5 Art-Inspired Films to Put on Your Radar

A gallerist tries to sell a dead body at Art Basel Miami. Such is the premise of Cathy Yan’s The Gallerist, starring Natalie Portman, Charli xcx, and Jenna Ortega. It premiered at January’s Sundance Film Festival, and while it’s yet to land a wider release, the film, and its gloriously absurd premise, seemed to set off a chain across the theaters and festival circuit: a sudden appetite for art world mystique.

Cinephiles are particularly well-fed this season. Between Obsession and Backrooms, horror is having another scorching summer, but so too is contemporary art. Before the Venice Film Festival opens the gates for September’s stacked calendar — from Frieze London and Seoul to The Armory Show in New York — consider these releases your fall warm-up.

I Want Your Sex dir. Gregg Araki

Sex, crime, and art are the big three in Gregg Araki’s silver-screen homecoming, I Want Your Sex, which premiered at the top of 2026 at the Sundance Film Festival. Olivia Wilde plays Erika Tracy, an art star and provocateur, opposite Cooper Hoffman as Elliot, her apathetic Gen Z assistant, alongside more than several notable names, like Charli, Chase Sui Wonders, Daveed Diggs, and Margaret Cho. The film is now showing in U.S. theaters nationwide.

Joie de Vivre dir. Luca Guadagnino

Clocking in at seven hours, Joie de Vivre is Luca Guadagnino’s odyssey of a documentary dedicated to the legendary Italian artist and filmmaker, Bernardo Bertolucci. This is Guadagnino’s second cinematic project surrounding his artistic mentor after Bertolucci on Bertolucci (2013), which he dubs his “most personal” film, and is set to premiere Out of Competition at the upcoming Venice Film Festival later this month.

Barrio Triste dir. Stillz

Barrio Triste isn’t about the art world, per se, but with Bad Bunny collaborator Stillz as director, EDGLRD on production, and a soundtrack by Arca, the stacked team makes it a natural next-up on our list. The found-footage work, which premiered at the 2025 Venice Film Festival, follows four teenagers in a hauntingly tender portrait of late ’80s Medellín, Colombia. The film is currently showing in select theaters across the U.S.

Avedon dir. Ron Howard

After a standout Cannes premiere, Ron Howard’s Richard Avedon documentary is coming to Netflix later this year. The film traces Avedon’s life and legacy, “whose work continues to resonate not only because of the extraordinary images he created, but because of the humanity and curiosity behind them,” as the director put it. Drawing on personal archives, never-before-seen photos, and new interviews with collaborators, Avedon promises an unprecedented look at the photographer that changed American fashion forever.

The Thomas Crown Affair dir. Michael B. Jordan

Michael B. Jordan trades bank robberies for art theft in his reimagining of the 1968 heist classic. Starring and directed by Jordan, the film’s first look is already packed with major art historical cameos, including works by Francisco Goya, Kerry James Marshall, Caravaggio, and Vincent van Gogh. “The first two films were about rich white guys stealing for fun,” Jordan told Variety. “That doesn’t land today. Ours is more personal. The stakes are higher. Still got the fashion, romance.” With a trailer fresh from Amazon MGM, The Thomas Crown Affair is bound for theaters on March 5, 2027.