New York Film Festival announces roster

The Film Society of Lincoln Center unveiled the 25-picture Main Slate today for the 55th New York Film Festival with a roster that features hometown stories from U.S. filmmakers and a host of international festival award winners. Among the directors whose work will be showcased are 2017 Cannes laureates Ruben Ostlund (The Square) and Robin Campillo (BPM (Beats Per Minute)); as well as NYFF veterans Aki Kaurismäki (The Other Side Of Hope) and Agnieszka Holland (Spoor) who are returning to NY following triumphs in Berlin.
Also on deck is Italy’s Luca Guadagnino with his lauded Call Me by Your Name which will mark the director’s NYFF debut. Other first-timers include Sean Baker (The Florida Project), Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird), Dee Rees (Mudbound), Chloé Zhao (The Rider) and Joachim Trier (Thelma).

As previously announced, the fest kicks off with the world premiere of Richard Linklater’s Last Flag Flying, a lyrical road movie starring Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston and Laurence Fishburne. The Centerpiece gala is Todd Haynes’ Wonderstruck, a love letter to New York which debuted in Cannes. And, quintessential New York filmmaker, Woody Allen, closes the proceedings with the world premiere of his latest, Wonder Wheel, a Coney Island-set story led by Kate Winslet. Each is an Amazon Studios release.

There’s a sizable Amazon and Netflix presence with at least five titles from the streaming services combined. The latter is presenting Noah Baumbach’s The Meyerowitz Stories and Rees’ Sundance title Mudbound.

NYFF Director and Selection Committee Chair Kent Jones said today, “Every year, I’m asked about the themes in our Main Slate lineup, and every year I say the same thing: we choose the best films we see, and the common themes and preoccupations arise only after the fact. As I look at this slate of beautiful work, I could just make a series of simple observations: that these films come from all over the globe; that there is a nice balance of filmmakers known and unknown to many here in New York; that the overall balance between frankness and artistry holds me in awe; that there are two gala selections with the word ‘wonder’ in their titles; and that eight of the 25 films were directed by women.”

The NYFF Special Events, Spotlight on Documentary, Revivals, Convergence and Projections sections, as well as filmmaker conversations and panels, will be announced in the coming weeks.