Urbanworld Film Festival 2026: The 30th Edition Opens at Union Square

Urbanworld Film Festival turns 30 this year, running October 14–18, 2026, at Regal Union Square, 850 Broadway. The festival is built around the work of multicultural filmmakers and the audiences who follow them, and this anniversary edition is billed as the "Road to 30."

The program has four parts: premieres and screenings; filmmaker networking, which in past years has included a lunch hosted at the Directors Guild of America; parties and nightlife events; and the Innovation Summit, which looks at where film meets technology and new media. The full lineup is listed on the festival's schedule page.

Urbanworld is the signature initiative of the Urbanworld Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to broaden the presence and impact of the multicultural community in cinema and cross-platform media. HBO is its founding partner, and Warner Bros. Discovery is the prestige partner. The festival's alumni include directors and writers such as Ava DuVernay and Nelson George, who have spoken about it on the site.

Passes are on sale now on the festival's website. Union Square is one of the city's best-connected subway hubs, which makes the festival easy to reach for a single screening or for the full five days.