12th Miami Film Festival GEMS Unveils Lineup, Opening with Park Chan-wook’s ‘No Other Choice’

The 12th Miami Film Festival GEMS taking place from October 29 to November 5, 2025 will feature 40 films, opening with No Other Choice with director Park Chan-wook in attendance to receive the Precious Gem Master Award.

Based on Donald E. Westlake’s novel “The Ax,” the film follows Man-su on his desperate hunt for a new job after his abrupt layoff from the paper company he served for 25 years.

The Festival will close with Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery and feature Centerpiece screenings of Belén, Hamnet, Jay Kelly, Nuremberg, Sentimental Value, The Testament of Ann Lee and The Secret Agent.

In addition, two other Precious Gem Awards will be presented – one to Lucy Liu at a screening of Rosemead and another to Mona May at a 30th anniversary screening of “Clueless.”

Previously announced, Dylan O’Brien will receive the Vanguard Award, Ethan Hawke will receive the Variety Virtuoso Award, and Gus Van Sant will receive the Precious Gem Award.

“The 12th edition of GEMS brings together some of the most anticipated films of the season alongside daring new discoveries,” said Lauren Cohen, Director of Programming. “With 40 prestige titles, this is the largest GEMS line-up we have brought to our Miami audience to date. To be able to celebrate the work of incredible storytellers such as Noah Baumbach, Park Chan-wook, Guillermo del Toro, Paolo Sorrentino, Jafar Panahi, Luca Guadagnino, Rian Johnson, Richard Linklater, Gus Van Sant, and Chloé Zhao all in one lineup captures the richness and diversity of world cinema today. Beyond having the work of some of film world’s most established auteurs, we have 24 countries featured as well as 10 international official submissions to the 2026 Academy Awards. It is truly an astonishing year for cinema, and that’s really reflected in our program.”

“Audiences can expect GEMS 2025 to be one of our most memorable editions yet,” said James Woolley, Executive Director of the Festival. “As we continue to cement our place on the fall awards circuit, we are beyond thrilled to honor visionary filmmaker Park Chan-wook, trailblazing artist Lucy Liu and innovative costume designer Mona May along with Ethan Hawke, Dylan O’Brien & Gus Van Sant for their incredible contributions to the entertainment industry.”

The Festival will also screen “Canceled: The Paula Deen Story” with Miami director Billy Corben in attendance. “Canceled” revisits the meteoric rise and sudden downfall of one of America’s most iconic celebrity chefs. Paula Deen built a Southern culinary empire becoming a beloved TV personality. But in 2013, her admission to using a racial slur in the past ignited a media firestorm. Without formal investigation or due process, she became one of the first public figures to face full-blown “cancellation,” transforming into a lightning rod in the emerging culture wars and a symbol of social media mob justice.

Other notable films screenings at the 2025 GEMS Festival includes:

“A Poet” (Director, Simón Mesa Soto)
“A Private Life” (Director, Rebecca Zlotowski)
“After the Hunt” (Director, Luca Guadagnino)
“Arco” (Director, Ugo Bienvenu)
“Blue Moon” (Director, Richard Linklater)
“Canceled: The Paula Deen Story” (Director, Billy Corben)
“Castration Movie Part 1: Traps” (Director, Louise Weard)
“Christy” (Director, David Michôd)
“Cover-Up” (Directors, Laura Poitras, Mark Obenhaus)
“Dead Man’s Wire” (Director, Gus Van Sant)
“Deaf” (Director, Eva Libertad)
“Dreams” (Director, Michel Franco)
“Frankenstein” (Director, Guillermo del Toro)
“Fucktoys” (Director, Annapurna Sriram)
“Is This Thing On?” (Director, Bradley Cooper)
“It Was Just an Accident” (Director, Jafar Panahi)
“Jay Kelly” (Director, Noah Baumbach)
“La Grazia” (Director, Paolo Sorrentino)
“Late Shift” (Director, Petra Biondina Volpe)
“Left-Handed Girl” (Director, Shih-Ching Tsou)
“Love+War” (Directors, Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin)
“Nirvanna: the Band the Show the Movie” (Director, Matt Johnson)
“Nouvelle Vague” (Director, Richard Linklater)
“Rental Family” (Director, Hikari)
“Rosemead” (Director, Eric Lin)
“She Dances” (Director, Rick Gomez)
“Sirāt” (Director, Oliver Laxe)
“Slanted” (Director, Amy Wang)
“The Plague” (Director, Charlie Polinger)
“The President’s Cake” (Director, Hasan Hadi)
“Train Dreams” (Director, Clint Bentley)
“Twinless” (Director, James Sweeney)