The Santa Fe International Film Festival (SFiFF) will open with Netflix’s Frankenstein, the highly anticipated film from Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, and close with James Vanderbilt’s Nuremberg. The festival will take place October 15–20, 2025.
Frankenstein is a profoundly moving meditation on love, creation, and the human condition. Drawing inspiration from Mary Shelley’s groundbreaking novel while infusing it with his signature blend of gothic imagination and emotional depth, del Toro reimagines the timeless story for a new generation. The film explores not only the terror and wonder of creation, but also the loneliness, yearning, and moral dilemmas that bind its characters together. The cast includes Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, and Christoph Waltz.
“Cinema is essential. We are honored to present so many of the most exciting films of the year by some of the world’s top directors. This program will dazzle and delight a sophisticated film audience here in Santa Fe,” said Jacques Paisner, Santa Fe International Film Festival’s artistic director.
Academy Award®-nominee Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value (Norway’s official entry for the Academy Award’s Best International Feature), starring Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, and Elle Fanning, has been selected as the Spotlight Selection. The Centerpiece Selection, Steal This Story, Please!, directed by Academy Award® nominees Carl Deal and Tia Lessin, offers a compelling exploration of authorship, originality, and cultural ownership. Serving as the Closing Night Selection, James Vanderbilt’s Nuremberg, starring Russell Crowe, Rami Malek, Michael Shannon, and Colin Firth, delivers a powerful dramatization of one of history’s most consequential trials.
In addition, the 2025 program features an extraordinary slate of new works from many of today’s most celebrated filmmakers. Headlining the lineup is Academy Award®-nominee Bradley Cooper’s Is This Thing On?, following the acclaim of Maestro and featuring Cooper in a leading role. Academy Award®-nominee Luca Guadagnino returns with After the Hunt, starring Julia Roberts and Ayo Edebiri, while Academy Award®-winner Paolo Sorrentino presents La Grazia, led by Toni Servillo. Academy Award®-nominee Richard Linklater is represented with two highly anticipated features: Blue Moon, starring Ethan Hawke, and Nouvelle Vague, Linklater’s love letter to cinema reimagining the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless. Additional highlights include Academy Award®-nominee Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly starring George Clooney and Adam Sandler, Nia DaCosta’s Hedda starring Tessa Thompson, and Jafar Panahi’s politically resonant It Was Just an Accident. Rounding out this distinguished selection are Kleber Mendonça Filho’s The Secret Agent (Brazil’s official entry for the Academy Award’s Best International Feature) and Clint Bentley’s Train Dreams starring Joel Edgerton.
The program also encompasses a wide-ranging selection of international cinema that amplifies new voices and bold artistic visions. Ugo Bienvenu’s Arco, Dolores Fonzi’s Belén, and Robb Moss’s The Bend in the River highlight innovative approaches to storytelling, while Bi Gan’s Resurrection, Lav Diaz’s Magellan (Philippines’s official entry for the Academy Award’s Best International Feature), and Radu Jude’s Kontinental ’25 continue the tradition of formally daring world cinema. Acclaimed filmmakers such as Christian Petzold (Miroirs No 3), Ira Sachs (Peter Hujar’s Day), Oliver Laxe (Sirât), Sergei Loznitsa (Two Prosecutors), and Hlynur Pálmason (The Love That Remains) contribute striking new works to the festival. The lineup also features Akinola Davies Jr.’s My Father’s Shadow, Hasan Hadi’s The President’s Cake, Hikari’s Rental Family, Max Walker-Silverman’s Rebuilding, Mascha Schilinski’s Sound of Falling, Roul Peck’s Orwell: 2+2=5, Park Chan wook’s No Other Choice (South Korea’s official entry for the Academy Award’s Best International Feature) and Neil Diamond and Joanne Robertson’s So Surreal: Behind the Masks, further expanding the festival’s reach across continents and genres.
Through this diverse and ambitious selection, SFiFF continues its mission to present bold, innovative, and artistically significant works that engage audiences and expand the reach of international cinema. As an Academy Award®-qualifying festival for short film, SFiFF also serves as a vital platform for filmmakers seeking to elevate their work onto the global stage.
As part of its 2025 edition, the festival will confer the Lifetime Achievement Award upon acclaimed actor, director, and activist Edward James Olmos. The honor recognizes his extraordinary career, his indelible contributions to film and television, and his tireless advocacy for Latino representation in the entertainment industry.
