Ava DuVernay’s documentary “14th” will make its world premiere at the New York Film Festival as the festival’s closing-night film on October 9 at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall.
The timing is no coincidence. “14th” is the follow-up to DuVernay’s acclaimed 2016 documentary “13th,” which opened the New York Film Festival that year. While “13th” examined the U.S. Constitution’s 13th Amendment and the legacy of mass incarceration, “14th” will explore the 14th Amendment and the issue of birthright citizenship.
“If 13th asked who gets caged, then 14th asks who gets counted,” DuVernay said.
So far, we’ve had two announcements from the New York Film Festival: this closing-night selection and the opening-night film, James Gray’s “Paper Tiger.” The festival typically lands a handful of high-profile world premieres each year, so if DuVernay’s documentary ends up being its biggest premiere of 2026, it would be a somewhat underwhelming showing.