“Clemency” is kicking off the 48th annual New Directors/New Films Festival. A press release from the Museum of Modern Art and the Film Society of Lincoln Center named Chinonye Chukwu’s Alfre Woodard-starrer as the fest’s Opening Film. Scheduled to take place March 27-April 7 in New York, this year’s lineup includes 24 features and 11 shorts, highlighting filmmakers who “represent the present and anticipate the future of cinema.”

“Clemency” made its world premiere at Sundance, where it took home the the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize. Written and directed by Chukwu, the drama centers on a morally conflicted prison warden who carries out death row executions. “I want [audiences] to be thinking about the ecosystem of humanities tied to not just capital punishment, but incarceration and the prison industrial complex,” Chukwu told us.

Another Sundance winner, Pippa Bianco’s “Share,” will close New Directors/New Films. The pic tells the story of a 16-year-old girl (Rhianne Barreto) whose sexual assault is recorded via cell phone. Sundance recognized Barreto with a U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award Achievement in Acting and Bianco with the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award Dramatic.

Other titles set to screen at the fest include Lila Avilés’ “The Chambermaid,” a portrait of a chambermaid working at a high-end Mexico City hotel, and “Honeyland,” a documentary about the last female bee-keeper in Europe co-helmed by Tamara Kotevska.

“Demanding our attention and exemplifying the vitality of contemporary cinema, this year’s class of emerging directors is one of the most courageous in years,” said Rajendra Roy, the Celeste Bartos Chief Curator of Film at The Museum of Modern Art. “Ready to investigate the deepest pain as well as celebrate profound humanity, these filmmakers are the brave new champions of our beloved art form.”

For more information about the fest including its complete lineup, head over to its website.