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Technically, the Oscars race began a few weeks ago with the first spate of fall film festivals. But who’d fly out to Telluride or up to Toronto when so many of this year’s Big Films—and their Big Stars—are arriving right here on our doorstep?
As ever, the New York Film Festival, which begins on September 26 at Lincoln Center, marks the start of our city’s cinematic season. There are, admittedly, far more films than you’ve likely got time to see. But that’s what we’re here for. So unless you have limitless funds and nothing else to do—in which case, let us introduce you to the $17,500 Gold Pass—consider starting with one of the high-buzz titles below. Screening times and tickets for all movies can be found here—and we’ve included the rest of the essential details at the bottom of this story.
After the Hunt
Directed by Luca Guadagnino
It doesn’t get more electric than this already-controversial opening night entry: Guadagnino directs Julia Roberts as a Yale professor forced to navigate an ethical minefield, when her mentee (Ayo Edebiri) accuses a close colleague (Andrew Garfield) of sexual assault.
Sept 29 at 6, 6:15, 6:30, 9:15, 9:45pm
Father Mother Sister Brother
Directed by Jim Jarmusch
Fresh from a big win at the Venice Film Festival, Jarmusch arrives with a characteristically wry triptych starring Adam Driver, Mayim Bialik, Cate Blanchett, Vicky Krieps, Luka Sabbat and Indya Moore as unsettled siblings. (No less than Tom Waits and Charlotte Rampling play the parents.)
Oct 3 at 6, 9pm
Is This Thing On?
Directed by Bradley Cooper
After the wide embrace of his directorial debut, A Star is Born, Cooper was surely disappointed by the muted reception to his follow-up, 2023’s high-minded Maestro. This effort—in which Will Arnett plays a recent divorcé who becomes a stand-up comedian during an apparent midlife crisis—feels as though it was made with broader appeal in mind.
Oct 10 at 6, 9pm
Cover-Up
Directed by Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus
If Oscar-winning documentarian Poitras (Citizenfour) has a story to tell, we want to listen. And there may be no more timely topic than this portrait of journalist Seymour Hersh, who has committed his life to decades of tough and unbiased reporting. Hersh comes from an era in which freedom of the press was considered essential by readers and leaders alike. So when we say “timely,” we also mean “tremendously inspiring, and possibly deeply depressing.”
Oct 8 at 6pm, Oct 10 at 9:15pm
A House of Dynamite
Directed by Kathryn Bigelow
A new movie by Bigelow is always cause for celebration—although perhaps that’s not quite the right word for her typically-tense thriller, about an incoming missile that sets off panic among an underprepared U.S. government. Thank goodness President Idris Elba is on hand to help out.
Sept 28 at 9:15pm, Sept 29 at noon, Oct 6 at 1:30pm
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Directed by Mary Bronstein
There are those of us who have long wondered when Rose Byrne would finally get her flowers. The answer, it seems, is right now. Her performance in Bronstein’s surreal study of a working mother’s blowout (it goes well past breakdown) is already earning awards-adjacent adjectives like “towering” and “bravura.”
Oct 2 at 9pm, Oct 3 at 3:30pm, Oct 8 at 12:45pm
It Was Just an Accident
Directed by Jafar Panahi
The extraordinary persistence of Iranian director Panahi is part of any story he shares: He’s been legally banned from making movies since 2010, and yet he manages to secretly create—and then disseminate—brilliant work anyway. His tale of a modest mechanic obsessed with a vicious government official has been collecting honors across the globe (including the Palme D’Or at Cannes).
Oct 2 at 6:15pm, Oct 3 at 3:30pm
Jay Kelly
Directed by Noah Baumbach
There is still no star more charming than George Clooney, so kudos to Baumbach and his cowriter Emily Mortimer for exploring a darker side of fame with such unsparing precision. Clooney plays a beloved actor who discovers he’s trapped inside his own celebrity, when he attempts to put his personal life above his profession. He’s determined to change his workaholic ways but his estranged daughter (Riley Keough) is skeptical, as are his hard-edged publicist (Laura Dern) and long-suffering manager (Adam Sandler).
Sept 29 at 8:15pm, Sept 30 at 2:45pm, Oct 2 at 12:45pm, Oct 13 at 5:45pm
The Mastermind
Directed by Kelly Reichardt
If you don’t yet know Josh O’Connor’s name, you will by the end of the year: He has no less than four films out this season. Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery will be the biggest, but any movie by Reichardt offers the potential to be the most interesting. Especially when it’s a deadpan “anti-thriller” in which O’Connor’s shambling slacker plans a heist, despite having no particular strategy or end goal.
