Film at Lincoln Center is rolling into Spring 2026 with a stacked lineup of premieres, retrospectives, and major festivals, offering New York audiences a wide-ranging look at global cinema from April through June.
The season kicks off with selections from Rendez-Vous with French Cinema, including François Ozon’s The Stranger and Hafsia Herzi’s The Little Sister, the latter earning breakout star Nadia Melliti major honors at Cannes and the César Awards. The programming continues to spotlight films from the 63rd New York Film Festival, with titles like Mark Jenkin’s Rose of Nevada and Carla Simón’s Romería leading a slate of visually bold and emotionally driven storytelling.
One of the most anticipated highlights is a career-spanning retrospective dedicated to Tony Leung, the legendary actor known for In the Mood for Love and Chungking Express. The series coincides with the release of Silent Friend and marks Leung’s first in-person appearance at Lincoln Center in more than 25 years, making it a major draw for cinephiles.
The spring lineup also leans heavily into film history and restoration. A centerpiece is the U.S. theatrical premiere of Maurice Pialat’s La maison des bois, a rarely screened seven-part work presented in a new 4K restoration. Complementing the screening, Film at Lincoln Center will showcase three of Pialat’s key films, giving audiences a deeper look at the filmmaker’s emotionally raw storytelling style.
Festival programming remains a cornerstone of the season. The New York African Film Festival (May 6–12) continues its mission of showcasing voices from across Africa and the diaspora, while Open Roads: New Italian Cinema (May 28–June 4) celebrates its 25th edition with a diverse mix of contemporary Italian films.
Special events add further depth to the calendar. On May 27, the world premiere of Shannon Kring’s documentary Nine Little Indians will bring urgent attention to the long fight for justice by Indigenous survivors of boarding schools, followed by a panel discussion with filmmakers and participants.
The series “Korean Cinema’s Celluloid Fever: The 1970s” will also explore a pivotal era in South Korea’s film history, showcasing restored works that influenced modern auteurs like Bong Joon Ho and Park Chan-wook.
From restored classics to global premieres, Film at Lincoln Center’s Spring 2026 season underscores its role as a cultural hub where cinema’s past, present, and future converge on the big screen.