14th
"If 13th asked who gets caged, then 14th asks who gets counted," explains acclaimed filmmaker Ava DuVernay, who returns with an urgent new documentary a decade after her Oscar-nominated landmark film 13th, this time focusing on the 14th Amendment. Ratified in the aftermath of the Civil War, the amendment promised citizenship and equal protection under the law, a radical rewrite of who counts as American. More than 150 years later, that promise is still being fiercely fought over in courtrooms..

ALL OF A SUDDEN
From Ryusuke Hamaguchi, director of the Oscar-winning Drive My Car, comes All of a Sudden, a moving portrait of friendship in the face of illness. Director of a care facility for the elderly, Marie-Lou (Virginie Efira) strives to introduce an innovative care philosophy based on listening and respecting residents' dignity, despite resistance from some of her staff. Her unexpected encounter with Mari (Tao Okamoto), a Japanese theater director battling cancer, will profoundly change her life.

AVEDON
From world leaders to pop culture icons and international supermodels, Richard Avedon's influence helped create the blueprint for our image-driven world. His photographs didn't just reflect culture, they shaped it. Directed by Academy Award winner Ron Howard, Avedon traces the life and legacy of an artist who used photography to reinvent the world. His trademark stark-white backdrop and searing portraits rewrote the visual grammar of fashion and celebrity.

BEHEMOTH!
Academy Award–nominated writer-director Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton) returns to the big screen with Behemoth!, a rich, soaring drama about one musician's search for harmony in his own life. Pedro Pascal gives a captivating performance as Alex Serian, a professional cellist who was once a child prodigy, raised in a celebrated musical family and burdened by the expectations that came with it. After two decades moving from orchestra to orchestra and romance to romance..

BEING HEUMANN
In 1977, disability rights activist Judy Heumann (Ruth Madeley) and a ragtag coalition of allies decide they've had enough of being ignored. When officials won't even take her calls, Judy decides the only option left is to occupy a San Francisco federal building and refuse to leave. What starts as one act of defiance becomes the real-life Section 504 sit-in, the longest occupation of a U.S. federal building in history, as hundreds of activists seize government offices nationwide..

BUNKER
Miguel (Javier Bardem), a successful London architect, is considering a prestigious offer to build a survivalist bunker for a tech billionaire (Paul Dano). The project causes his wife, Sofia (Penélope Cruz), to question their relationship of 17 years as they are drawn deeper into a life of extreme wealth, paranoia, and fear. Having moved to London in pursuit of Miguel's goal of becoming a renowned architect, the couple must now ask whether they still share the same aspirations..

CARL SAGAN: WE ARE MADE OF STAR STUFF
Carl Sagan: We Are Made Of Star Stuff is an intimate portrait of the visionary astronomer, author, and television star whose ideas transformed our understanding of the cosmos and human existence. With unprecedented access to his personal archive, including home movies and cassette tapes on which he thought aloud, the film lets Sagan's own voice guide us through a life spent looking up.

CLARISSA
Across a single day in Lagos, Nigeria, Clarissa (a radiant Sophie Okonedo) readies her home for a glittering party, even as her past comes rushing back to her in the faces of old loves and friends she thought she'd left behind. Elsewhere in the city, a young soldier named Septimus (Fortune Nwafor) is quietly unraveling, haunted by horrors he can't leave on the battlefield. Their stories ripple outward into another timeline entirely.

CLUB KID
From writer-actor-director Jordan Firstman, making his feature directorial debut, comes an irresistible crowd-pleaser brimming with equal parts humor and heart about a 30-something nightlife promoter whose life changes in a flash when he meets the 10-year-old son he never knew he had. Firstman (I LOVE L.A.) stars as Peter, a professional clubgoer hungover from a decade of hard-partying and blurry New York City nights out with his friends..

THE DEBUT
Hoping to escape her quiet, invisible life as a New Jersey homemaker, Mona Friedman (a spectacular Julianne Moore) tries out for the local community theater musical called “Nosy Neighbors.” Cast by default in a bit part when the original actress drops out, the shy, unassuming Mona transforms into a zealous method actor willing to do anything to protect the artistic integrity of her marginal role, even if it means waging war against the show's domineering director, Jerry (played to perfection by Paul Giamatti).

