SCAD Savannah Film Festival Unveils 2026 Lineup

The Savannah College of Art and Design has announced the 2026 lineup and panel programming for its 29th annual SCAD Savannah Film Festival, running October 24 to October 31. SCAD is the nation's largest university-led film festival and one of the largest in the Southeast.

The 2026 schedule includes Gala and Signature Screenings, Special Presentations, Professional and Student competition films, the Docs to Watch and Pixels and Pencils screening series, and the Behind Their Lens and Below the Line panel series. Over its history, the festival has screened more than 250 Academy Award-nominated films and honored nearly 225 actors, directors, producers, writers, and filmmakers worldwide.

"This is one of those lineups where you look at the filmmakers and performers and realize just how much incredible work is happening across the industry right now," said Christina Routhier, executive director of the SCAD Savannah Film Festival. "We have films from some of the world's most distinctive talents, alongside bold work from emerging voices. What I love most is that our students get to experience it all by being in the room with these artists, hearing how the work came together, asking questions and making connections that can shape their own careers. That combination of great cinema, access, and discovery is what makes SCAD and our festival such a meaningful place to experience the year in film."

The screening slate spans more than 60 titles. Gala and Signature Screenings include "A Talent for Murder," "I Play Rocky," "The Mosquito Bowl," "The Odyssey," "Project Hail Mary," "Sense and Sensibility," "Wild Horse Nine," and "Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother." Documentary selections in Docs to Watch include "Avedon," "Everest: The Other Side," "My Undesirable Friends: Part II — Exile," "Once Upon a Time In Harlem," "The Trial of Alec Baldwin," and "Dernise: The Amazing Life of Bruce Dern" (dir. Mike Mendez). The Pixels and Pencils animation series features "Clayface," "Hoppers," "Ray Gunn," "Tangles," and "Wildwood."

The Behind Their Lens series, presented in partnership with IndieWire, celebrates "cinematic powerhouses who defied the odds and obstacles to bring us some of the most influential and poignant films and television series in recent years." Artisans, directors, and producer panels are still to be announced, but will include Beth de Araujo ("Josephine"), Sophy Romvari ("Blue Heron"), Ruth De Jong ("The Odyssey"), and Alison Owen ("Back to Black").

Several marquee conversations anchor the panel program. Keanu Reeves and Matt Kindt, with illustrator Ron Garney, will go inside the creation of the comic book series BRZRKR, exploring its mythology, characters, and collaborative process. "The Art of the Epic: Crafting The Odyssey" highlights production designer Ruth De Jong, costume designer Ellen Mijornik, and casting director John Papsidera. "Building Arrakis and Beyond: In Conversation with Patrice Vermette" brings the Dune production designer and Variety Creative Impact in Production Design Award honoree together with Variety's Jazz Tangcay for a career conversation and a look at the upcoming Dune: Part Three.

Jared Bush, chief creative officer at Walt Disney Animation Studios, writer, and Academy Award winner, will present a first look at the studio's upcoming animated adventure Disney's Hexed. Shudder's "The New Face of Horror" spotlights rising filmmakers Alex Goyette (Breeder) and Jordan Downey (The Cycle), moderated by Shudder director of programming Angel Melanson.

The Below the Line series focuses on costume design and production design. The SCAD Alumni Voices panel features graduates of the university's film and television programs, including Annie Taylor (M.A., sound design, 2019), whose credits span "The Bear" and "Widow's Bay"; Benjamin Frisch (M.F.A., sequential art, 2011; B.F.A., sequential art, 2009), podcast producer and sound designer on "Making Gay History"; Eldar Isgandarov (B.F.A., performing arts, 2024), an actor in "Club Kid" and "The Debut"; Wai Yan "Sunny" Chan (B.F.A., visual effects, 2008), a facial animator on "Wildwood"; and Chloe Lipp (B.F.A., film and television, 2008), a visual effects artist on "Stranger Things" and "The Mandalorian."

Additional programming includes "Critical Darlings — Awards Season Kick-off: LIVE!" with hosts Alison Willmore (Vulture) and Richard Lawson (Premiere Party); Variety's 10 Artisans to Watch, with participants to be announced in mid-October; Entertainment Weekly's Breaking Big Panel & Awards, with honorees to be announced separately; "From Red Carpets to Reels: Entertainment Journalism in the Digital Age" with film journalist Kevin McCarthy and Gersh agent Sydnie Rowland; and "The Long Game: Gersh Agents on Building Careers in Entertainment."

The professional competition includes "The Huntress" (dir. Suzanne Andrews Correa), "One of Us" (dir. Stefan van de Graaff), "Summer of Three" (dir. Carlitos Ruiz-Ruiz), and "Test" (dir. Sam McConnell). Documentary competition entries include "The Lorraine" (dir. Sam Pollard), "The Secret Reading Club of Kabul" (dir. Shakiba Adil, Elina Hirvonen), "Uncle Roy" (dir. Keri Pickett), and "Stone Lions Don't Roar" (dir. Le Hang Whalen).

The student competition features short films from around the world, among them "CHAI" (dir. Aryan Anand), "The Memory Clocksmith" (dir. Jing Rickie Liu, Ellie Grace Colwill), "The Moon Stole My Stripes" (dir. Sarah Buckley), "Rio Negro" (dir. Luke Cooper Escobar), "Cadencia" (dir. Paulís Cofresí), "Nanmoku" (dir. Will Franz), and "An Eternal Sound" (dir. Ryan Broussard, Andrew Meriwethe).

With major studio titles, awards-season documentaries, and a Dune: Part Three preview on the bill, the 2026 edition positions the eight-day festival as a destination where working professionals and SCAD students share the same rooms — and, if the festival's history holds, some of the films screened in Savannah this October will resurface in the Oscar race.