, the nonprofit organization that puts the Festival on. “This year, we’re building on last year’s new programs like the coffee chats and other educational programming that are all open and free to the public. This includes discussion panels with industry leaders like actor Wes Studi, writer David Morrel, and screenwriter Danny Rubin. Last year we partnered with the Santa Fe Film Office for studio tours to demonstrate the amazing filmmaking power and locations in our area. Those tours inspired filmmakers to come back and shoot films here and support emerging film makers, which is a major push for the Santa Fe Film Institute.”
Festival programs, screenings, and parties can be found on the Santa Fe International Film Festival website with film screenings taking place at various venues around town: The Lensic, Sky Cinema Midtown and Railyard, Kathryn O’Keeffe Theater on Museum Hill, CCA Santa Fe, and the Jean Cocteau.
Story by Kelly Koepke
Photo Courtesy of Santa Fe International Film Festival
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