Sundays with Steven at MoMA in Midtown, NYC: Spielberg Screenings and Film Benefit

The Museum of Modern Art in Midtown is running a special screening series built around Steven Spielberg, timed with its 2026 Film Benefit. On November 12, the 18th annual benefit, presented by Chanel, will honor the director in New York.

The benefit raises money for MoMA's film collection and programming, including screenings, retrospectives and festivals. The collection holds more than 30,000 films and 1.5 million film stills. Earlier honorees include Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Pedro Almodóvar, Guillermo del Toro, Sofia Coppola, George Clooney, Tom Hanks, Cate Blanchett, Penélope Cruz and Samuel L. Jackson. Chanel has sponsored the event since 2011.

Spielberg's history with the museum goes back to 1974, when MoMA presented his work in its New Directors/New Films program. Eight of his films are now in the collection: The Sugarland Express (1974), Jaws (1975), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) are among them, along with The Color Purple and Empire of the Sun. Rajendra Roy, MoMA's Celeste Bartos Chief Curator of Film, said the museum's support extends back more than half a century. He added that Spielberg showed being an artist and an entertainer can be simultaneous aspirations.

Spielberg has directed more than 35 features and won three Academy Awards, with a record nine Best Director nominations. As a producer he holds the record for Best Picture nominations with 14, including a win for Schindler's List. His most recent film is the science-fiction title Disclosure Day (2026). MoMA has also pointed to his film preservation work as closely aligned with its own mission to protect film history.

(Details are drawn from points that agree across reports by The Impression, Open Magazine.)