Film at Lincoln Center announced on Wednesday the 32 films selected for the 64th New York Film Festival’s main slate, running Sept. 25 to Oct. 12, with James Gray’s “Paper Tiger” opening the festival and Ava DuVernay’s “14th” closing it. Tony Gilroy’s “Behemoth!” will serve as the centerpiece gala selection.
Key Takeaways
- Film at Lincoln Center announced 32 films from 31 countries for the 64th New York Film Festival’s main slate, running Sept. 25 to Oct. 12.
- James Gray’s “Paper Tiger,” a Queens-set crime drama starring Adam Driver and Miles Teller, opens the festival.
- Tony Gilroy’s “Behemoth!,” starring Pedro Pascal as a cellist, is the centerpiece gala selection and Gilroy’s first directing credit since 2012’s “The Bourne Legacy.”
- Ava DuVernay’s documentary “14th,” a follow-up to her 2016 film “13th,” closes the festival with its world premiere.
- Takashi Yamazaki’s “Godzilla Minus Zero” will hold its world premiere at the festival on Sept. 26 as the Spotlight Gala, ahead of its Nov. 6 North American theatrical release.
The lineup, drawn from 31 countries, signals that the New York Film Festival is positioning itself as a launchpad for awards-season contenders rather than simply a showcase for films that already made their rounds at Cannes or Venice. Three of the highest-profile selections, from Gray, Gilroy and DuVernay, are having their world premieres in New York, a deliberate choice that puts the festival at the front of the release calendar for films expected to factor into the coming Oscar race.
Opening, Centerpiece and Closing Films Carry the Weight
Gray’s “Paper Tiger” kicks off the festival as a Queens-set crime drama starring Adam Driver and Miles Teller, giving the festival a hometown setting for its opening night. Gilroy’s “Behemoth!” stars Pedro Pascal as a cellist named Alex navigating professional and personal upheaval, marking Gilroy’s first directing credit since 2012’s “The Bourne Legacy.”
DuVernay’s “14th” closes the festival as a documentary examining the constitutional amendment at the center of ongoing debates over birthright citizenship, and functions as a follow-up to her 2016 documentary “13th.” Placing a Constitution-focused documentary in the closing slot, rather than a lighter crowd-pleaser, tells audiences the festival wants its final image of the year to be pointed rather than celebratory. That sequencing, opening with a New York crime story and closing with a documentary about a contested amendment, frames the entire slate as a statement about the country’s present moment rather than a simple parade of prestige titles.
Godzilla Minus Zero Adds a Spotlight Gala to the Calendar
A day before the main slate reveal, the festival announced that Takashi Yamazaki’s “Godzilla Minus Zero,” the sequel to 2023’s Oscar-winning “Godzilla Minus One,” will make its world premiere at the New York Film Festival on Sept. 26 as the Spotlight Gala. Yamazaki called the placement significant to him personally, saying, “It is truly an honor to introduce our film to a global audience for the first time in a place of such history and prestige.”
That statement is a filmmaker’s own framing of the moment, so it carries a promotional edge, but it lines up with a concrete fact: the film is scheduled for a North American theatrical release on Nov. 6, meaning its New York premiere lands roughly six weeks ahead of wide release. Slotting a franchise blockbuster alongside auteur premieres broadens who the festival can draw to Lincoln Center beyond the usual arthouse crowd.
What the Broader Slate Reveals About This Year’s Selections
The 32-film main slate also includes Pedro Almodovar’s “Bitter Christmas,” Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “All of a Sudden,” Andrew Haigh’s “A Long Winter,” Radu Jude’s “The Diary of a Chambermaid,” Lee Chang-dong’s “Possible Love,” Mike Leigh’s “Tender Loving Care,” Pawel Pawlikowski’s “Fatherland” and Ira Sachs’ “The Man I Love.” Nearly all of these directors have previously screened work at the New York Film Festival, which suggests organizers are leaning on a roster of familiar names rather than betting heavily on newcomers this year.