EDWARD SAID: BETWEEN WORLDS
Edward Said: Between Worlds is a fascinating, all-archival portrait of the renowned Palestinian-American scholar Edward Said, told entirely in his own voice. Drawn from hundreds of hours of lectures, TV appearances, interviews, and debates, including his 1986 conversation with Salman Rushdie and his last major interview in 2002, the film weaves together Said's bold intellectual ideas and his personal story, and is grounded by verité scenes from his BBC documentary collaborations.

ELSINORE
London, 1989. Ian Charleson, a gifted British stage and screen star, is unfulfilled by his roles. When he is unexpectedly asked to play the title role in "Hamlet" at the National Theatre, he embarks on the part of a lifetime. But as he throws himself into rehearsals, Charleson must face mortality on and off the stage. Directed by Simon Stone (The Dig) and written by Stephen Beresford (Pride), Elsinore is the deeply emotional true story of a man whose greatest challenge becomes his greatest triumph.

EVEREST: THE OTHER SIDE
Elite ski mountaineers Jim Morrison and Hilaree Nelson fell deeply in love while reaching the pinnacle of their sport. Their drive sharpened into a shared dream: to climb and ski the direct North Face of Everest — the most difficult and dangerous climb on the tallest mountain in the world, and the most coveted ski line on Earth. Thousands have summited the mountain via Nepal's southeast ridge, but only a handful have ever reached the top by this route, and no one has successfully skied it.

EVERYBODY DIGS BILL EVANS
June 1961, New York. Legendary jazz pianist Bill Evans has found his musical voice and created the perfect trio, including bass player Scott LaFaro, his musical soulmate. A residency at New York's Village Vanguard culminates in the live taping of two of the greatest jazz records of all time. Days later, LaFaro dies tragically in a car crash. Numb with grief, Evans stops playing for the first time since childhood. This is the story of what happened next for one of the most influential and gifted figures in 20th-century music.

FATHERLAND
Fatherland centers on the relationship between the Nobel Prize-winning German writer Thomas Mann (Hanns Zischler) and his daughter Erika (Sandra Hüller) - actress, writer, and rally driver. Award-winning Polish filmmaker Paweł Pawlikowski uses a dramatic historical moment and unique personal story to explore political turmoil, exile, and returning to one's homeland. In the summer of 1949, at the height of the Cold War, father and daughter embark on a challenging and emotional road trip in a black Buick taking them across a Germany in ruins.

FJORD
Acclaimed Romanian director Cristian Mungiu, already a Palme d'Or winner for 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, returned this year to Cannes with his first international-cast feature — and won the Palme d'Or a second time. Fjord is a deeply thought-provoking family drama starring the superb acting duo, Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve. The Gheorghius, a devout Romanian-Norwegian couple, have resettled with their 5 kids in Lisbet's Norwegian hometown, a village set in a remote fjord.

GENTLE MONSTER
From director and writer Marie Kreutzer (Corsage), Gentle Monster tells the story of concert pianist Lucy (Léa Seydoux), who has just relocated her family to a country house hoping to ease her husband Philip's (Laurence Rupp) severe burnout. Before they have a chance to set up their new home, an early morning police visit tears their life apart. Torn between believing the man she loves and the fear of what he may have done, Lucy must face the situation alone as her world unravels.

GIVE ME THE BALL!
Billie Jean King is a global icon whose impact on tennis and equality resonates around the world. But the personal turmoil she's had to endure has remained mostly hidden. Give Me The Ball! explores the sacrifices King was forced to make behind the scenes, even as she fought high-profile battles for the professionalization of her sport and equal treatment for women. From struggling to escape an unhappy marriage and hiding her sexual orientation to facing an eating disorder..

