‘Wicked: For Good,’ ‘Nuremberg’ & ‘Train Dreams’ Filmmakers Set For Book To Screen Program At 2026 Palm Springs Film Festival

The Palm Springs Film Festival is bringing back its Book to Screen program for its 2026 edition, in partnership with Deadline, and on Tuesday unveiled the lineup.

Celebrating the intersection of literature and film while fostering meaningful conversations between creators and audiences, the program will feature conversations with Nuremberg filmmaker James Vanderbilt, the Trains Dreams duo of Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar, as well as Winnie Holzman, the Tony Award-nominated playwright and screenwriter behind Broadway’s Wicked and the recent pair of Wicked films from Universal, including this year’s Wicked: For Good.

Deadline’s Matt Grobar will moderate the conversations, taking place between January 5-9, 2026. For more information on this year’s crop of films, and when each panel is set to take place, read on.

Monday, January 5

9:30 a.m. Wicked: For Good with screenwriter Winnie Holzman

Universal Pictures’ epic conclusion to the untold story of the witches of Oz finds Elphaba and Glinda estranged and living with the consequences of their choices. With their singular friendship now the fulcrum of their futures, they will need to truly see each other, with honesty and empathy, if they are to change themselves, and all of Oz, for good.

Tuesday, January 6

9:30 a.m. Nuremberg with director/screenwriter James Vanderbilt

Sony Picture Classics’ Nuremberg follows the Allies, led by the unyielding chief prosecutor Robert H. Jackson, as they take on the task of ensuring the Nazi regime answers for the unveiled horrors of the Holocaust while a U.S. Army psychiatrist is locked in a dramatic psychological duel with former Reichsmarschall Herman Göring.

Friday, January 9

7:30 p.m. Train Dreams with director/screenwriter Clint Bentley and screenwriter Greg Kwedar

Based on the beloved novella by Denis Johnson, Netflix’s Train Dreams is the moving portrait of Robert Grainier, whose life unfolds during an era of unprecedented change in early 20th century America. Orphaned at a young age, Robert grows into adulthood among the towering forests of the Pacific Northwest, where he helps expand the nation’s railroad empire alongside men as unforgettable as the landscapes they inhabit. After a tender courtship, he marries Gladys and they build a home together, though his work often takes him far from her and their young daughter. When his life takes an unexpected turn, Robert finds beauty, brutality and newfound meaning for the forests and trees he has felled.