5 Films to See at Middleburg 2026
Written by: Christopher Llewellyn Reed | October 10th, 2026
The 14th Middleburg Film Festival runs from Thursday, October 15, to Sunday, October 18, with 45 feature films plus an assortment of presentations and panels. Taking place in multiple venues in Middleburg, Virginia, the annual event always proves exciting, not only because of its programming but because of the many special guests who attend, many of them to receive awards. These attendees this year include actors Olivia Colman, Julianne Moore, Jack O’Connell, Bill Pullman, Seth Rogen, and Léa Seydoux, plus multi-hyphenate Jesse Eisenberg, writer/director Martin McDonagh, and many more.
I have seen a number of films in the 2026 slate, whether at previous festivals or through advance screeners. Below are five which I can personally recommend; where I have previously reviewed the film, I provide an excerpt from that review and link to the full text. All titles are hyperlinked to the movie’s page on the Middleburg website, where you will find ticket information.
Edward Said: Between Worlds (Maiken Baird) [excerpted from my Hammer to Nail review from the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival]
It can be a challenging prospect, in 2026, to express sympathy for the plight of Palestinians, so wrapped up is their past, present, and future in the fate of Israel. Officially created in 1948, that country exists on land that at one point was owned and cultivated in part by populations now either exiled or condensed into Gaza and the West Bank. While he was alive, academic and activist Edward Said (1935-2003)—born in Jerusalem—was an outspoken defender of Palestinian rights. In the gripping new documentary Edward Said: Between Worlds, from director Maiken Baird (Ghislaine Maxwell: Filthy Rich)—who is also attending the festival in person—we learn all about his life, work, and enduring passion for justice.
Elsinore (Simon Stone) [excerpted from my Hammer to Nail review from the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival]
In 1989, actor Daniel Day-Lewis walked off the stage of London’s National Theatre in the middle of performing Hamlet. As one can imagine, this plunged the production into some turmoil. Looking for a new star to take on the role, artistic director Richard Eyre eventually landed on Ian Charleson, a friend of his who was most famous for playing Scottish runner Eric Liddell in the 1981 historical epic (and smash hit and Oscar-winner) Chariots of Fire. Now, in Elsinore, director Simon Stone (The Dig) revisits that moment through the lens of Charleson’s experience, though the movie is about significantly more than Hamlet. Still, the play holds a central place in the narrative, the vehicle through which we grow to understand Charleson the actor and man. He died in 1990, of complications from AIDS just two months after his National Theatre run. This film, starring the great Andrew Scott (Pressure) as Charleson, is a tribute to his life and work and to the suffering and resilience within the gay community at that time.
Fjord (Cristian Mungiu) [excerpted/adapted from my review for this site from the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival]
In Fjord, the latest film from Romanian writer/director Cristian Mungiu (Graduation)—who won his second Cannes Palme d’Or in May of this year—we find ourselves immersed in the life of a small waterside town. The Gheorghius, a Romanian-Norwegian family, have moved from Romania to Norway for a fresh start and better opportunities. Deeply religious in a way that sets them apart from the community, they are not shy about their beliefs. But otherwise they appear to adjust well to the new circumstances. Mihai (Sebastian Stan, A Different Man, acting in his native language) is the patriarch and Lisbet (Renate Reinsve, Sentimental Value), the mother. When their eldest daughter shows up at school with bruises, the teachers assume the worst and call Child Welfare Services, beginning an ordeal that serves no one well. This is a movie that asks its audience a lot of hard questions about liberalism and compassion, and what it means to live in a pluralistic society. There are no easy answers, which is why it’s essential viewing for our time.
Josephine (Beth de Araújo) [excerpted/adapted from my Hammer to Nail review from the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival]
In Josephine, writer/director Beth de Araújo (Soft & Quiet) has created a harrowing drama about a child witnessing something terrible. The titular 8-year-old is the only one who can definitively place a violent criminal at the scene, even if she doesn’t fully understand what she saw. As difficult to watch as the film may be, it is also gripping and profound. Starring Channing Tatum (Fly Me to the Moon, Gemma Chan (The Creator), and a remarkable young actress named Mason Reeves, the film follows its titular girl through the harrowing trauma of witnessing a sexual assault and then, as the only witness, having to testify in court. We observe as Josephine and her parents struggle, each in their own way, relationships fracturing over time. De Araújo often places us directly inside Josephine’s point of view, the camera presenting the world as she sees it, then shifting for a more objective perspective. It’s tough going, but well worth the experience.
The Only Living Pickpocket in New York (Noah Segan) [excerpted/adapted from my Hammer to Nail reviewfrom the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival]
In his latest film, The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, writer/director Noah Segan crafts an alternatingly tense and rambling thriller with a delightfully lived-in quality, animated by sharp performances from its talented ensemble. The stakes are highest when the chips are down, and the narrative landscape shifts quickly as tensions rise. Even a lifelong loser deserves to win sometimes. Or lose again. John Turturro (The Cut) plays Harry, the titular criminal. He’s a thief with an honor code; well, at any rate he’s sort of a nice guy, tipping his wife’s caretaker despite his protestations that it’s not necessary. If he only robs rich jerks, then who are we to judge? Unfortunately, he one day picks the wrong mark, and things turn sour from there. Steve Buscemi (The Dead Don’t Die, Jamie Lee Curtis (Haunted Mansion), and Giancarlo Esposito (Abigail) hop on board for the ride, and it’s a wild and thrilling one all the way through.
In addition, Olivia Wilde’s The Invite (which I reviewed over the summer) is also playing in a special screening (to be introduced by Seth Rogen).
Christopher Llewellyn Reed
Chris Reed is the editor of Film Festival Today. A member of both the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) and the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA), and a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, Chris is, in addition, lead film critic at Hammer to Nail and the author of Film Editing: Theory and Practice.