I PLAY ROCKY
I Play Rocky is the electrifying true story about an unknown actor with an unshakable belief that he wasn't just meant to write Rocky—he was meant to be Rocky Balboa. Told "no" at every turn, Sylvester Stallone risks everything on himself, holding the line on playing the lead against seemingly impossible odds. It's a bet that would pay off beyond anyone's wildest imagination. A struggling actor, Stallone sold his screenplay to producers Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff — but United Artists insisted on a known star for the part.

INK
In November 1969, outcast British journalist Larry Lamb (Jack O'Connell) takes a meeting with Australian media baron Rupert Murdoch (Guy Pearce), who makes him an offer he can't refuse. It's the beginning of a partnership that will change the face of news forever. Together, they transform The Sun from an also-ran newspaper into the bestselling tabloid in the world, taking on the establishment-ruled, backstabbing culture of Fleet Street with lurid headlines, outlandish puns, and stories that push ethics to the sidelines.

IRON BOY
In rural France, eleven-year-old Christophe tries to live up to his rigid, distant father on the family farm, a world quietly disappearing as larger operations swallow the land around it. When he begins collapsing without warning, on the tractor, at school, at dinner, a doctor finds an unlikely fix: Christophe must wear an iron corset to keep himself upright. Exiled from the farm to recover, he discovers an unexpected passion for music and meets Clara, an older, streetwise girl who becomes his guide into a wider world..

JOSEPHINE
Josephine draws directly from writer-director Beth de Araújo's own childhood: at eight years old, running through Golden Gate Park with her father, she witnessed him interrupt a rape—an experience that left her hyper-vigilant for years afterward. Eleven years in the making, this extraordinary film turns that childhood trauma into fiction, told entirely from the young girl's point of view as she tries to make sense of what has occurred.

LA BOLA NEGRA
A stunning cinematic experience, La Bola Negra traces three generations of gay men across nearly a century of Spanish history. In 1932, Carlos is voted out of his father's elite social club over whispers about his sexuality. Five years later, amid the Spanish Civil War, Sebastián, drafted into Franco's army, becomes drawn to Rafael, a captured enemy soldier he's assigned to guard. Decades after the dictatorship ends, in 2017, historian Alberto untangles a family secret..

THE LIBERATION
Rita (Carrie Coon) is a wife, mother, and bank manager in suburban New Jersey, quietly struggling with anxiety and depression rooted in a past she's never fully faced. When she encounters magnetic young spiritual leader Ricki (Lily James), Rita leaves her husband (Tracy Letts) and family behind to follow her to a rural all-female commune. But when her daughters Ella (Bella Ramsey) and Jo (Odessa Young) arrive unexpectedly and become drawn into the group's seductive world..

A LONG WINTER
Following the acclaim of All of Us Strangers, British director Andrew Haigh (45 Years, Weekend) adapts one of Colm Tóibín's most celebrated stories into an intimate, quietly profound, and expansive drama of family, longing, and resilience. 1951. High in Colorado's Rocky Mountains, amid a changing America, A Long Winter follows Mike (a terrific Fred Hechinger), a young man whose family's fragile bonds are tested as winter closes in.

MAVERICK: THE EPIC ADVENTURES OF DAVID LEAN
David Lean – one of the greatest film directors of all time – redefined what movies could be. His singular vision and dogged determination to film the impossible made him a maverick: a master of his art whose films delivered sweeping stakes, love and beauty even as his own life remained messy, rootless and painful. In a landscape that now avoids risk, Lean stood apart: a flawed genius whose story traces cinema's modern foundations.

MINOTAUR
Russia, 2022. Gleb Morozov (Dmitriy Mazurov), a successful transport company director, lives a comfortable life with his wife Galina (Iris Lebedeva) and teenage son in a sleek, secluded home outside a provincial Russian city. But as the war in Ukraine escalates, the town's mayor orders him to draw up a quota of employees to send to the frontlines. As if the stress from this assignment isn’t enough, Gleb begins to suspect that Galina is having an affair with Anton (Yuriy Zavalnyouk), a photographer.

