Kicking off a week earlier than usual, the 58th New York Film Festival will take place September 17 through October 11 with a mix of drive-in and virtual screenings. We now have our first glimpse at the expanded lineup with the arrival of its Main Slate, comprising 25 films from 19 countries.
A best-of-the-best for festival favorites of this strange year, it also includes some new selections landing at Venice and TIFF, as well as a handful of world premieres. Representing a wide range of world cinema, there’s work by Garrett Bradley, Philippe Garrel, Eugène Green, Hong Sangsoo, Jia Zhangke, Victor Kossakovsky, Steve McQueen, Christian Petzold, Matías Piñeiro, Cristi Puiu, Gianfranco Rosi, Chaitanya Tamhane, Tsai Ming-liang, Frederick Wiseman, Chloé Zhao, and more.
“The disorientation and uncertainty of this tough year had the effect of returning us to core principles,” said Dennis Lim, NYFF’s Director of Programming. “To put it simply, the Main Slate is our collective response to one central question: which films matter to us right now? Movies are neither made nor experienced in a vacuum, and while the works in our program predate the current moment of crisis, it’s striking to me just how many of them resonate with our unsettled present, or represent a means of transcending it. It has been a joy and a privilege to work with a brilliant, tireless programming team—the newly composed selection committee and our new team of advisors—and we are truly excited for audiences to discover and discuss these films.”
Check out the Main Slate lineup below, with links to reviews where available.
Opening Night
Lovers Rock
Dir. Steve McQueen
Centerpiece
Nomadland
Dir. Chloé Zhao
Closing Night
French Exit
Dir. Azazel Jacobs
Atarrabi and Mikelats
Dir. Eugène Green
Beginning
Dir. Dea Kulumbegashvili
The Calming
Dir. Song Fang
City Hall
Dir. Frederick Wiseman
Days
Dir. Tsai Ming-liang
The Disciple
Dir. Chaitanya Tamhane
Gunda
Dir. Victor Kossakovsky
I Carry You with Me (Te Llevo Conmigo)
Dir. Heidi Ewing
Isabella
Dir. Matías Piñeiro
Malmkrog
Dir. Cristi Puiu
Mangrove
Dir. Steve McQueen
MLK/FBI
Dir. Sam Pollard
Night of the Kings (La Nuit des Rois)
Dir. Philippe Lacôte
Notturno
Dir. Gianfranco Rosi
Red, White and Blue
Dir. Steve McQueen
The Salt of Tears (Le sel des larmes)
Dir. Philippe Garrel
Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue
Dir. Jia Zhangke
Time
Dir. Garrett Bradley
Tragic Jungle (Selva Trágica)
Dir. Yulene Olaizola
The Truffle Hunters
Dir. Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw
Undine
Dir. Christian Petzold
The Woman Who Ran
Dir. Hong Sangsoo
NYFF 58 takes place September 17 through October 11.