Nukhufest 2026 will include select panel, workshop, and presentation blocks during our September 11 through September 17 festival week at Cinema Village in Lower Manhattan.

Theater #1 is a 155 seat theater with a stage, chairs, and microphones for live conversations. A panel can be a solo presentation, a moderated conversation, a multi-speaker discussion, a workshop, or a screening followed by a conversation.

A panel block may include:

• A solo speaker or host

• Multiple speakers on stage

• A moderator-led conversation

• A short presentation or workshop

• A film or video shown at the start of the program

• Audience Q&A

• A topic connected to media, journalism, culture, technology, distribution, funding, or independent film

• Films or videos shown as part of a panel do not need to be official Nukhufest competition selections.

Example topics:

• The Future of Independent Film Distribution

• How Media Journalists Can Build Community Around Film

• Audience-Powered Cinema and the Nuvee Club

• Funding Your First Feature

• The Role of Critics in the Algorithm Era

• How to Build a Sustainable Creative Practice

• From Short Film to Series

• AI, Authorship, and Independent Media

Panel proposals are reviewed by Nukhu before being added to the official festival schedule.