2026 Festival Program
Three days of screenings, panels, pitches, and celebration — April 17–19 at the NYU Production Lab and Cantor Film Center, New York City.
FREE TICKETS
PlayersTV Pitch Contest
NYU filmmakers pitch original sports documentary concepts to a panel of industry judges for a chance to win $500 and a development meeting with festival producers. Open to all registered festival guests.
Judges
Opening Night Features
The festival opens with back-to-back feature documentary premieres, followed by filmmaker remarks and a closing mixer.
Post-Opening Night Reception
Cap off Opening Night with an exclusive celebration open to all festival guests. Mix with filmmakers, industry guests, NYU faculty, and fellow sports film enthusiasts in a relaxed, festive atmosphere — with a live DJ keeping the energy going all night.
Gersh U
Presented by the Gersh Agency, Gersh U is a series of three industry panels designed to connect students and emerging creatives with working professionals across sports, media, and entertainment. Doors open at 1:00pm. Each panel runs approximately 45 minutes, with a DJ setting the atmosphere between sessions.
Game Time
1:30 – 2:15pmThis featured conversation brings Que Gaskins into dialogue with Jayson Council, Head of Culture at Gersh Talent Agency, for an in-depth look at the intersection of sports, storytelling, and cultural influence.
The Power of Intersectionality: Community, Impact, and Sports & Film
2:30 – 3:15pmThis conversation brings together two professionals working at the intersection of sports, culture, and community impact. Ionie Banner approaches the industry through data, equity, and philanthropy — focusing on how strategy and infrastructure can drive meaningful, community-centered outcomes. Caleb Miner, a marketing strategist who has worked with brands like PUMA, NASCAR, and athletes including Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony, brings a cultural and creative lens to how sports live beyond the scoreboard.
Real Talk with Gersh Sports & Film
3:30 – 4:15pmA direct look into the business of sports through the voices of those building careers behind the scenes. Deirunas Visockas, Executive Vice President of Gersh Sports and a certified NBPA agent, brings deep expertise in player representation and global basketball. He's joined by Jared Thompson, Vice President in Alternative Programming across unscripted television and brand partnerships, Julia Benavides, who specializes in talent management for sports media personalities and athletes navigating the entertainment space, and Schuyler Roos, a Talent Coordinator at Gersh based in New York who is passionate about finding opportunities for athletes to integrate across other forms of entertainment.
Night 2 Shorts Screening
The first of two short film programs features documentary selections from NYU and independent filmmakers, followed by a live filmmaker Q&A.
Spit Out Your Bones
14:51A Filipino-American baseball pitcher pushes his body to the limit in order to live up to the pressures put on him by his family and his team.
SHOWTIME
19:16Mattia, a rising basketball talent, dreams of playing in the championship final in front of his father. When faced with yet another announced absence, he decides he will do whatever it takes to make sure his father sees him play.
La Liga
25:00In rural Vermont, immigrant dairy farm workers endure hardship and persecution while forging community through soccer.
Bloodshed: The Story of Battling Nelson v. Ad Wolgast
17:45At the turn of the 20th century, two rising boxers meet at the biggest stage — a match that will decide the world lightweight title. In the wake of a mind-boggling 40-round title bout, Battling Nelson and Ad Wolgast find their lives forever changed, and forever intertwined.
Bleeding Edge
15:21A young Korean-American figure skater must bear the tough-love parenting of her mother, the mind games of her coach, and her own insidious self-doubt as she recovers from an injury.
Playing Through
28:00This documentary follows Carlos Rodriguez — a Vietnam veteran, renowned martial artist, and unexpected golf teacher — as he trains for his first PGA event in decades. His extraordinary life proves that anyone can not just overcome, but master, anything — and do so with empathy, authenticity, and harmony.
NYU Sports Doc Course Screening
A special in-festival showcase of films produced by students enrolled in NYU's Sports Documentary course. Films are followed by a dedicated reception celebrating the work of the next generation of sports filmmakers.
Night 3 Shorts Screening
The closing short film program features documentary and narrative selections, followed by a filmmaker Q&A before the Awards Ceremony.
Lunch Box
12:00Over the course of three days, a team of underdog, misfit kids seek a victory on the schoolyard against their all-star classmates and win the prize lunch box.
Ball for Life
7:59A police officer struggles to stay connected to his community and uses handball as his escape, keeping in touch with the last piece of the person he once was.
The Itinerant
5:35Follow athlete and writer Naima Zanoguera on a spiritual journey as she contemplates trail running as it speaks to personal and collective identity — a contemplative visual exploration of what it means to belong.
Hold On
28:00After being diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, 69-year-old Ruth Grover turns to rock climbing to fight back, building strength, community, and pursuing one defining climb that becomes her symbol of resilience.
Shifting Courts
10:30In a coastal village in Bali, five children train for a pickleball tournament as the sport takes root in Indonesia — a rare symbol of connection where cultures and generations meet amid mass tourism and the erosion of identity.
The Lion of Teranga
14:10While chasing a championship with his team, a young basketball player is drawn into an unsettling incident with his coach, threatening his friendship with his closest teammate.
My Father, HSV, and the Nazis – Football under Fascists
29:25After his father's death, a Swedish man discovers documents from Nazi Germany revealing a footballer sent to a concentration camp — and his father's true identity — after years of research that brings Hamburg football's dark history to life.
Awards Ceremony & Networking Reception
The 6th Annual NYUSFF closes with its Awards Ceremony, celebrating the best films and filmmakers of the festival across all four competition categories, plus the Pitch Contest, Photography Prize, and the coveted Jury Grand Prize. Followed by a final networking reception open to all attendees.