By The 54th New York Film Festival kicks off on Friday, September 30th and runs until Sunday, October 16th. This year’s slate looks generally solid, and several of the movies are going to be shoo-ins for best-of-the-year lists come December. (We’ll have a review of one such film tomorrow.)
Sure, there are certain movies that we wish were playing at this festival that are not on the program (e.g., Damien Chazelle’s La La Land, Asghar Farhadi’s The Salesman, Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival, Jeff Nichols’ Loving). Regardless, there’s more than enough at this year’s NYFF to watch and enjoy.
Below are 15 movies we’re most excited to see at this year’s New York Film Festival. For tickets and more information about NYFF, click here.
Moonlight
Director: Barry Jenkins
This year’s big festival darling, Moonlight looks like it could be one of the great, daring coming-of-age films this year. Writer/director Barry Jenkins explores aspects of masculinity, sexuality, identity, and passing in the black community, focusing on a bullied boy named Chiron who lives with his single mother in Miami.
Elle
Director: Paul Verhoeven
After 16 years away from Hollywood and a decade since his last proper film (Black Book), Paul Verhoeven’s Elle looks like a provocative return-to-form. Some critics who caught the premiere at Cannes described it as an empowering rape comedy, a combination of words so antithetical I can’t help but be intrigued. Starring Isabelle huppert, Elle is France’s official selection for the Best Foreign Film Oscar.
13TH
Director: Ava DuVernay
In the 13TH, an original feature-length documentary for Netflix, Selma director Ava DuVernay focuses on the systemic racism and pervasive inequality of the United States prison system. The film’s title refers to the 13th Amendment, which ostensibly abolished slavery. Interviewees in 13TH include Angela Davis, Senator Cory Booker, and, unexpectedly, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.
Toni Erdmann
Director: Maren Ade
The buzz around Toni Erdmann is that it’s a masterful three-hour screwball drama-comedy about an estranged father and his daughter. Beyond the great reviews out of Cannes and Toronto, I’m going into the film blind but hopeful. It’ll be my first exciting dip into the films of Maren Ade. Toni Erdmann is Gemany’s official entry for the Best Foreign Film Oscar.
Paterson
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Jim Jarmusch is one of my favorite filmmakers, which means that my excitement for Paterson is a given. Getting away from the Detroit-based vampires of Only Lovers Left Alive, Jarmusch instead heads to Paterson, New Jersey where a bus driver (Adam Driver) named Paterson writes poems in private. There’s obviously more to it than that, but the beauty is in the smaller things.
Gimme Danger
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Jim Jarmusch is one of a few people doing double-duty at this year’s New York Film Festival. In addition to Paterson, he’s also got a documentary on the birth and decline and resurgence of The Stooges. Their third album, Raw Power, is one of the best albums ever made. This is an indisputable fact. I wonder how a mellow guy like Jarmusch does with the raucous squalor of Iggy Pop.
Personal Shopper
Director: Olivier Assayas
Kristen Stewart is doing her best to break away from the Twilight films. She shook free of that sparkling albatross in Olivier Assays’ 2014 drama Clouds of Sils Maria, and she re-teams with Assayas for this year’s Personal Shopper. The film centers on Stewart’s character (part high-powered personal shopper, part spiritual medium… just go with it) coming to terms with the death of her twin brother.
Certain Women
Director: Kelly Reichardt
Another NYFF film starring Kristen Stewart, Certain Women looks like one of those quiet, ruminative character studies that can linger in your memory long after it’s over. The three stories in the film (adapted from the work of Maile Meloy) are each propelled by the performances of Stewart, Laura Dern, Michelle Williams, and newcomer Lily Gladstone.
Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk
Director: Ang Lee
Here’s your Kristen Stewart hat trick. Adapted from the novel by Ben Fountain, Ang Lee’s latest is all about an Iraq War veteran dealing with a brief return home. The movie co-stars Joe Alwyn, Vin Diesel, Chris Tucker, and Steve Martin. Shot in 4K 3D in 120 frames per second, Billy Lynn should look and feel much different than anything else that’s come before.
Neruda
Director: Pablo Larrain
Pablo Larrain has had a busy last few years as a producer and filmmaker, and he’s doing double-duty at the New York Film Festival this year. In Neruda, Larrain tells a semi-fictionalized account of the political exile of Pablo Neruda in Chile during the late 1940s. The poet is on the run from a shadowy Chilean agent played by Gael Garcia Bernal.
Jackie
Director: Pablo Larrain
Just announced yesterday, Pablo Larrain’s Jackie will have its US premiere at NYFF 54 at a special screening. His English-language debut is a biopic of Jackie Kennedy set around the time of the JFK assassination. Natalie Portman stars in the film, and she’s apparently turned in a remarkable performance as the former First Lady.
Graduation
Director: Cristian Mungiu
Cristian Mungiu’s films have a devastating power. Much of it comes from his control of long takes and what that does to the perception of a scene. In Graduation, Mungiu turns his attention to a father determined to have his daughter graduate and study abroad after she’s been assaulted, no matter what compromises must be made. Graduation is Romania’s official entry for the Best Foreign Film Oscar.
Manchester by the Sea
Director: Kenneth Lonergan
Kenneth Lonergan’s Manchester by the Sea is a movie I’ve been wanting to watch all year thanks to major buzz at Sundance. The film follows Casey Affleck’s character, who returns home to Massachusetts after the death of his brother. Lots of pain and carefully observed family drama ensues.
Julieta
Director: Pedro Almodovar
I never expected Pedro Almodovar to adapt Canadian literary fiction icon Alice Munro to the big screen, but here goes with Julieta. Taking stories from Munro’s collection Runaway, Almodovar continues to do what he does best: explore the lives and relationships of fascinating women. Julieta is Spain’s official entry for the Best Foreign Film Oscar.
The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Photography
Director: Errol Morris
There are certain things audiences expect from an Errol Morris documentary, but The B-Side looks like it’ll throw fans for a loop. Morris puts away the Interrotron and instead spends quality time with a good friend. The friend in question is photographer Elsa Dorfman, best known for taking endearing, oversized 20×24 Polaroid portraits.