MISTY GREEN
Written and directed by Chris Rock, Misty Green is a raw, unflinching portrait of an actress fighting for her second act. Misty (Rosalind Eleazar, in a magnetic performance) is a fading star who once won an Emmy but can no longer land an audition, partly because she is too proud to submit herself to one. When she abruptly loses her apartment, she begins to spiral. Her troubled brother Jay (Daniel Kaluuya) re-enters her life, carrying the weight of their shared past.

MOUSE
From writer-directors Kelly O'Sullivan and Alex Thompson (Saint Frances, Ghostlight) comes Mouse, a moving and deeply felt story of friendship, family, and growing up. It's 2002 in Arkansas, and best friends Minnie (Katherine Mallen Kupferer, Ghostlight) and Callie (Chloe Coleman) are heading into their senior year of high school, with Minnie long living in the protective shadow of the charismatic and admired Callie. When their friendship is suddenly upended at the start of the summer..

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM
A decade after his death, filmmaker William Greaves’ groundbreaking work and keen eye are in full view. In 1972, Greaves arranged for a gathering with the living luminaries of the Harlem Renaissance. For four hours, this remarkable group of artists and intellectuals – many of whom had not seen each other in fifty years – reminisced, argued, laughed and drank while wrestling with their place in a rapidly shifting cultural landscape.

THE ONLY LIVING PICKPOCKET IN NEW YORK
When a theft goes awry, veteran pickpocket Harry Lehman (John Turturro) is sent on a mission through New York to reclaim the stolen goods. Harry is an old-school hustler, a classic native New Yorker who lives by his wits and connections. Now nearing 70, he struggles to make ends meet while caring for his disabled wife, Rosie, in a city that's left him behind: the wallets and watches he used to lift have given way to credit cards and cell phones. Then one night, he unwittingly lifts a valuable USB drive from the heir to a ruthless crime family..

PAPER TIGER
In the summer of 1986, engineer Irwin Pearl (Miles Teller) is living a modestly comfortable middle-class life in Queens with his wife, Hester (Scarlett Johansson), and their two young sons, but can't help wanting more for his family. When his brother Gary (Adam Driver), a retired police officer, shows up at his home with big plans requiring someone with engineering skills, Irwin finds the offer hard to resist. The two soon find themselves entangled in a shady scheme that turns out to be too good to be true.

POSSIBLE LOVE
Possible Love follows two married couples on vastly different paths, each hiding desires of their own. Mi-ok (Jeon Do-yeon) lives quietly with her laid-off husband Ho-seok (Sul Kyung-gu) and their young son, Cheol. A funeral brings the family into contact with Ye-ji (Cho Yeo-jeong), a documentary filmmaker whose latest project is chronicling laid-off factory workers. Mi-ok agrees to be filmed and grows close to Ye-ji. She also finds herself uneasily drawn to Ye-ji’s husband, a wealthy fund manager named Sang-woo.

RAY GUNN
From Academy Award–winning writer-director Brad Bird (The Incredibles, The Iron Giant) comes Ray Gunn, a stylish, grown-up sci-fi noir. In Metropia, a sprawling city of an alternate future imagined from the vantage point of 1939, private eye Raymond Gunn (Sam Rockwell) accepts a job and finds himself dangerously entangled with aliens, murder, and pop superstar Venus Nova (Scarlett Johansson). With his alien partner Eyera (Tom Waits) at his side and a ruthless mob boss (Matt Berry) in his way..

REHEARSALS FOR A REVOLUTION
Winner of Best Documentary at Cannes, Rehearsals for a Revolution marks the directorial debut of Iranian actress Pegah Ahangarani, who became a star while still a teenager. Through five portraits of relatives and mentors, five expressions of resistance, Ahangarani sketches her life story. Each chapter centers on someone who shaped her, from her father, filmmaker Jamshid Ahangarani, to her young daughter, as waves of hope give way to brutal crackdowns that drive some into exile and cost others far more.

