New York's Fall Film Season Already Has a Shortlist of Seven

The 2026 New York Film Festival has produced a crop worth tracking, and Elle narrowed it to seven titles. Among the directors on that list are Nathan Fielder and Ava DuVernay, two names that earn a second look from anyone who follows what arrives on this city's screens each autumn. For a title that watches who steps out, and where, in New York, a festival's standout slate reads as the advance program for the season ahead. Those seven are the ones to remember.

With reporting from Elle.