Festival Centerpieces and World premieres
The festival will open with Luca Guadagnino's "After the Hunt" starring Julia Roberts, while Jim Jarmusch's "Father Mother Sister Brother" serves as the centerpiece selection. Bradley Cooper's "Is This Thing On?" will close the festival with its world premiere, marking what NYFF artistic director Dennis Lim describes as "definitely a pivot" from Cooper's previous directing efforts like "A Star Is Born" and "Maestro".
The Main Slate showcases films from an impressive roster of international auteurs, including Bi Gan, Kelly Reichardt, Lucrecia Martel, Claire Denis, Christian Petzold, Pietro Marcello, and Hong Sangsoo. According to Film at Lincoln Center, the selection features two world premieres, eight North American premieres, and 13 U.S. premieres.
NYFF Artistic Director Dennis Lim emphasized the festival's mission in defending cinema as an art form, stating that the selected films "suggest that this safeguarding can take many guises: acts of rejuvenation and refusal, expressions of unease and joy, feats of imagination and commemoration". The diverse lineup affirms that cinema remains capable of thriving even during challenging times for the industry.