Opening Night Film & Party
Walk the Red Carpet and Meet the Filmmakers
Opening Night Presentation
Opening Night Shorts
79 minutes
Film Premieres
Filmmakers in Attendance
Florida Film
Foreign Language with English Subtitles
The 18th annual Naples International Film Festival opens with a showcase of five short films that explore change, connection and loss, including a trumpeter wrestling with family legacy, a dog inspiring love and grief, a Florida man using art to overcome a devastating spinal injury, three retired men waging war against technology and hospice patients facing mortality.
Jazz Infernal
My Dog: The Paradox
Body of Work
We Were Here
Life Goes On
Thursday, October 22 • Artis—Naples
6pm Red Carpet Walk, 7pm Film Presentation
Feature Films
Listed in Alphabetical Order
Documentary
4000 Days
2026, N/R, U.S., Documentary, 112 minutes
Florida Premiere
Filmmakers in Attendance
Director: Daniel E. Catullo III
Producers: Daniel E. Catullo III, Russell Greene
Writers: Daniel E. Catullo III, Russell Greene
Cast: Julie DeVercelly, Gary DeVercelly, Eric Oakes, Linda Oakes, Kim Burch, TJ Burch, Senator Amy Klobuchar, Congresswoman Lucy McBath, Dr. Buzz Mingin, Doug Fierberg, Courtney White
After losing their sons to fraternity hazing, three families unite in a 4,000-day fight against a culture of secrecy and silence, transforming unimaginable grief into a national movement that changes the law and helps protect future generations of students.
Saturday, October 24, 4pm
Sunday, October 25, 11am
Documentary
Anne Packard: An Artist's Resolve
2026, N/R, U.S., Documentary, 74 minutes
Filmmakers in Attendance
Director: Arthur Egeli
Producers: Arthur Egeli, Stephen Kaiser-Pendergrast, Judith Richland, Heather Egeli, Mark Allan Guiod
Cast: Anne Packard, Cynthia Packard, Leslie Packard, Michael Packard, Susan Packard, Arthur Egeli
Painter Anne Packard once sold her work outside her Cape Cod home to help support her five young children. Now 92 and one of the most successful artists of her generation, she reflects on the choices, struggles and determination that shaped her creative life.
Friday, October 23, 2:30pm
Sunday, October 25, 1:30pm
Narrative
A Real Man
2026, PG-13, Spain, Dramedy, 82 minutes
U.S. Premiere
Filmmakers in Attendance
Spanish with English Subtitles
Director: Liteo Pedregal
Producers: Victoria Alberca, Eva Almaya, Yadira Ávalos, Elsa Núñez, David Torres, Liteo Pedregal
Writers: Liteo Pedregal, Roberto Alfaro
Cast: Carlos Olalla, Olivia Molina, Rosario Pardo, Laura de la Uz, Imma Sancho, César Martel, Pablo R. Montenegro, Saulo Trujillo, Nieves Bravo, Lara Corrochano, Aroa Núñez, Natalia Dicenta, Máximo Valverde
Maria has spent much of her adult life catering to her husband Guillermo’s traditional, macho values. After she suddenly dies, the retired neurosurgeon must unlearn his old ways, learn to care for himself and reconsider what it means to be a “real man.”
Friday, October 23, 11am
Sunday, October 25, 4:45pm
Narrative
A Woman's Work
2026, N/R, U.S., Drama, 92 minutes
Florida Premiere
Filmmakers in Attendance
Juried Film
Director: A.R. Ephraim
Producers: Hal Lieberman, Scott Anderson
Writer: A.R. Ephraim
Cast: Louisa Harland, Alice Kremelberg, Ryan Begay, Shelby Mullins
After losing her parents to the opioid epidemic, a young woman in rural Kentucky takes a job as a coal miner to provide for her two younger sisters, but she must hide part of who she is to survive.
