This is my first time at the New York Film Festival! I’ve already seen some popular films—Queer, The Brutalist, Anora, and The Room Next Door—at TIFF, and I’ll be in New York for 8 out of the 16 festival days. Unlike TIFF, I’ll also be working while I’m here. Still, I plan to catch 11 films in that time, and I’m curious about how the experience compares to TIFF.
From the start, it’s clear that the vibe is different. New York is much larger, so the festival doesn’t have the same impact on the city as TIFF does on Toronto. There are no street closures or long lines outside venues. It feels more focused on the films themselves. I’m excited to see how the next few days unfold!
Movies
RaMell Ross’s adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Nickel Boys, chronicles the friendship between two Black teenagers navigating the harsh realities of a juvenile reformatory in Jim Crow-era Florida. The film employs an inventive visual approach that highlights the novel’s themes of subjectivity.
Sep 27th
No Other Land (No Review Available)
This documentary depicts the destruction of Masafer Yatta, Palestinian villages in the West Bank, by the Israeli military. It highlights the demolitions, displacement of residents, and the collaboration between Palestinian activist Basel Adra and Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham.
Sep 29th
Director Pablo Larraín’s third film in an unofficial trilogy about women navigating celebrity and personal crises focuses on Maria Callas during the last week of her life in September 1977. Starring Angelina Jolie, the film explores the tension between Callas’s public persona and her private struggles in Paris.
Sep 29th
Set in a near-future Tokyo high school, this drama explores youth culture amid rising governmental totalitarianism. Best friends Kou and Yuta clash with a strict principal enforcing a harsh surveillance system after a prank. The film addresses political fears and the complexities of friendship as they navigate an oppressive education system and looming external threats.
Sep 30th
In his debut feature, Carson Lund sets a poignant baseball film in 1990s Massachusetts, focusing on a last game at Soldiers Field before its demolition. Eephus explores themes of camaraderie and nostalgia as players reflect on their memories while the day transitions to twilight.
Oct 2nd
Iris (Naomi Watts), a novelist and creative writing teacher, faces upheaval when her mentor (Bill Murray) commits suicide and leaves her his Great Dane, Apollo. As she navigates the challenges posed by the dog and reflects on her friend’s choice, Iris unexpectedly bonds with Apollo, helping her come to terms with her past and her creative struggles.
Oct 3rd
A middle-aged man’s sudden death prompts a reckoning for an extended Zambian family in Rungano Nyoni’s drama. Centered on Shula (Susan Chardy), who discovers her uncle’s body, the film explores the emotional fissures within the community caught between tradition and modernity, revealing long-repressed truths.
Oct 3rd
Richard Gere plays Leonard Fife, a dying political documentarian who reflects on his life and regrets in a film by former protégé Michael Imperioli. Accompanied by his wife, Emma (Uma Thurman), Leonard navigates his past through nonlinear flashbacks, revealing the complexities of his career and personal choices.
Oct 5th
Mike Leigh’s latest film is a raw domestic drama centered on Pansy (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), a middle-aged woman whose emotional and physical struggles manifest as toxic anger affecting her family and others. As she grapples with her discontent, her only solace comes from her supportive sister, Chantelle (Michele Austin), painting a stark picture of a life in turmoil.
Oct 5th
Cousins David (Jesse Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin), who have grown apart as adults, take a trip to Poland after their grandmother’s death. Visiting her hometown and significant historical sites, they confront their personal resentments and struggles against the backdrop of their family’s history, blending comedy and drama as they seek understanding and reconciliation.
Oct 5th
In a near-future world, Karsh (Vincent Cassel) has created software that allows people to witness the decay of their deceased loved ones. After losing his wife and becoming involved with her sister, he faces challenges when vandalized graves threaten his business, leading to the discovery of a conspiracy. Directed by David Cronenberg, The Shrouds explores themes of grief and mortality in a dystopian landscape.
Oct 5th
Already Seen at TIFF
In Pedro Almodóvar’s first English-language film, The Room Next Door, Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore are two former journalists rekindling their friendship while grappling with illness, death, and life’s profound choices, all set against Almodóvar’s trademark vibrant visuals and intimate storytelling.
Sep 7th
In Anora, a Palme d’Or winner by Sean Baker, Mikey Madison plays a New York exotic dancer who falls for Vanya, the wealthy son of a Russian oligarch, leading to a whirlwind romance threatened by his powerful family.
Sep 8th
Featuring fearless performances from Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez, and the amazing Karla Sofía Gascón, the latest from director Jacques Audiard audaciously merges pop opera, narco thriller, and gender affirmation in a drama about a defense attorney helping a crime boss transition to a new identity amidst crime and redemption.
Sep 9th
I’m Still Here, directed by Walter Salles, tells the real-life story of Eunice Paiva (Fernanda Torres), whose harrowing experience during Brazil’s military dictatorship turned her into a courageous activist and lawyer.
Sep 10th
Rumours (no review available)
In Rumours, Cate Blanchett stars as the German chancellor in this absurd satire directed by Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, and Galen Johnson, where G7 world leaders face chaotic mishaps and surreal absurdities during a dysfunctional summit.
Sep 10th
In The Brutalist, Brady Corbet directs Adrien Brody, Guy Pearce, Felicity Jones, and Joe Alwyn in an epic about a Hungarian architect who, after fleeing Europe post-WWII, sacrifices more of himself while trying to rebuild his life and career in America.
Sep 10th
Harvest, directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari, is a visionary period piece set in a remote English village where traditional life is disrupted by an Enclosure bill, exploring themes of xenophobia and unchecked capitalism through the story of widower Walter Thirsk and the ensuing chaos and paranoia.
Sep 11th
The Seed of the Sacred Fig, directed by Mohammad Rasoulof, is a gripping social drama-turned-thriller about a lawyer’s moral conflict amidst Iran’s political unrest, starring Misagh Zare and Soheila Golestani.
Sep 11th
Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine as Light is a visually stunning and heartfelt debut that follows two nurses, Prabha and Anu, as they navigate personal turning points and budding romance while transitioning from Mumbai’s bustle to a serene seaside retreat.
Sep 12th
In Queer, Luca Guadagnino adapts William S. Burroughs’ autobiographical novel into a hallucinogenic odyssey, starring Daniel Craig as a lonely, middle-aged addict seeking enlightenment in postwar Mexico and the Amazon, with supporting roles by Jason Schwartzman and Lesley Manville.
Sep 13th