The New Media Film Festival has announced its first wave of official selections for the 2026 season, revealing a lineup that underscores the growing intersection of artificial intelligence, emerging technologies, and narrative innovation. For more than fifteen years, the festival has served as a bellwether for where storytelling is headed next, spotlighting creators who experiment boldly with new formats and technologies.
The 2026 edition maintains the festival's acclaimed hybrid structure, offering both a global online program accessible from June 3 and an in-person showcase at the Culver Theater in Los Angeles on June 4. This dual approach ensures fairness in judging while expanding access for international talent and audiences. Founder and Director Susan Johnston emphasized the festival's forward-looking mission, stating that it exists to celebrate innovation, elevate new voices, and create opportunities for artists working at the edge of what's possible.
The initial selections provide insight into the creative and technological frontiers shaping storytelling. The in-person program features "Is Ai Gonna Get Better, or Nah?" by Nick Roth, a world premiere that directly engages with artificial intelligence as a subject of inquiry. This reflects the festival's history of championing bold new categories, including AI-generated cinema, holographic comics, VR funding pitches, and NFT-driven storytelling.
Other world premieres in the lineup include "Sunflowers" by YongJik Lee and "Soul" by Leeorah Hursky in the online program, and "Reach the Sky" by Lori Moilov, "A Day (HARU)" by Da Eun Kim, and "Limitless Podcast: Ignite Your Creativity & Chase Your Dreams" also by Lori Moilov in the in-person showcase. 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.
For business and technology leaders, the festival's selections signal where narrative innovation is heading and which technologies are gaining traction in creative industries. The inclusion of AI-focused content alongside traditional storytelling formats demonstrates how artificial intelligence is becoming integrated into artistic expression rather than remaining purely technical. The festival's jury, which has drawn influential voices from Marvel, HBO, the Emmys, the Grammys, PBS, and the BBC, reinforces its status as a rare crossroads where established innovators and rising creators converge.
The festival's commitment to emerging formats has made it 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 further in championing creators shaping the next wave of storytelling. Details on tickets, programming, and submissions are available at https://www.NewMediaFilmFestival.com.
This early lineup reflects the festival's ongoing commitment to championing work that challenges convention and expands the vocabulary of modern storytelling. It signals the depth and diversity of the full 2026 slate still to come, as additional categories, premieres, and special events will be revealed in the months leading up to June. For leaders tracking the convergence of technology and creative industries, the New Media Film Festival serves as an important indicator of where narrative innovation is heading and which emerging technologies are gaining meaningful traction in artistic expression.