Friday, October 23, 7:30pm
Saturday, October 24, 4:45pm
Documentary
Dear Lara
2026, N/R, U.S., Documentary, 94 minutes
Florida Premiere
Filmmakers in Attendance
Director: Lara St. John
Producer: Patrick Hamm
Writers: Lara St. John, Patrick Hamm, Christie Herring
Cast: Lara St. John, Lusiana Lukman, Robie Brown, Lisamarie Vana, Mascha van Sloten, Katherine Needleman, Zeneba Bowers, Heather Bird, Samuel Schultz, Scott St. John, Marci Hamilton, Anne Midgette, Sammy Sussman, Okke Westdorp
When violinist Lara St. John goes public about the assault she endured as a child at an elite music school, she uncovers a global pattern of abuse in the classical music world and joins fellow survivors to confront an entrenched culture of silence.
Friday, October 23, 4:30pm
Saturday, October 24, 1:30pm
Documentary
Fork in the Road
2026, N/R, U.S., Documentary, 88 minutes
Florida Premiere
Filmmakers in Attendance
Juried Film
English and Spanish with English Subtitles
Directors: Jonathan Nastasi, Vivian Sorenson
Producers: Lisa Holmes, Stacy Lorts, Emma Wheylin
Featuring Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation, The Last of Us), a champion of regional agriculture and American farmers, Fork in the Road follows small farmers, visionary chefs and innovators working to heal the land, improve our food systems and build a more regenerative future for people and the planet.
Saturday, October 24, 2:15pm
Sunday, October 25, 11:15am
Documentary
Frampton
2026, N/R, U.S., Documentary, 104 minutes
Florida Premiere
Filmmakers in Attendance
Director: Rob Arthur
Producer: Daniel E. Catullo III
Writers: Rob Arthur, Ralph Chapman
Cast: Peter Frampton, Cameron Crowe, Ringo Starr, Kate Hudson, Sheryl Crow, Roger Daltrey, Alice Cooper, Herb Alpert, Tom Morello, Matt Pinfield, Mary Lindes, Julian Frampton, Jade Frampton, Mia Frampton, Bill Wyman
From the arena-shaking triumph of Frampton Comes Alive! to the quiet introspection of a final tour shaped by a degenerative diagnosis, Frampton is an intimate portrait of a rock icon who soared, stumbled and rose again.
Saturday, October 24, 7:05pm
Sunday, October 25, 2pm
Documentary
I Got Bombed at Harvey's
2026, N/R, U.S., Documentary, 93 minutes
Florida Premiere
Filmmakers in Attendance
Juried Film
Directors: Amy Bandlien Storkel, Bryan Storkel
Producers: Karen Bowlin, Bo Butterworth
I Got Bombed at Harvey's recounts how a gambler who lost heavily at the casino built an intricate 1,000-pound bomb, wheeled it into the casino lobby with a $3 million ransom demand and triggered a massive FBI manhunt.
Friday, October 23, 7:15pm
Saturday, October 24, 11:10am
Narrative
Jackrabbit
2026, N/R, U.S., Mystery, 96 minutes
Florida Premiere
Filmmakers in Attendance
Director: Ballard C. Boyd
Producers: Andrew van den Houten, Clara Peterson, Ballard C. Boyd
Writer: Ballard C. Boyd
Cast: Kuhoo Verma, Taylor Ortega, Soojeong Son, Mark Gessner, Saamer Usmani
An investigative journalist and struggling actress who can’t stand each other are reluctantly forced to team up when their best friend mysteriously vanishes. As they search for answers, they discover her disappearance is only the beginning of the secrets she has kept.
Saturday, October 24, 7:15pm
Sunday, October 25, 1:45pm
Narrative
Line Cooks
2026, N/R, U.S., Comedy, 83 minutes
World Premiere
Filmmakers in Attendance
Director: John Mossman
Producers: Ann Deer, Mary Jane Deer, Xanthe Brown, Ana Christian, Jennifer Jelsema, John Mossman, C. Ryan Stemple
Writer: Mary Jane Deer
Cast: Emma Knott, Beck Nolan, Jennifer Jelsema, David Stobbe, David Pasquesi, Andrew Bailes, Sebastian Keanu Rivera, Josué Martinez, Madison Kauffman, Carson Fox Harvey
A sheltered college student takes a summer job alongside ex-cons and cartel members at a chaotic Korean taco joint hoping to earn a recommendation letter before the health inspector shuts them down.