ROSE
In Markus Schleinzer's Rose, Sandra Hüller gives a searing performance as a scarred, taciturn soldier who arrives in an isolated German farming village during the chaos of the Thirty Years' War, claiming an abandoned homestead as his birthright. Slowly winning over the suspicious, devoutly Protestant community, he settles into its rhythms of hard labor and faith, all the while concealing that he is a woman who has lived as a man since the battlefield, with no intention of stopping.

A TALENT FOR MURDER
Set in 1995, A Talent for Murder finds Patricia Highsmith (a magnificent Helen Mirren), bitter and living in self-imposed exile in the Swiss mountains, keeping company with only her cats, books, and a creepy assortment of antique weapons. Edward Ridgeway (Alden Ehrenreich), a young editor from a New York publishing house, arrives hoping to talk her into writing one final Tom Ripley novel. Irritated by his eagerness, Highsmith refuses, unless he can help her invent the perfect murder.

TANGLES
Join Director Leah Nelson and Producers Lauren Miller Rogen and Seth Rogen at the screening of their film Tangles - a truly special and beautiful film. Adapted from Sarah Leavitt's graphic memoir Tangles: A Story About Alzheimer's, My Mother and Me, director Leah Nelson's impressive feature debut is a star-studded, adult animated drama that follows Sarah as she juggles a long-distance relationship, a burgeoning career, and her mother's Alzheimer's diagnosis.

TENDER LOVING CARE
Written and directed by Mike Leigh (Secrets & Lies, Hard Truths), Tender Loving Care is a warm and deeply humane portrait of family, friendship, and the people who look after others. Amy (Kate O'Flynn) is a social worker supporting young people in foster care. Having just split up with her long-term boyfriend, who has gone back to his wife and young son, she moves back in with her best friend, Rosie (Alice Bailey Johnson), who works in social care for the elderly.

WICKER
From writer-directors Eleanor Wilson and Alex Huston Fischer (Save Yourselves!), Wicker is a wonderfully audacious comedic fable about sex, marriage, and the absurdities of social convention. Adapted from a short story by Ursula Willis, the film is set in a quirky medieval village, where an ostracized fisherwoman (a magnificent Olivia Colman) commissions the local basketmaker (Peter Dinklage) to make her a husband. When her wicker husband (Alexander Skarsgård) proves more spectacular than she ever imagined..

WILD HORSE NINE
Shortly before Chile's 1973 military coup, Chris (a superb John Malkovich), who is nearing retirement after decades as a CIA operative, and his impulsive young protégé Lee (an equally captivating Sam Rockwell) travel from Santiago to Easter Island on an assignment for their handler, MJ (Steve Buscemi). But when Chris strikes up an unlikely bond with two rebellious students (Mariana di Girolamo, Ailín Salas), he's forced to reckon with the weight of his past.

VARIETY CREATIVE COLLABORATORS CONVERSATION & AWARD PRESENTATION
The Middleburg Film Festival is honored to welcome costume designer ELLEN MIROJNICK, production designer RUTH DE JONG, and film editor JENNIFER LAME to the festival for a conversation and award presentation as the recipients of the 2026 Creative Collaborators Award, presented by Variety. The award recognizes their outstanding work as Christopher Nolan's trusted collaborators on Oppenheimer and The Odyssey, a globe-spanning epic shot on 70mm IMAX film across six countries, featuring more than 5,300 costumes.

CONCERT HONORING FILM COMPOSER DANIEL PEMBERTON
A beloved signature event of the festival is our CONCERT celebrating a distinguished film composer. This year, DANIEL PEMBERTON joins MFF as our Distinguished Film Composer for a concert featuring a selection of his most acclaimed scores performed by a 60-piece orchestra. The Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning composer and songwriter is known for his genre-defying work on films including Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, The Trial of the Chicago 7, Steve Jobs, and Project Hail Mary, as well as the series Slow Horses.

SONGWRITER/COMPOSER CONVERSATION
Eight of the film industry’s most talented composers and songwriters will share film clips of their work and talk about their creative process in crafting songs and scores. Participants include: Composers Ari Balouzian (You Can See Everything, Primetime) Lukas Frank (Behemoth!), Daniel Pemberton (Ink, Project Hail Mary), Lesley Barber (Gail), Christopher Spelman (Paper Tiger) and songwriters Jesse Eisenberg (The Debut), Guitarricadelafuente (La Bola Negra), and Diane Warren (Maserati: The Brothers).

