Okay, some background before we get into the just-announced Main Slate lineup for the 64th New York Film Festival.
With Venice and TIFF having announced their lineups, one can be very overwhelmed by the sheer volume of titles — which is why I always look forward to NYFF announcing its lineup because it’s almost like a curation of the quality that will be coming this fall, separating the great from the mediocre.
Now, I’ve already mentioned how the upcoming fall festival season is looking bleak, with many of the top auteurs, helming major studio films, opting for straight-to-theatrical releases, with no fests. I’m looking at this just-unveiled NYFF lineup, and there’s only one Venice competition title, Lee Chang-dong’s “Possible Love.” Julia Loktev’s four-hour ‘My Undesirable Friends’ sequel, a doc, is also there, but playing out of competition at Venice.
What does that say? This is the lowest amount of Venice titles at NYFF since 2017. Telluride is better represented, with two world premieres cracking NYFF’s Main Slate: Mike Leigh’s “Tender Loving Care” and Andrew Haigh’s “A Long Winter.”
As usual, NYFF is highly curated this year, and if you missed out on Berlin and Cannes, then this is a great chance to catch up.
Overall, the Main Slate selection will have tons of Cannes stalwarts, with films from Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Pedro Almodóvar, Valeska Grisebach, Emmanuel Marre, Sandra Wollner, Paweł Pawlikowski, Ira Sachs, Andrey Zvyagintsev, and Arthur Harari.
Hailing from the Berlin Film Festival: Alain Gomis, Hong Sangsoo, Angela Schanelec, and Markus Schleinzer, whose “Rose” won Sandra Hüller the Silver Bear for Best Actress.
Snubbed? Cristian Mungiu’s Palme d’Or-winning “Fjord” and Los Javis’ “La Bola Negra.” This is the first time since 2015, “Dheepan ,” that NYFF snubbed the Palme D'or winner. Of the hot fall titles going to Telluride and/or TIFF, but not included in this morning’s lineup, there’s no Jesse Eisenberg’s “The Debut,” Danny Boyle’s “Ink,” Werner Herzog’s “Bucking Fastard,” or Martin McDonagh’s “Wild Horse Nine” — all not good enough for NYFF.
Yet, the biggest surprise inside this year’s lineup is Chris Rock’s “Misty Green,” set to world premiere at TIFF, and a promising indicator of the film’s quality. Yes, the man behind “Pootie Tang” has cracked the NYFF Main Slate. Gotta love it.
The film follows Misty Green, a once-promising actress whose career has been derailed by personal and professional setbacks. Her fortunes shift when someone from her past offers her an unexpected shot at a comeback. The principal cast of “Misty Green” includes Rosalind Eleazar (“Slow Horses”), who has the titular lead role. Joining her is an ensemble cast featuring Rock, Adam Driver, Daniel Kaluuya, and Anna Kendrick.
See the full main slate selection below.
Opening Night: “Paper Tiger” (James Gray)
Centerpiece: “Behemoth!” (Tony Gilroy)
Closing Night: “14th” (Ava DuVernay)
“9 Temples to Heaven” (Sompot Chidgasornpongse)
“All of a Sudden” (Ryûsuke Hamaguchi)
“Bitter Christmas” (Pedro Almodóvar)
“Clarissa” (Arie Esiri and Chuko Esiri)
“Dao” (Alain Gomis)
“The Day She Returns” (Hong Sangsoo)
“I Deserve a Lover Whose Every Rise Sets Fiery Dooms Raging Across the Skies” (Mani Haghighi)
“The Diary of a Chambermaid” (Radu Jude)
“Double Freedom” (Lisandro Alonso)
“The Dreamed Adventure” (Valeska Grisebach)
“Everything Else Is Noise” (Nicolás Pereda)
“Everytime” (Sandra Wollner)
“Fatherland” (Paweł Pawlikowski)
“La Gradiva” (Marine Atlan)
“I Rarely Wake Up Dreaming” (Isabelle Stever)
“The Loneliest Man in Town” (Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel)
“A Long Winter” (Andrew Haigh)
“The Man I Love” (Ira Sachs)
“A Man of His Time” (Emmanuel Marre)
“Minotaur” (Andrey Zvyagintsev)
“Misty Green” (Chris Rock)
“My Undesirable Friends: Part II – Exile” (Julia Loktev)
“My Wife Cries” (Angela Schanelec)
“Nowhere To Lay My Eyes” (Hong Sangsoo)
“Once Upon a Time in Harlem” (William Greaves and David Greaves)
“Possible Love” (Lee Chang-dong)
“Rose” (Markus Schleinzer)
“Tender Loving Care” (Mike Leigh)
“The Unknown” (Arthur Harari)
Overall, the Main Slate selection will have tons of Cannes stalwarts, with films from Hamaguchi, Almodóvar, Grisebach, Marre, Wollner, Pawlikowski, Sachs, Zvyagintsev, and Harari.