Santa Fe festival to open with In Memoriam, close with Paper Tiger
Santa Fe International Film Festival will open its 2026 edition with Robert Burnett's "In Memoriam" starring Marc Maron and close with James Gray's "Paper Tiger" starring Adam Driver and Miles Teller, according to the lineup reported by Variety.
The festival runs 14-19 October in Santa Fe, N.M. Five days. A tight autumn slot.
"Paper Tiger" arrives in New Mexico with festival mileage. The film premiered at Cannes, according to Deadline, and will have its North American premiere — the first showing in the United States and Canada — as the opening night film of the 64th New York Film Festival, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The Centerpiece programme, the festival's mid-run showcase strand, pairs two director-led features. Peter Farrelly brings "I Play Rocky". Martin McDonagh brings "Wild Horse Nine", with John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi, Mariana di Girolamo, Ailín Salas, Tom Waits and Parker Posey.
Documentaries sit high on the bill. The list includes Alex Gibney's "Musk", about Elon Musk, and Nanette Burstein's "Carl Sagan: We Are Made of Star Stuff". Fiction highlights include Danny Boyle's "Ink" and Ava DuVernay's "14th".
Elsewhere, Simon Stone's "Elsinore", with Andrew Scott and Olivia Colman, is set for a Spotlight presentation. Cristian Mungiu's "Fjord" and Noah Segan's "The Only Living Pickpocket in New York" will screen Out of Competition, a strand for films shown without competing for prizes. Ali Asgari's "A Bit of Light" and Jérémy Comte's "Paradise" will screen in Competition. "Major Barbara" and "Our Effed Up World" are listed for Special Screenings.
The festival will honour Pam Grier with a Lifetime Achievement Award and Zahn McClarnon with a Visionary Award. Grier's ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, 17 October at 6 p.m. at the Lensic Performing Arts Center, with a Q&A hosted by screenwriter and producer Kirk Ellis. McClarnon's ceremony is scheduled for Friday, 16 October at the same venue, with producer and director Chris Eyre hosting a discussion, followed by a screening of McClarnon's directorial debut, 'Dark Winds' Season 4 Episode 2, according to the festival website.
The Santa Fe International Film Festival is an Academy Award-qualifying festival, meaning selected winning films can become eligible for Oscars consideration. Its full schedule is listed for release on 22 September at 12pm MST.
For audiences, this means a compact programme that moves from an opener led by Maron to a closer led by Driver and Teller, with documentaries, competition titles and tributes in between.