Friday, October 23, 7:45pm
Saturday, October 24, 11:45am
Narrative
Merry Christmas Aubrey Flint
2026, N/R, U.K., Comedy, 98 minutes
Florida Premiere
Filmmakers in Attendance
Director: Jack Spring
Producer: Andy Brunskill
Writer: Chris Boyle-McQuarry
Cast: John Bradley, Celia Imrie, Sophia Di Martino, Ann Mitchell, Kiell Smith-Bynoe, Adjoa Andoh, Dave Johns, Dustin Demri-Burns, Karl Pilkington, Jim Broadbent, Richard E. Grant
Aubrey Flint, a reclusive painter of model soldiers with a lifelong hatred of Christmas, is sentenced to community service at a struggling retirement home. Reluctantly roped into helping stage A Christmas Carol, he finds himself drawn into the lives of its eccentric residents and forced to reconsider the holiday he has spent years avoiding.
Saturday, October 24, 11:15am
Sunday, October 25, 3:30pm
Narrative
Solitary
2025, N/R, Ireland, Drama, 86 minutes
Florida Premiere
Filmmakers in Attendance
Juried Film
Director: Eamonn Murphy
Producer: Alan Breslin
Writer: Eamonn Murphy
Cast: Gerry Herbert, Cailum Carragher, Cate Russell, Emmet Kelly
In this intimate portrait of rural Ireland, Solitary follows Brendan, a widowed farmer living a quiet life in the countryside. But when his home is broken into and a growing sense of fear and isolation takes hold, Brendan must confront the realities of growing old.
Saturday, October 24, 6:50pm
Sunday, October 25, 11:45am
Documentary
Tenor: My Name Is Pati
2025, N/R, New Zealand, Documentary, 104 minutes
East Coast Premiere
Filmmakers in Attendance
Juried Film
Director: Rebecca Tansley
Producers: Rebecca Tansley, Catherine Madigan, Taualeo'o Stephen Stehlin
Writer: Rebecca Tansley
Cast: Pene Pati, Amitai Pati
From Samoa to the world’s great opera stages, Pene Pati and his brother Amitai pursue an unlikely path to international success. Bursting with humor, heart and soaring performances, the film reveals the resilience born of adversity, the richness of family and culture and the rewards that come from following an unlikely dream.
Friday, October 23, 7:30pm
Saturday, October 24, 4:15pm
Narrative
Their Town
2026, N/R, U.S., Drama, 80 minutes
Florida Premiere
Filmmakers in Attendance
Juried Film
Director: Katie Aselton
Producers: Mark Duplass, Jay Duplass, Mel Eslyn
Writer: Mark Duplass
Cast: Ora Duplass, Chosen Jacobs, Jeffery Self, Annie Henk, Kim Shaw, William Parker, Leonard Nam, Daveed Diggs
When Abby’s boyfriend drops out of the high school play, she finds herself helping school outlier Matt step into the role opposite her. Over the course of a long night wandering their small town, the two examine their futures and uncover surprises from their past.
Friday, October 23, 2pm
Sunday, October 25, 6:15pm
Narrative
Too Soon
2026, N/R, U.S., Romantic Comedy, 99 minutes
Florida Premiere
Filmmakers in Attendance
Directors: Jeff Dickamore, Aurora Florence
Producers: Summer Smith, Justin Nguyen
Writers: Jeff Dickamore, Aurora Florence
Cast: John Clarence Stewart, Aurora Florence, Vicki Lewis, Stacey Harkey
After meeting on the day of their spouses’ funerals, a young widow and widower form a two-person, music therapy-style support group. But when friendship begins to turn into something more, they face the question everyone around them is asking: Is it too soon?
