Major Film Festival Announces Surprise Opening Night Lineup
AFI Fest 2025 Unveils Springsteen Biopic as Opener Alongside Record-Breaking Slate of 160+ Films
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 1, 2025 — The American Film Institute has announced that AFI Fest 2025 will open with “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere,” starring Jeremy Allen White as Bruce Springsteen, on Oct. 22 at Hollywood’s TCL Chinese Theatres. The festival, presented by Canva and led by guest artistic director Guillermo del Toro, will run through Oct. 26 with an expanded slate of more than 160 films.
The opening night selection will be joined by high-profile premieres including “Song Sung Blue” starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, and “The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants.” According to The Hollywood Reporter, the 2025 program features seven red carpet premieres, 12 special screenings, 20 world cinema selections, 15 documentaries, and six after-dark titles, representing the festival’s largest program in recent memory. The comprehensive lineup also includes Venice Film Festival winners Jim Jarmusch’s “Father Mother Sister Brother” and Kaouther Ben Hania’s “The Voice of Hind Rajab.”
Industry research demonstrates that fall film festivals remain critical launchpads for independent cinema, with specialty box office revenue for festival-premiered films increasing 18% year-over-year. The AFI Conservatory Showcase will present 23 works from emerging directors, while the documentary section includes 15 titles from filmmakers including Gianfranco Rosi and Laura Poitras. The shorts competition encompasses nearly 70 entries across multiple categories.
“With more than 90 features and nearly 70 shorts, AFI Fest 2025 will be our biggest program in recent memory,” said AFI Fest director Todd Hitchcock. “But more importantly, this year’s selection reflects a diversity of viewpoints, artistry and daring from filmmakers across the globe. Having Guillermo del Toro as our guest artistic director elevates our mission to celebrate cinema as both art and cultural dialogue.”
The festival’s Unstoppable program spotlights works by creators with disabilities, addressing representation gaps in mainstream media where recent studies show less than 2% of speaking characters in major studio films have disabilities. Additional premieres include Werner Herzog’s “Ghost Elephants” and Charlie Kaufman’s “How to Shoot a Ghost” starring Jessie Buckley. Festival passes and individual tickets are available at afi.com/afifest with student and industry discounts.
About AFI Fest
Presented by the American Film Institute, AFI Fest is an annual film festival held in Los Angeles that showcases the best in global cinema. As the only festival of its stature in North America free to the public, AFI Fest champions artists and emerging voices through screenings, conversations, and special events. The 2025 edition runs Oct. 22-26 in Hollywood.
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