Sept 27 at 9pm, Sept 28 at 6:15pm
No Other Choice
Directed by Park Chan-wook
If you’re already a fan of Park’s twisted thrillers—and you wouldn’t be alone, considering he swept critics’ awards with 2022’s Decision to Leave—you’ve probably already got this one on your calendar. So you don’t need us to tell you it’s been loosely adapted from Donald E. Westlake’s noir novel The Ax, about a middle-aged man who loses his mind when he gets coldly laid off from his longtime employer.
Oct 9 at 9:15pm, Oct 10 at 2:45pm, Oct 12 at 2:45pm, Oct 13 at 9:15pm
Sentimental Value
Directed by Joachim Trier
Trier’s Norwegian drama earned the Grand Prix at Cannes—along with breathless plaudits for Renate Reinsve (The Worst Person in the World), as a young woman with little patience for a ham-fisted attempt at reconciliation from her estranged father (Stellan Skarsgård).
Sept 30 at 8:45pm, Oct 1 at 2:15pm, Oct 11 at 2:45pm, Oct 12 at 6pm
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Directed by Scott Cooper
You’re gonna see a lot of “The Bear meets the Boss” headlines around this one, so we’ll show some restraint. But we are excited at the prospect of Jeremy Allen White playing an early-’80s Bruce Springsteen, as he stalks the corner of Nebraska and Born in the U.S.A. Don’t expect a traditional biopic here; word is that Cooper’s tightly-focused approach is defiantly unorthodox.
Sept 28 at 6pm, Sept 29 at 2:30pm
Anemone
Directed by Ronan Day-Lewis
What did it take to get Daniel Day-Lewis back to acting after eight years? His son Ronan, making a high-profile directorial debut with Dad in the lead. The pair also cowrite the script, about a British loner (Day-Lewis) haunted by a traumatic past, and the brother (Sean Bean) who wants to find a way beyond it.
Sept 28 at 3pm, Sept 29 at 3pm, Sept 30 at 1pm
Blue Moon and Nouvelle Vague
Directed by Richard Linklater
Linklater charmed Telluride and Toronto audiences with a pair of period films that speak volumes about his personal passions. Blue Moon recreates a 1943 night in the life of tortured lyricist Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke), as he drinks at Sardi’s with the likes of Andrew Scott, Margaret Qualley and Bobby Cannavale. The black-and-white Nouvelle Vague stars Zoey Deutch as an overwhelmed Jean Seberg, after she arrives in Paris to shoot Jean-Luc Godard’s 1960 classic Breathless.
Blue Moon: Sept 29 at 5:30pm, Sept 30 at 3:45pm
Nouvelle Vague: Sept 30 at 6pm, Oct 1 at 3:15pm
A Private Life
Directed by Rebecca Zlotowski
Zlotowski’s droll murder mystery doesn’t just offer Jodie Foster a chance to lighten up a little after True Detective; it gives her a reason to show off her lifelong fluency in French. She plays an American psychoanalyst who lives in Paris, and gets sidetracked—to say the least—when she becomes convinced a patient has been killed. There is, she decides, no better way to avoid her own life’s problems than to solve this one.
Oct 5 at 5:45pm, Oct 6 at 2:45pm, Oct 12 at 12:15pm
Also worth a look
With more than 75 features on the schedule, there truly is a movie for every interest. If you do find yourself with extra time, don’t miss new works from—among others—Claire Denis (The Fence), Christian Petzold (Miroirs No. 3), Lucrecia Martel (Landmarks), Ira Sachs (Peter Hujar’s Day), Paolo Sorrentino (La Grazia), Radu Jude (Kontinental ’25 and Dracula), Rebecca Miller (the five-part portrait Mr. Scorsese) and Ben Stiller (documenting his parents’ work in Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost).
When is the New York Film Festival?
The NYFF begins on September 26 and runs through October 13.
And… where is the New York Film Festival?
All screenings will take place at Lincoln Center. Check your ticket carefully, because there are three venues: Alice Tully Hall (1941 Broadway), Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center (144 West 65th Street) and the Walter Reade Theater (165 West 65th Street).
How do I get tickets?
Good question! You can get them right here, starting September 18 at noon.
How much will they cost me?
Most tickets cost between $20 and $30, with a discount for Film at Lincoln Center members and students. But the price will depend on the event and venue—opening night tix, for example, are $130. Here are the specifics (single ticket info is at the bottom of the page).
Can I see some stars?
You sure can—just make sure you stick around after the lights come up. Many of the screenings include post-show Q&As with the director and members of the cast.
Oh no! My faves are already sold out!
That’s okay! A standby line will form outside the box office before every screening—and some seats always open up, even for the most popular titles (though we do suggest arriving early).
What if I want to know even more?
First of all, we’re impressed by your commitment to cinema. And second, we’d highly recommend you sign up for the Film at Lincoln Center newsletter for updates and additions—including last-minute rush tickets to sold-out screenings.