Friday, October 23, 4:45pm
Saturday, October 24, 7:30pm
Documentary
Unspoken Bond
2026, N/R, U.S., Documentary, 80 minutes
Florida Premiere
Filmmakers in Attendance
Florida Film
Director: Don Hardy
Producers: Jackie Ducci, Justin Levy, Don Hardy
Writer: Don Hardy
Unspoken Bond makes the case for human-animal connection as it follows three lives forever changed by an animal: a champion dressage rider confronting grief, a woman struggling with addiction who finds hope in the trust of a fox and a veteran finding his way back to the world through his service dog.
Friday, October 23, 1:15pm
Sunday, October 25, 4:30pm
Narrative
Wake
2026, N/R, U.S., Dramedy, 102 minutes
Florida Premiere
Filmmakers in Attendance
Director: Devon M. Schwartz
Producers: Kelly O’Malley, Michel Rangel, Eugenio Villamar
Writers: Kelly O’Malley, Devon M. Schwartz
Cast: Ali Astin, Sasha Compére, Ali Gallo, Nelson Franklin, Michael Learned, Riki Lindhome, Penelope Ann Miller, Kelly O'Malley, Chris Parnell, Willow Shields, Cole Sprouse
Four semi-estranged siblings reunite on the day of their father’s wake, navigating overbearing relatives, oblivious guests and a death-phobic funeral director as they fumble through their absurd new reality—one that, maybe, just maybe, could bring them closer together.
Friday, October 23, 7pm
Saturday, October 24, 4:10pm
Narrative
Yale
2026, N/R, U.S., Dramedy, 123 minutes
Florida Premiere
Filmmakers in Attendance
Director: Jay Silverman
Producers: Jay Silverman, Bethany Cerrona, Ian Christian Blanche, Kevin Dunn, Joe Gamache
Writer: Van Billet
Cast: Caitlin McGee, Kevin Dunn, Rachael Harris, Benjamin Mackey, Dominic Leeder
Mac’s life has been consumed by alcohol and run-ins with the law, but when her son needs an emergency kidney transplant, she turns to someone she hasn’t seen in 30 years: her deadbeat father, Yale, who abandoned her as a child.
Friday, October 23, 4pm
Saturday, October 24, 11am
Documentary
Yuja
2026, N/R, U.S., Documentary, 83 minutes
Florida Premiere
Filmmakers in Attendance
Foreign Language with English Subtitles
Director: Lorna Tucker
Producers: Katrina Mansoor, Florrie Priest, Craig Thompson, David Piperni, Daniel Cantagallo
Cast: Yuja Wang
At the height of her career, celebrated pianist Yuja Wang opens a window into her personal world as a daring artist who plays by her own rules and constantly reinvents herself along the way.
Friday, October 23, 11:15am
Sunday, October 25, 6:30pm
Shorts
A Selection of Short Films Packaged by Theme
Shorts Package 1
Because We Care
97 minutes
Film Premieres
Filmmakers in Attendance
Juried Film
Florida Film
Foreign Language with English Subtitles
Care takes many forms in these six stories about the relationships that shape us, from a single father navigating his daughter’s adolescence to two ballerinas confronting the stresses and joys of dancing in Miami while showing how relationships help us grow.
Rose
Two Tears
32B - Internal Issues
Daddy's Girl
Father on Fire
Candy Bar
Friday, October 23, 4:15pm
Sunday, October 25, 2:15pm
Shorts Package 2
Unexpected Outcomes
76 minutes
Film Premieres
Filmmakers in Attendance
Juried Film
You never know where life will take you. In these five stories of unexpected turns, a one-hit wonder chases one last concert in Ireland while a former therapist teaches AI empathy as familiar situations veer somewhere surprising.
The Collateral
Emergency Accommodation
Crisis Actor
Nostalgie
The Decision Making Center
Friday, October 23, 11:45am
Saturday, October 24, 7:30pm
Shorts Package 3
The Art of Animation
85 minutes
Film Premieres
Juried Films
From the playful to the profound, these nine films showcase animation’s ability to tell deeply human stories — whether following a penguin’s workout routine, a husband navigating his wife’s vivid hallucinations or characters confronting grief, memory and survival.
