Nukhufest 2026 Announces Top 10 Finalists and Full Cinema Village Program

NEW YORK — The Nukhu Foundation has officially announced the Top 10 Finalists and complete schedule for its 11th annual Nukhufest. The seven-day festival will showcase 28 programs of independent film, panels, filmmaker Q&As, and workshops at Cinema Village in Manhattan from September 11 through September 17, 2026.

Selected by audience voting from 51 semi-finalists across 20 countries, the Top 10 lineup features acclaimed films previously screened at Sundance, Tribeca, SXSW, and the Chicago International Film Festival, with connections to notable talent such as Margaret Cho, Finn Wittrock, and Mac Miller.

Among the standout finalists is Half A Life, directed by twin brothers Sanjit and Ranjit Majumdar and starring Finn Wittrock. The film was partially shot at Graphics World studio in Jackson Heights, New York, with local media coordination and location selection support provided by journalist Akbar Haider Kiron.

Opening Night on Friday, September 11, will feature special guest remarks from Kwame Amoaku, Deputy Commissioner of the NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, alongside a panel on film journalism and cinema culture moderated by festival founder Sanjay Singh.

Highlights of the week include:

Thematic Screenings: Feature films, animated/experimental showcases, international projects, and New York-centered stories.

Industry Workshops: A distribution and marketing masterclass led by Gautam Singhani, PGA Post Production Committee Co-Chair, on September 13.

Community Panels: A discussion on sustaining independent film ecosystems featuring leaders from Minorities in Film, A-Doc, and Bitchitra Collective on September 16.

Closing Night: A complete theatrical presentation of all Top 10 Finalists on Thursday, September 17.

Audience voting remains open online through September 19 at 8 PM ET. The festival will conclude with an Awards Ceremony at Studio Exhibit on the Lower East Side on September 19, where the highest-voted film will receive the 2026 Best Nuvee title and a $3,000 Development-to-Distribution Grant.

Individual program tickets for Cinema Village screenings are available for $10 at nukhufoundation.org/nukhufest/schedule.