The 13th annual Miami Film Festival GEMS is returning, beginning Thursday, Oct. 29, with eight days of red carpets, filmmaker Q&As, and an official slate featuring 50 feature narratives and documentaries from more than 20 countries.
Organized by Miami Dade College, the festival is viewed as a prime destination for early award-season previews.
“We see the excitement over GEMS build each year because people know they’re getting an early preview of the films that will shape this awards season. It’s a rare chance to see these titles before they’re available to the broader public,” said James Woolley, Miami Film Festival executive director, in a statement on Tuesday.
Opening, Closing, and Preview Screenings
The festival officially opens on Oct. 29 and runs through Nov. 5, with The Debut, a comedy-drama directed by Jesse Eisenberg and starring Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti. The film follows "a shy housewife whose plunge into method acting sparks a fierce showdown with a controlling community theater director."
Closing night on Thursday, Nov. 5 will present Jordan Firstman’s feature directorial debut, Club Kid, starring Firstman, Cara Delevingne, Diego Calva, and Miss Benny. The film is described as "a sharp comedy about a New York club promoter whose life is upended when the 10‑year‑old son he never knew arrives."
Ahead of the official opening, GEMS will host two Preview Night screenings:
— Wednesday, Oct. 14 (7 p.m. at Silverspot 13): Cristian Mungiu’s 2026 Palme d’Or winner Fjord, starring Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve.
— Tuesday, Oct. 20 (7 p.m. at Koubek Center): Wicker, directed by Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson and starring Olivia Colman as a lonely fisherwoman who "builds herself a husband out of wicker, only to find he has a mind of his own."
This year's slate features six designated Centerpiece films: Behemoth!, Being Heumann, Bunker, Elsinore, Paper Tiger, and Wild Horse Nine.
— Behemoth! (U.S.): Directed by Tony Gilmore, featuring Pedro Pascal as a touring cellist who returns home to Los Angeles after 20 years on the road.
— Being Heumann (U.S.): Directed by CODA filmmaker Siân Heder, chronicling disability-rights activist Judy Heumann’s pivotal 28-day occupation of a federal building in San Francisco.
— Bunker (France, Spain): Florian Zeller’s psychological drama starring Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz.
— Paper Tiger (U.S.): A 1986-set crime drama directed by James Gray, starring Miles Teller, Adam Driver, and Scarlett Johansson.
— Wild Horse Nine (Chile): Martin McDonagh's black comedy set shortly before the 1973 Chilean coup, starring Sam Rockwell, John Malkovich, and Steve Buscemi.
— The Gallerist (U.S., France): Cathy Yan’s dark comedy starring Natalie Portman as a struggling Miami gallerist who "tries to pass off a dead body as art during Art Basel Miami Beach."
GEMS is also hosting a special 20th Anniversary outdoor screening of Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens.
Venues and Ticket Information
Screenings and events will take place across multiple Miami venues, including Miami Dade College’s Chapman Center at the Wolfson Campus, the Koubek Center, Silverspot Cinema, Coral Gables Art Cinema, O Cinema, Bill Cosford Cinema at the University of Miami, Wolfsonian-FIU, and Vizcaya Museum and Gardens.
Individual tickets go on sale to the general public on Wednesday.
Complete schedule details and ticketing information are available at miamifilmfestival.com.
