Luca Guadagnino’s ‘After the Hunt’ to Open 63rd New York Film Festival

There’s a lot to unpack here, so, shall we?

Luca Guadagnino’s “After the Hunt” is set to open the 63rd New York Film Festival. This could be a good indication of its quality as NYFF’s Main Slate lineup tends to be highly curated and filled with Cannes titles.

Not just that, Guadagnino’s film has decided to skip Telluride and Toronto as it’s being labeled a “North American Premiere.” It should be noted that it was Guadagnino’s decision not to be in competition at Venice and instead opt for an out-of-competition slot.

Guadagnino’s history with NYFF is interesting. He’s only had one film selected for the main slate, 2016’s “Call Me By Your Name,” which at the time had some opposition from the NYFF selection committee, but eventually got included. He’s had two other films (“Queer,”“Bones & All”) selected, but they were screened outside the Main Slate, relegated to sidebars.

“After the Hunt,” which test screened in December, has Julia Roberts playing a Yale professor who hosts a dinner party for her colleagues and pupils. The next day, a student (Ayo Edibieri) accuses her professor (Andrew Garfield) of sexually assaulting her the night of the party. The rest of the film has Roberts navigating the situation, making sense of the accusations, and trying to figure out who the liar is, and that’s just as a dark secret from her past threatens to come to light.

Nora Garrett (“Beirut”) wrote “After the Hunt,” which features an ensemble cast that includes Roberts, Garfield, Edibiri, Chloë Sevigny, and Michael Stuhlbarg. Cinematographer Malik Hassan Sayeed (“Lemonade”) lensed the film.

This is the latest effort from Italian-born Guadagnino. He’s coming off “Challengers,” and “Queer.” “After the Hunt” is set to hit screens on October 10 via Amazon/MGM.

NOTE: The last five films selected to open the New York Film Festival have been “Nickel Boys,” “May December,” “White Noise,” “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” and “Lovers Rock.”