What Might Be Screening at the 2026 Telluride Film Festival?

Later on this week, I’m headed to Colorado and the Telluride Film Festival. I’ll do my annual Telluride preview post right beforehand, talking about the festival in a more holistic manner. Today, however, as I pour over the lineups of other fests, I have something specific on my mind. Just what might be screening this year at Telluride? Below, I have a few ideas about what might end up playing at the fest, though keep in mind, it’s all just educated guesswork for another week.

One of the fun parts of Telluride is the fact that the lineup is kept a secret until the start of the festival. Basically, at some point while on the plane, I get an email with the film list. The lineup and schedule then becomes what you desperately digest while on the road from wherever you land to Telluride proper. 2026 will obviously be no exception, though there is a slight bit of extra mystery once again this time around, as several titles are legitimate question marks for inclusion.

There are always clues to be found by looking at the premiere designations for other festivals. The Venice Film Festival begins slightly before Telluride and continues on during it, so they’re a different animal (though you can look at their schedule to see if certain flicks can logistically make the leap with their talent). The ones to look at at the New York Film Festival and especially the Toronto International Film Festival. The movies there that aren’t world premieres certainly feel on the table, especially when TIFF labels something a Canadian premiere as opposed to a North American one.

As for my best guesses, I’m going off of my own hunches, some studio intel (my lips are sealed and my sources are safe), as well as, once again, Michael’s Telluride Film Blog, a useful resource for things like this. Between all of that and festival designations, I’m figuring that we’ll see Telluride feature, among other things, The Debut, Elsinore, Ink, and Wild Horse Nine. Those would be probably the four highest profile titles (in terms of being premieres or largely unseen), barring a surprise. Other films that are likely to play Telluride include The Alpha Gang, Bucking Fastard, Club Kid, Everest: The Other Side, Fatherland, Fjord, La Bola Negra, and Tender Loving Care. Even if only half of those dozen movies wind up playing, and trust me, it will be almost all of them, that would make for a great festival. As for a true surprise? Primetime feels like a 50/50 proposition at this point, given when it’s playing at the Venice Film Festival, while something smaller like The Only Living Pickpocket in New York could easily be an addition (and is wonderful, so I hope it can get a Telluride bump). Artificial? I’ll believe it when I see it. Something else? Well, Julie Huntsinger, the executive director of the fest, has spoken in recent days of having tried to land both Digger and Dune: Part Three, while conceding Paper Tiger as the Opening Night Selection of the New York Film Festival. Make of that what you will. At this point? Sit tight and we’ll find out together in a manner of days…

So, it’s just a waiting game now. The Telluride Film Festival will feature some of the year’s best in cinema, in one of the most beautiful locations in the world. Look for tons on Telluride at the end of this week and early on next week, before I turn around and head to TIFF. I’m already exhausted, but I’m excited too, so sit tight.

Stay tuned to see next what what plays at the 2026 Telluride Film Festival!