The 18th annual Film Benefit will recognize the filmmaker’s five-decade contribution to cinema on November 12 in New York
The Museum of Modern Art’s 2026 Film Benefit, presented by Chanel, will honor Academy Award-winning director and producer Steven Spielberg on November 12 in New York. The event will mark the 18th edition of MoMA’s annual Film Benefit, which supports the museum’s film collection and programming.
Spielberg has directed more than 35 feature films over a career spanning more than five decades and has received three Academy Awards and a record nine nominations for Best Director. His directing credits include Schindler’s List (1993), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Lincoln (2012), Bridge of Spies (2015), The Post (2017), West Side Story (2021), and The Fabelmans (2022). Most recently, he directed the science-fiction film Disclosure Day (2026).
As a producer, Spielberg holds the record for the most Best Picture nominations, with 14, including a win for Schindler’s List. He is also an EGOT recipient and has received the Kennedy Center Honor and the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award. His other distinctions include the Presidential Medal of Freedom, presented by President Barack Obama in 2015, and the National Medal of Arts, awarded by President Joe Biden in 2024.
Spielberg’s connection to MoMA dates to 1974, when the museum presented his work through its New Directors/New Films program. Eight of his films are now part of MoMA’s collection, including The Sugarland Express (1974), Jaws (1975), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), The Color Purple (1985), and Empire of the Sun (1987).
“MoMA’s support of Steven Spielberg extends back over a half-century, beginning when we helped introduce him to audiences as part of New Directors/New Films in 1974,” said Rajendra Roy, MoMA’s Celeste Bartos Chief Curator of Film. “Since then, he has repeatedly demonstrated that being an artist and an entertainer can be simultaneous aspirations, though few have mastered the combination as expertly as he has. His global influence is unparalleled, and his dedication to film preservation is inspiring and completely aligned with the Museum’s mission to save and celebrate film history.”
In conjunction with the benefit, MoMA will present a special screening series dedicated to Spielberg in the Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters. The programming will extend the tribute beyond the November event and highlight the filmmaker’s body of work within the museum’s broader film program.
Chanel has sponsored MoMA’s annual Film Benefit since 2011 and became the museum’s lead film sponsor in 2021. The partnership reflects the French house’s longstanding involvement with art and cinema, including support for film preservation and initiatives that elevate filmmakers and protect the medium’s cultural legacy.
Founded in 1935, MoMA’s Department of Film cares for more than 30,000 films and 1.5 million film stills, spanning established classics as well as experimental and contemporary works. Proceeds from the Film Benefit support the continued maintenance and growth of the collection, alongside film series, premieres, festivals, retrospectives, and virtual programming. Previous honorees have included Martin Scorsese, Tom Hanks, Cate Blanchett, Alfonso Cuarón, Quentin Tarantino, Pedro Almodóvar, Tilda Swinton, and Baz Luhrmann.