The Macon Film Festival (MFF) is thrilled to announce its 21st annual event, taking place next Thursday, August 20th through Sunday, August 23rd, 2026 with an additional FREE community screening on Wednesday, August 19th at The Douglass Theatre to kick off the festival.

Over the multi-day event, the 2026 Macon Film Festival will host daily film screenings, immersive experiences, student workshops, celebrity guests, filmmaker Q&As, community panels, after-parties, and more. Screenings will be held across four iconic cultural venues in the heart of the city: The Douglass Theatre, the Museum of Arts and Sciences, Theatre Macon, and The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.

Saturday Night Screening and Special Guest:

• Donnie Darko with Special Guest Mary McDonnell (Saturday, Aug. 22): This year’s Saturday Night Special Screening will feature cult classic, Donnie Darko, and a Q&A with special guest, Mary McDonnell. All media interview requests for Mary must be made in advance and are subject to approval. Doors will open at 6:45 PM for this one-of-a-kind experience, and the screening will be followed by a 21+ All Access Pass holder After Party at The Rose Room in downtown, Macon.

MARY MCDONNELL is a two-time Oscar-nominated actress known for bringing powerful and complex female characters to the film and television landscape.

McDonnell most recently starred as Madeline Usher in the hit Netflix Miniseries The Fall of the House of Usher, written and directed by Mike Flanagan. She has been nominated for a Critics Choice Award for her portrayal of the powerful matriarch of the Usher family.

McDonnell recently starred as “Commander Sharon Raydor” on TNT’s hit series, Major Crimes, where she earned an Emmy Nomination for her portrayal of a woman at the pinnacle of her career navigating leadership in the traditionally male-dominated field of law enforcement. The series was honored by multiple community organizations including the LAPD, LAPD Reserve Foundation, GLSEN, Imagen Foundation and Covenant House. 

McDonnell starred in Syfy’s AFI and Peabody award-winning Battlestar Galactica in her critically-praised performance as ‘President Laura Roslin’ (2008 Saturn Award - Best Actress on Television). An allegory of 9/11 and the War in Iraq, the series was widely acclaimed for its examination of the issues of war and human rights, and in 2009, McDonnell appeared on a panel at the United Nations to discuss the parallels between the show and real-world issues of terrorism, race relations and gender equality. 

McDonnell’s Broadway credits include Tennessee Williams' Summer and Smoke, the title role in Wendy Wasserstein's Pulitzer Prize-winning The Heidi Chronicles and Emily Mann’s Execution of Justice.  

Extensive film credits include Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for her portrayals of “Stands with Fist” in the Academy Award-winning film Dances with Wolves and as a paraplegic soap opera star in John Sayles' Passion Fish. Other films include Lawrence Kasdan’s Grand Canyon and Mumford, Sneakers opposite Robert Redford and Sidney Poitier, cult classic film Donnie Darko, and Independence Day.

In 2015, McDonnell received the Gina Award from Women in Film, and the Leadership Excellence Advocacy (LEA) Award in 2017 from Women in Cable Telecommunications. In 2018, McDonnell was honored with the Pell Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts, presented by Trinity Repertory Company. Currently, McDonnell is producing projects for TV and film.

All media interview requests for Mary must be made in advance and are subject to approval.