New York Asian Film Festival 2026
July 10–23 at FLC
This year’s program features more than 50 filmmakers, ranging from acclaimed veterans to exciting new voices, who will be on hand for post-screening Q&As and special appearances, giving audiences an insider’s look into the stories behind their work.
Tickets will go on sale on Thursday, June 18 at 2pm, with an early access period for FLC and NYAFF Members starting on Thursday, June 18 at noon.
Complete lineup to be announced soon! Sign up for updates.
Twenty-five years ago, the New York Asian Film Festival started by screening the most exciting new films from Hong Kong, Korea, and Japan. A quarter century on, Film at Lincoln Center (FLC) and the New York Asian Film Foundation announce the first highlights of the 25th New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF), a landmark anniversary edition celebrating 25 years of championing the filmmakers, stars, and cinematic movements that have shaped the future of Asian cinema. Running from July 10 to July 26 across five New York venues, including Film at Lincoln Center, SVA Theatre, IFC Center, Anthology Film Archives, and the Korean Cultural Center New York, NYAFF 2026 marks a major milestone for North America’s leading festival of Asian cinema. Screenings at FLC take place July 10–23, and two venues are homecomings: Anthology Film Archives (where the festival began in 2002) on July 16–18, and IFC Center (the festival’s home for four formative editions) on July 13, 15, 16, and 22.
“We are proud to support the 25th edition of the New York Asian Film Festival, and uplift the stories of Asian communities in NYC and beyond,” said Commissioner Rafael Espinal of the NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. “Festivals like NYAFF are an extremely vital part of the city’s filmmaking and entertainment ecosystem, and create platforms and opportunities to expose New Yorkers to new and diverse storytelling.”
Opening Night on July 10 at FLC will feature the North American premiere of Yeon Sang-ho’s Colony, the highly anticipated Korean box-office sensation fresh from its world premiere in Cannes’ Midnight Screenings program—the same section that launched Train to Busan 10 years ago. Already the fastest Korean hit of the year, the film locks its survivors inside a central Seoul high-rise while a virus tears through the floors quicker than anyone can say “zombie.” Jun Ji-hyun (Gianna Jun) plays the biotech professor who turns reluctant hero, alongside Ji Chang-wook, Koo Kyo-hwan, and Shin Hyun-been. Yeon Sang-ho will be in person on Opening Night ahead of the film’s August 28 theatrical release.
Colony arrives after Korean cinema’s strongest box-office rebound since the pandemic. NYAFF is planning a special presentation of the year’s other biggest hit: The King’s Warden, now the highest-grossing Korean film of all time, starring Yoo Hae-jin (Exhuma) and Park Ji-hoon. One film broke the all-time record. The other got to the top faster than anything else this year. Both are at the 25th edition of NYAFF.
Following Colony’s premiere on July 10, the Opening Night Market returns to the Frieda and Roy Furman Gallery at Film at Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater for an annual gathering of the NYAFF community with live music and Asian street food.
The festival is presented with major support from the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in New York (HKETONY), The Ministry of Culture of Thailand and the Department of Cultural Promotion, Fundstrat Global Advisors, BitMine, Cathay Pacific, Taipei Cultural Center of TECO in New York, Korean Cultural Center New York (KCCNY), and Korean Film Council (KOFIC) whose partnership amplifies Asian cinema’s most vital voices.
