New York Film Festival Main Line Up Goes International and Independent as Studios Hold Back Big Titles For Winter

The New York Film Festival main slate is here, and it’s very independent and very international. As already announced there are three episodes of a British TV series from Oscar winner Steve McQueen. There are several really interesting titles for film connoisseurs, but nothing from the studios, even small studios. That’s because the whole awards calendar has moved to winter, January and February 2021. The studios don’t want to show their films so early. Next year, presumably, everything will be back to “normal.” So we’ll dig in and enjoy these films, which will be shown at drive ins in Queen and Brooklyn, among other places. If the weather is good, I expect the Film Society will use the outdoor spaces at Lincoln Center, as well. Let’s hope for a warm autumn!

The 58th New York Film Festival Main Slate

Opening Night
Lovers Rock
Dir. Steve M^cQueen

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 M^cQueen

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 M^cQueen

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