New Media Film Festival Announces 2026 Official Selections, Highlighting Innovation in Storytelling

The New Media Film Festival has announced its first round of official selections for the 2026 season, continuing its fifteen-year legacy as a bellwether for future storytelling. Since 2009, the festival has built a reputation as a home for breakthrough formats and future-facing talent, with past honorees including Jeff Bridges, Ray Bradbury, and Roger Corman, and jurors from influential organizations like Marvel, HBO, the Emmys, the Grammys, PBS, and the BBC. The 2026 edition maintains the festival's acclaimed hybrid structure, offering creators two distinct yet equally weighted pathways: a global online program and an in-person showcase at the Culver Theater in Los Angeles. This dual approach ensures fairness in judging, expands access for international talent, and gives audiences multiple ways to engage with groundbreaking work.

Founder and Director Susan Johnston emphasized the festival's forward-looking mission, stating that the organization challenges itself annually to champion creators shaping the future before the world knows it's coming. The early lineup reflects the festival's purpose to celebrate innovation, elevate new voices, and create opportunities for artists working at the edge of what's possible. The first wave of 2026 selections showcases the festival's continued commitment to bold storytelling, global voices, and emerging formats, spanning world premieres, U.S. debuts, and standout works from creators pushing narrative and technology into new territory.

The online program, accessible globally on June 3, highlights inventive storytelling and fresh international perspectives with titles including Sunflowers by YongJik Lee (World Premiere), A Dream My Sister Had by Fabio Thieme (USA Premiere), and Soul by Leeorah Hursky (World Premiere). The in-person program on June 4 at the Culver Theater in Los Angeles features a curated night of premieres, conversations, and creative energy with works such as Reach the Sky by Lori Moilov (World Premiere), Is Ai Gonna Get Better, or Nah? by Nick Roth (World Premiere), and A Day (HARU) by Da Eun Kim (World Premiere). Together, these selections offer an early snapshot of the creative and technological frontiers shaping the year ahead, from intimate personal narratives to AI-driven inquiry and global perspectives.

For more than a decade, the festival has served as a launchpad for what's next, championing bold new categories such as AI-generated cinema, holographic comics, VR funding pitches, and NFT-driven storytelling. Its commitment to emerging formats has made the New Media Film Festival one of the few spaces where boundary-pushing creators and industry powerhouses collide, often leading to real-world opportunities in funding, distribution, casting, and book deals. With red-carpet premieres, filmmaker Q&As, immersive tech-driven experiences, and global art showcases, the 2026 edition pushes the festival's mission even further. Details on tickets, programming, and submissions are available at https://www.NewMediaFilmFestival.com, where creators and audiences can engage directly with the future of storytelling.