The Mammoth Lakes Film Festival (MLFF) announced the lineup for its 12th annual event, taking place May 20-24, 2026, at venues across Mammoth Lakes. Set in the scenic and majestic Eastern Sierra region of California, the Mammoth Lakes Film Festival brings together world-class cinema, emerging filmmakers, industry veterans, and audiences from around the world to celebrate films with thought-provoking style and vision. The Mammoth Lakes Film Festival is a nonprofit under the Eastern Sierra Arts Alliance, which has contributed to the area’s arts and culture through theater and film festival programming.
The renowned festival opens on Wednesday, May 20, with the presentation of the Sierra Spirit Award to Academy Award®-winning actress Marlee Matlin, as part of a special 40th-anniversary screening of Children of a Lesser God, followed by a moderated conversation about her career. The festival’s closing night film on Sunday, May 24, will be Nuisance Bear, the 2026 Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner, followed by a Q&A with directors Jack Weisman and Gabriela Osio Vanden. This year’s Festival lineup will also feature 12 West Coast, U.S., International, and World Premieres.
A scene from Danny Is My Boyfriend, part of the Mammoth Lakes Film Festival lineup.
“This year’s program features bold, award-winning films from top-tier festivals alongside boundary-pushing new discoveries.”
“We are honored to celebrate this year’s Sierra Spirit Award recipient Marlee Matlin, whose groundbreaking career has redefined representation and expanded what is possible in film,” said Festival Director Shira Dubrovner. “In addition to her recognition, this year’s program features bold, award-winning films from top-tier festivals alongside boundary-pushing new discoveries—reflecting the same spirit of storytelling that Marlee has always championed.”
Director of Programming Paul Sbrizzi added, “Even as our country and the world move through a dark time of violence and political upheavals, the steady stream of fascinating, personal, innovative expression in film endures. We are committed to finding the cream of the crop, evaluating each film on its own merits, and bringing together a community of inspired, inspiring, visionary filmmakers.”
North American narrative features include Danny Is My Boyfriend (USA). When her new boyfriend, Danny, asks her to dog-sit while he’s out of town helping his sister prepare for her baby’s non-denominational circumcision party, it feels like a major milestone: proof that her relationship (and life) is on track. But the illusion shatters when a stranger on the street recognizes the dog… as HER boyfriend Danny’s dog. Featuring Brooke Smith from Silence of the Lambs, the film is directed and written by Lucy Sandler and Mechi Lakatos.
Debt to the Dead (Mexico) is a thrilling, deeply human, and wildly stylish black-and-white neo-noir. Cipriano Zuzunaga (Gerardo Trejo Luna) is a worn-out policeman whose best days are behind him. When Juan Perea—the son of a prominent congressman—is kidnapped, Zuzunaga is assigned to conduct a solitary investigation in a city neighborhood teeming with suspects. Directed and written by Daniel Castro Zimbrón, Debt to the Dead is an international premiere.
Mono 222 (USA) is a gorgeously colorful, kaleidoscopic, semi-documentary look at the world of curious and creative multicultural 20ish-year-olds, loving, fighting, and lighting up the night in Los Angeles. A snapshot of a generation learning, losing, and longing in the restless heart of the city is directed and written by Quinton Dominguez. The film will have its world premiere.
Ten Will (USA) is one of the boldest films of the year. Ten Will is a comedy-drama that follows a newly-released sex offender as he tries to survive on the streets of Los Angeles, rejected even by other homeless people, and proposes to a woman who wrote to him in prison. DeFalco has a unique style that features dynamic zooms, high-stakes scenes with characters talking over each other, and a comedic sensibility that falls somewhere between Harmony Korine and John Waters. Ten Will is directed and written by Max DeFalco.
Toronto Apartment (Canada) is a madcap, low-fi comedy anchored by a spectacular lead performance from writer-director Tristan Wheeler. The absurdist, satirical take on the struggle to survive in the big city is reminiscent of Boots Riley’s sensibility and classic Jim Carrey comedies. It was directed and written by Tristan Wheeler. The film will have its world premiere.
International narrative features include Dreaming of Lions (Brazil/Portugal/Spain), which is a raw, touching, surreal, and hilarious story of a Brazilian woman (Denise Fraga) with terminal cancer who seeks to die with dignity and connects with a much younger kindred spirit as she becomes involved with a dubious clandestine euthanasia organization. The film is directed and written by Paolo Marinou-Blanco and will have its West Coast premiere.
A scene from Memory of Princess Mumbi, featured in the Mammoth Lakes Film Festival lineup.
Memory of Princess Mumbi (Kenya, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia), written and directed by Swiss-Kenyan Damien Hauser, takes us into Africa as you’ve never seen it before: in 2093, filmmaker Kuve visits Umata to document life after a war that banned modern tech. Local filmmaker Mumbi challenges him to create without AI, leading him to discover beauty in life’s simple moments.
Noir (Turkey) is a dark, bold, and wryly funny portrait of a violent, matriarchal Turkish family whose suspicions about an outsider escalate in the wake of the death of a family member. A true auteur film with stunning, innovative visuals and searing performances. Directed and written by Ragip Ergun, the film will have its international premiere.
Spring Came on Laughing (Egypt) is a black comedy anthology featuring four tales and a captivating finale. From a chaotic brunch-turned-marriage-proposal to a raging birthday bash, misunderstandings and chaos escalate. Accusations of theft shake a hair salon, while a wedding day turns into a nightmare. As the seasons shift, the autumn finale brings hope for rejuvenation. Directed and written by Noha Adel, this film will have its North American premiere.