The Whistle
Paper Trail
Sunspark
La Fille du Lac
Leg Day
Les Vieux
Living with a Visionary
Plus
Saba
Friday, October 23, 1:30pm
Sunday, October 25, 6:45pm
Shorts Package 4
True Stories: Artists at Work
81 minutes
Film Premieres
Filmmakers in Attendance
Art takes many forms in these three documentaries exploring the lives behind the work, from Cindy Sherman’s experiments with identity to the artisans preserving Carrara’s hand-carving tradition and the women cartoonists bringing their perspectives to The New Yorker.
Cindy Sherman: Picture This
Eterni: The Last Marble Sculptors
Women Laughing
Saturday, October 24, 1:50pm
Sunday, October 25, 11:30am
Shorts Package 5
True Stories: How We Carry On
68 minutes
Film Premieres
Juried Film
Florida Film
These four documentaries explore how people carry forward what matters most, from preserving the personal and professional legacy of beloved illustrator Richard Scarry to a formerly incarcerated man helping others rebuild their lives after prison.
The Second Life of Freddie Nole
Like Father
The Art of Sharing
One Last Order
Friday, October 23, 11:30am
Sunday, October 25, 4:15pm
Shorts Package 6
Student Filmmaker Showcase
85 minutes
Film Premieres
Florida Film
Filmmakers in Attendance
Foreign Language with English Subtitles<
Student filmmakers from K-12 and University divisions bring fresh perspectives to eight heartfelt, funny and imaginative stories, from two musicians trying to sustain both their art and their relationship to a migrant worker whose desperate search for employment leads him to become a literal watchdog.
K-12 Division
Evanescence
The Hard Way Home
The Chip
College/University Division
Franken Struck
Gardeners
Timbertown: The Squirrel and the Lumberjack
Watchdog
Buck and Burrow
Saturday, October 24, 2pm
Talks & Panel Discussions
Conversations with Filmmakers
Unscripted & Unfiltered:
Tales from the Set
2026 NIFF Panel Discussion
60 minutes
Filmmakers in Attendance
Panelists:
Amy Bandlien Storkel, co-director (I Got Bombed at Harvey's)
John Mossman, director (Line Cooks)
Rebecca Tansley, director (Tenor: My Name Is Pati)
Devon M. Schwartz, director (Wake)
Jay Silverman, director (Yale)
A panel of visiting filmmakers pulls back the curtain on the dynamic, unpredictable process of bringing fictional and true stories to life. Audiences will get a rare, entertaining look at their candid behind-the-scenes reflections.
Friday, October 23, 10am
The Mavericks of Cinema:
Why Independent Storytelling Matters
2026 NIFF Panel Discussion
60 minutes
Filmmakers in Attendance
Panelists:
Daniel E. Catullo III, director (4000 Days)
A.R. Ephraim, director (A Woman's Work)
Lara St. John, director (Dear Lara)
Ballard C. Boyd, director (Jackrabbit)
Alan Breslin, producer (Solitary)
A panel of visiting filmmakers explores why independent storytelling remains vital in today’s cinematic landscape. They’ll discuss how tight budgets spark ingenuity, how bold choices reshape perspectives, and why the independent voice matters now more than ever.
Saturday, October 24, 10am
Closing Night
Food, Fun, Awards and Film
Awards Ceremony, Film & Wrap Party
2026 Naples International Film Festival Awards
Filmmakers in Attendance
There’s no better way to cap your Naples International Film Festival experience than by attending the Closing Night Awards Ceremony. Enjoy food, fun and a chance to celebrate the very best work NIFF brought to Naples this year.
Sunday, October 25, 5:30pm
Closing Night Film
Superman in Concert
1978, PG, U.S., Action / Adventure, 143 minutes
Film score with full orchestra
Film and live concert performance
A cinematic classic meets symphonic power as Principal Pops Conductor Jack Everly and the Naples Philharmonic perform John Williams’ Oscar-nominated score to Superman live, perfectly syncing with the film as it screens overhead.
Sunday, October 25, 7:30pm