Chris Rock’s “Misty Green” also appears in the lineup, though it will premiere first at the Toronto International Film Festival before reaching New York, meaning the festival is not claiming exclusivity on every title. Two documentaries round out the slate’s nonfiction offerings: William and David Greaves’ “Once Upon a Time in Harlem” and Julia Loktev’s “My Undesirable Friends: Part II — Exile,” the latter continuing her documentary chronicle of dissent inside Russia. Taken together, the nonfiction selections and the closing-night documentary suggest the festival’s programmers weighted this year’s slate toward films grappling directly with political upheaval rather than escapism.
Why Dennis Lim Is Framing This Slate Around Global Turmoil
Dennis Lim, artistic director of the festival, described this year’s selections in explicitly political and global terms rather than purely artistic ones. “It’s hard to recall a prior main slate program in which the state of the world has been as urgently reflected in so many creative ways,” Lim said in a statement. He added, “You could take any cross section of this lineup and come away with a vivid picture of what our present looks, sounds, and feels like. I’m deeply encouraged to be able to introduce New York audiences to works by so many fearless, imaginative directors whose artistry has been inspired by the shared realities of our world.”
That framing reads as an editorial statement about the slate’s content, not just a marketing line. A documentary on the 14th Amendment closing the festival, paired with Loktev’s ongoing chronicle of Russian dissent, gives Lim’s comment concrete backing rather than leaving it as an abstract claim. It also raises a question the lineup itself doesn’t fully answer: whether a festival built around 31 countries’ worth of films can hold together thematically once screenings begin, or whether Lim’s framing will look, in retrospect, like a curator’s pitch rather than a description of what audiences actually experience.
What Happens Between Now and Opening Night
The festival’s 32-film slate is now locked in for a run stretching from Sept. 25 to Oct. 12, giving distributors and awards strategists roughly seven weeks to plan around three New York world premieres. For Gilroy and DuVernay especially, a New York launch rather than a festival circuit stop at Cannes, Venice or Toronto puts their films directly in front of the critics and industry voters who shape the fall conversation heading into the Oscar season.
What remains unresolved is how the slate will actually land once audiences see it. Lim’s comments describe intent, not outcome, and reviews out of the festival’s opening weeks will determine whether films like “Paper Tiger” and “Behemoth!” hold their footing as serious contenders or simply arrive with festival buzz that fades. The 64th edition has set its stage. What it says about the state of American and global filmmaking will only become clear once the lights go down at Lincoln Center.
FAQs
When Does the 64Th New York Film Festival Run?
The festival runs from Sept. 25 to Oct. 12, based on Film at Lincoln Center’s Wednesday announcement of the main slate.
Which Films Are Having Their World Premiere at the Festival?
Tony Gilroy’s “Behemoth!,” Ava DuVernay’s “14th” and Takashi Yamazaki’s “Godzilla Minus Zero” are all making their world premieres at the festival, while most other main slate selections have already screened elsewhere.
Why Isn’t Chris Rock’s “Misty Green” a New York Premiere?
Chris Rock’s “Misty Green” appears on the festival’s main slate but will debut earlier at Toronto International before reaching New York, so the festival has not secured exclusive rights to the title.
How Many Films and Countries Are Represented in the Main Slate?
The main slate includes 32 films drawn from 31 countries, according to the festival’s announcement.
What Is Ava DuVernay’s “14Th” About?
“14th” is a documentary examining the constitutional amendment at the center of debates over birthright citizenship, and it functions as a follow-up to DuVernay’s 2016 documentary “13th.”
When Is Godzilla Minus Zero’s Theatrical Release?
Takashi Yamazaki’s “Godzilla Minus Zero” is set for a North American theatrical release on Nov. 6, following its Sept. 26 world premiere at the festival.
What Did Dennis Lim Say About This Year’s Lineup?
Dennis Lim, the festival’s artistic director, said in a statement that it’s hard to recall a prior main slate as urgently reflective of the state of the world, and that the lineup gives a vivid picture of the present moment.