Tony Odyssey (Brazil) is about Tony and his best friend Ivy, who plan to rob the bar where he’s trapped in servitude, stealing a reality-altering drug that launches them into a psychedelic odyssey. As they navigate extravagant, surreal visions and shattered memories, Tony searches for answers and the power to rewrite his fate—facing his past and confronting God himself. The film is directed and written by Thales Banzai.
Documentary features include I Got Bombed At Harvey’s (USA). In 1980, a 1,000-pound dynamite bomb was wheeled into Harvey’s Wagon Wheel Casino in Lake Tahoe with a $3 million ransom note demanding payment in 24 hours. As the bomb squad works to disarm it, the FBI rushes to catch the extortionists. The film is directed by Amy Bandlien Storkel and Bryan Storkel and will have its West Coast premiere.
The Moths & The Flame (USA) is a touching observational documentary about young, playful, caring Black fathers in Florida as they navigate the inevitable life changes around starting a family. It subverts stereotypes about young Black men, using a rigorous visual aesthetic to explore the vulnerability and humor of its subjects. Premiered at Berlinale 2026. Directed by Kevin Contento, the film will have its North American premiere.
A scene from Nuisance Bear, the closing night film at Mammoth Lakes Film Festival.
Nuisance Bear (Canada, USA, UK) is the Festival’s closing night film. A polar bear’s traditional migration path leads it into populated areas, sparking conflict between human interests and wild nature as the animal struggles to survive in a changing world. Directed by Gabriela Osio Vanden and Jack Weisman, the film won the 2026 Sundance Grand Jury Prize in the US Documentary Competition.
Sugarfly (USA) is a shockingly intimate and revealing portrait of two Native American drug addicts living in Seattle—both of them highly creative and intelligent old souls. A palpable emotional bond between the two men and the filmmaker allows us to witness the beauty of their spirits and the depth of their struggles with inner demons with great empathy, employing an unsettlingly stark visual approach. Directed by Max Schoenfeld, this film will have its world premiere,
Welded Together (Belarus) is a strikingly intimate and poetic verité look at 18-year-old Katya, whose life as a welder is full of daily struggles and harsh realities. She’s determined to protect her little sister from her alcoholic mother and child protective services, working hard for a better future for both of them. Directed by Anastasiya Miroshnichenko, the film will have its West Coast premiere.
A scene from Welded Together, featured in the Mammoth Lakes Film Festival lineup.
MLFF Spotlight presentations will include the opening-night Sierra Spirit Award presentation to Marlee Matlin. The Festival’s highest honor, the Sierra Spirit Award, is presented to someone who has forged a unique, independent path in film and television. MLFF will present the award to Academy Award®-winning actress Marlee Matlin as part of a special 40th-anniversary screening of Children of a Lesser God, featuring a moderated conversation about her career. Previous recipients include Academy Award-winning actress Melissa Leo, Joe Dante, John Sayles, and esteemed Groundlings alumni such as Cheri Oteri, Mindy Sterling, and Julia Sweeney.
Marlee Matlin is the youngest person to receive an Academy Award for Best Actress. Her other credits include Academy Award Best Picture winner Coda and Reasonable Doubts, which earned her two Golden Globe Award nominations and a People’s Choice Award, West Wing, and The L Word. She also received four Emmy nominations for her work on Seinfeld, Picket Fences, The Practice, and Law and Order: SVU. Matlin became the first deaf person to join the DGA, with her directorial debut for the series Accused.
Another spotlight includes Inborn (USA), with simple, shocking, darkly beautiful imagery and an extreme performance that dramatizes the psyche of a man deeply disappointed with his childhood, who seeks to recreate it by any means possible. Directed and written by Joey Hirsh, this film will have its world premiere.
Mountains of the Moon (USA) is about the unseen connections between sport, life, music, and the living earth set to the timeless tunes of the Grateful Dead. Captured almost entirely at night using cutting-edge cinematography, the film takes viewers on a surreal journey through ocean, river, and mountain landscapes. Featuring some of the world’s greatest athletes, adventurers, and thinkers. Directed and written by Chris Benchetler will have its world premiere.
One in a Million (USA, UK, Germany) is a sweeping epic shot over ten years, about a Syrian girl’s journey to Germany and back, as she and her family face the challenges of war and life as refugees, and experience culture shock—particularly around women’s roles in society. Directed by Itab Azzam and Jack Macinnes, One in a Million is a 2026 Sundance World Cinema Documentary Competition Audience Award Winner.
MLFF’s short films program will spotlight 32 narrative shorts, 15 documentary shorts, and 16 animation shorts, as well as a music video program and a screenplay competition. A new addition to the festival this year is Reel Flavors & Fine Vines, a wine and food pairing event held on Saturday, May 23, with winemaker Rachel Stellareese Davies of Stellareese Wine of Napa Valley and amuse-bouches from the House Chef at the new Limelight Mammoth Hotel & Residences, which features luxury hotel rooms and residences just steps from the village gondola and Mammoth Ski Area.
For 2026, MLFF jurors include: Carlos Aguilar (RogerEbert.com), Allison Amon (EP, Superconductor), Kimberley Browning (Tribeca), James Costa (Producer, Queendom), Allison Foreman (Indiewire), Shaun Hill (Indican Pictures), Oded Horowitz (Greenwich Entertainment), Randal Kleiser (Director, Grease), Kiva Reardon (former TIFF programmer), Pat Saperstein (Variety), and Katherine Tulich (AP & RogerEbert.com). Over $40,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded to this year’s films and screenplays in competition across eleven categories. Winners will be announced at the Awards Ceremony on Sunday, May 24.
For more information and to attend, visit MammothLakesFilmFestival.com.
