29th Sonoma International Film Festival (SIFF): ‘Poetic License,’ ‘I Swear,’ Conversations with Julian Schnabel, Barry Jenkins and Lulu Wang
The lineup of the 29th annual Sonoma International Film Festival (SIFF) has been announced, unveiling a program that features 41narrative features, 16 documentary features, and 47 shorts. The festival will open with Poetic License, the feature directorial debut from Maude Apatow, have Steven Soderbergh’s The Christophers, starring Ian McKellen and Michaela Coel, as the centerpiece, and close with the shot in Sonoma feature Under the Lights.
Tucked in the heart of Northern California wine country, the festival will run March 25–29, 2026. Passes are on Sale Now, Single Tickets go on Sale March 11. Festival passes, tickets, and more information at sonomafilmfest.org.
SIFF will host an in-person presentation and career conversation with Julian Schnabel, who brings his latest feature, In the Hand of Dante, to the festival. Schnabel, the artist-filmmaker behind Basquiat, Before Night Falls, and the Oscar-nominated The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, returns with a literary epic starring Oscar Isaac, Gal Gadot, Gerard Butler, John Malkovich, Al Pacino, Jason Momoa, and Martin Scorsese. The screening will be followed by a moderated discussion examining Schnabel’s career across visual art and cinema.
“Following last year’s record-setting edition, we’re raising the bar again with a lineup that reflects the full spectrum of contemporary cinema — from internationally celebrated auteurs to bold genre voices,” said SIFF Artistic Director Carl Spence. “We’ve assembled the finest films we discovered throughout the year — including exceptional works that deserve a larger spotlight — alongside in-person conversations with visionary filmmakers and our signature culinary program. Sonoma isn’t just a festival; it’s a destination where world-class cinema meets an unforgettable experience.”
I Swear, starring recent BAFTA Best Actor winner Robert Aramayo, will screen as well as Fuze (Dir. David Mackenzie) – London-set thriller starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Theo James, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Sam Worthington; Normal (Dir. Ben Wheatley, A Magnolia Pictures Release) – Dark action-comedy starring Bob Odenkirk, Lena Headey, and Henry Winkler; The Last Viking (Dir. Anders Thomas Jensen, A Samuel Goldwyn Release) – Black comedy starring Mads Mikkelsen; Over Your Dead Body (Dir. Jorma Taccone, A IFC Films Release) – horror-comedy featuring Jason Segel, Timothy Olyphant, Samara Weaving, and Juliette Lewis.
Special screenings include Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller Vertigo starring Kim Novak and James Stewart, presented in conjunction with the documentary Kim Novak´s Vertigo and a 4K restoration of John Woo´s Hong Kong classic The Killers.
Beyond the screen, SIFF unfolds as a curated celebration of taste and atmosphere. Highlights include the Opening Night soirée at historic Sebastiani Vineyards & Winery, the elegant Moon and the Stars Dinner at Valley Bar + Bottle, the high-energy Studio 54 Disco Party at HopMonk, and the Centerpiece Dolce After Dark Party at Buena Vista Winery. Exclusive Pop-In tastings feature exceptional wines and seasonal bites at The Bar at MacArthur Place, Williams Sonoma, and The Sonoma Cheese Factory.
SIFF’s industry conversations include “The Art of Casting: The Craft Behind the New Oscar,” exploring the Academy’s newest category and the evolving role of casting in shaping performances and careers including director/writers Barry Jenkins (Moonlight), Lulu Wang (The Farewell), and casting directors Kerry Barden, and David Ruben; “The Power of Storytelling,” a discussion with documentary filmmakers on impact-driven filmmaking and audience engagement; “Film Veterans Tell All,” featuring Academy members and industry insiders offering candid perspectives on today’s film landscape; and “Food, Film & the Future,” examining how cinema influences conversations around sustainability, culture, and the global food system.
FEATURE COMPETITION FILMS: Ky Nam Inn (Director: Leon Le/Vietnam), Maspalomas (Director: Jose Mari Goenaga, Aitor Arregi/Spain), My Tennis Maestro (Director: Andrea di Stefano/Italy), Orphan (Director: Lászlo Nemes/Hungary), Silent Rebellion (Director: Marie-Elsa Sgualdo/Switzerland), The Soundman (Director: Frank Van Passel/Belgium), Sundays (Director: Alauda Ruiz de Azúa/Spain), Vainilla (Director: Mayra Hermosillo/Mexico)
DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION FILMS: The Art of Adventure (Director: Alison Reid/Canada), Barbara Forever (Director: Brydie O’Connor/USA), The Big Cheese (Director: Sara Joe Wolansky/USA), Fork in the Road (Director: Jonathan Nastasi, Vivian Sorenson/USA), Jane Elliott Against the World (Director: Judd Ehrlich/USA), Kim Novak´s Vertigo (Director: Alexandre O. Philippe/USA), Newport and the Great Folk Dream (Director: Robert Gordon/USA), Raoul’s, A New York Story (Director: Greg Olliver, Karim Raoul/USA), State of Firsts (Director: Chase Joynt/USA).
FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS
Opening Night Film: Poetic License – (California Premiere) Maude Apatow’s directorial feature debut follows Liz (Leslie Mann), adrift in a new town, who befriends two adoring students (Cooper Hoffman, Andrew Barth Feldman) after auditing a poetry class. Flattery spirals into awkward longing in this smart, laugh-out-loud story of reinvention. A Row K Release.
Centerpiece Film: The Christophers – Oscar-winning Steven Soderbergh serves up a razor-witted chamber comedy skewering art, money, and long-simmering grudges starring Ian McKellen. A NEON Release.
Closing Night Film: Under the Lights (California Premiere) Shot in Sonoma, this film follows a teen with epilepsy who risks everything to attend prom.
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
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