MASTER CLASS WITH BOB PAULEY
TOY STORY 5 production designer Bob Pauley will participate in a special Masterclass exploring his more than three decades at Pixar and his role in creating one of animation’s most iconic characters, Buzz Lightyear. A member of the original Toy Story creative team who has worked across all five films in the groundbreaking franchise, Pauley designed Buzz for the 1995 original and returned as production designer on Toy Story 5, helping shape the latest chapter of the landmark animated series. Pauley will additionally lead a drawing demo, focusing on some of the new characters in Toy Story 5.

COFFEE & CONTENDERS
Love the Oscars? Love the Oscars race? Don't miss our annual Contenders conversation with CLAYTON DAVIS (Senior Awards Editor, Variety) and JAZZ TANGCAY (Senior Artisans Editor, Variety). Join us for a complimentary cocktail (or mocktail) as they go through their Oscar predictions. How many Best Picture nominees will be shown at Middleburg this year? And who are the likely nominees in the other categories? Since it launched in 2013, the Middleburg Film Festival has become known as a popular stop for awards contenders during the festival season.

Conversation with Seth Rogen
An acclaimed actor, writer, producer, and director whose work spans comedy, drama, animation, and television, Rogen has built a wide-ranging career both in front of and behind the camera. His film credits include the beloved comedies Knocked Up, Superbad, Pineapple Express, and This Is the End, as well as Danny Boyle's Steve Jobs, Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans, and Aziz Ansari's Good Fortune, which screened at last year's festival. Most recently, he co-created, co-wrote, co-directed, executive produced, and starred in the Emmy-winning Apple TV series The Studio.

THE INVITE
[SPECIAL SCREENING]
Film introduction by Seth Rogen.
Angela (Olivia Wilde) and Joe (Seth Rogen) have a marriage on thin ice. When Angela invites their enigmatic upstairs neighbors, Hawk (Edward Norton) and Piña (Penélope Cruz), over for dinner, much to her exhausted husband's dismay, the evening spirals into unexpected places. Angela hopes to show off their newly renovated historic San Francisco apartment and apologize for the construction noise. Joe, meanwhile, sees a chance to confront the couple about their loud and frequent lovemaking.

BOXED OUT: THE LEAGUE THAT CHANGED BASKETBALL
[SPECIAL SCREENING]
Before the NBA and the ABA, there was the Eastern Professional Basketball Association (EBL). Boxed Out illuminates the rich and largely untold history of the EBL from its founding in 1946 to its unlikely transition into becoming today’s NBA minor league system. Forgotten by history and unknown to today’s sports fans, the EBL served as a crucible of talent, competition, and groundbreaking racial integration.

THE CASHIER
[SPECIAL SCREENING]
The Cashier is a dark comedy about Glenda, a 77-year-old church lady working the register at a Virginia hardware store. When she unexpectedly comes into possession of a winning $1.6 billion lottery ticket that isn’t hers, Glenda faces a choice that most people could only dream about—and a moral dilemma she never asked for. Determined to find the ticket’s rightful owner, Glenda is pulled into the orbit of Atlee, a bumbling domestic extremist, and an increasingly absurd collection of people..

TALK BACK TO THE CRITICS
Our terrific DC film critics return to MFF for another lively Talk Back to the Critics. Join MAE ABDULBAKI (Freeland Film Critic), JEN CHANEY (The New York Times, The Washington Post, WTOP), TIM GORDON (Keeping It Reel with FilmGordon), TRAVIS HOPSON (Punch Drunk Critics, , and NELL MINOW (RogerEbert.com) for a spirited conversation about your favorite—and, to put it politely, your least favorite—films. You know that movie with the 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes that you couldn't stand? Or the one every critic panned, but you've seen eight times and still cry? This is your chance to let the critics hear from you.