ND/NF festival standouts

New Directors/New Films entered its second week with five films — “Leviticus,” “Cold Metal,” “Kika,” “Strange River,” and “Brand New Landscape” — drawing the strongest early critical attention. (filmlinc.org) The 55th edition of the festival runs April 8 through April 19, 2026, at Film at Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Organizers said this year’s program includes 24 features and 10 shorts, with 17 North American premieres, three United States premieres, and 13 New York premieres. (filmlinc.org) “Leviticus,” Adrian Chiarella’s 88-minute Australian debut, opened the festival as a New York premiere after first screening in Sundance’s Midnight section. MoMA describes it as a horror film about two boys in a town where religious fanatics try to “cure” queer desire. (moma.org) “Cold Metal,” directed by Clemente Castor, arrives with a recent festival prize: the Prix Georges de Beauregard at FIDMarseille. Film at Lincoln Center describes the 102-minute Mexico-set film as a nonlinear story of two brothers moving through suburban Mexico City, rehab, and underground caverns. (filmlinc.org) “Kika,” Alexe Poukine’s 2025 feature, is a New York premiere centered on a Brussels social worker played by Manon Clavel. MoMA says the film follows Kika from a new romance into single motherhood and sex work after a personal tragedy. (moma.org) “Strange River,” Jaume Claret Muxart’s 105-minute debut, came to New York after its 2025 Venice premiere. Film at Lincoln Center says the Spain-Germany production follows 16-year-old Dídac during a Danube vacation shaped by family tensions, sexual awakening, and recurring visions of another boy. (filmlinc.org) “Brand New Landscape,” Yuiga Danzuka’s debut feature, premiered in Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes in 2025 before landing in this year’s New York lineup. Film at Lincoln Center says the film watches a delivery driver reconnect with his estranged father against the redevelopment of Shibuya. (filmlinc.org) The cluster of attention around those five titles fits the way New Directors/New Films is built. IndieWire called the 2026 edition a “vintage lineup” and singled out both “Leviticus” and “Kika” among its 10 must-see selections before the festival opened. (indiewire.com) Festival coverage after opening weekend narrowed further. In Review Online’s first New Directors/New Films dispatch, published April 13, grouped “Leviticus,” “Kika,” “Strange River,” “Brand New Landscape,” and “Cold Metal” together as the first set of films under review from the festival. (inreviewonline.com) That early sorting matters at New Directors/New Films because the festival has long served as a New York showcase for directors at the start of their careers. MoMA says past editions introduced work by filmmakers including Kelly Reichardt, Spike Lee, Lynne Ramsay, Denis Villeneuve, and Luca Guadagnino. (moma.org) The festival still runs through April 19, with more screenings and filmmaker Q and As scheduled in both venues. For now, the first clear pattern of the 2026 edition is that five titles have separated from the pack before closing weekend. (filmlinc.org)