New York Film Festival Announces Full Slate

The Film Society of Lincoln Center has revealed its full slate of films that will screen at the 52nd New York Film Festival, which will run from Sept. 26 to Oct. 12. In addition to the three previously announced marquee attractions — the world premiere of David Fincher‘s Gone Girl (20th Century Fox) as the opening night film on Sept. 26, the world premiere of Paul Thomas Anderson‘s Inherent Vice (Warner Bros.) as the centerpiece film on Oct. 4 and the U.S. premiere of Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu‘s Birdman (Fox Searchlight) as the closing night film on Oct. 12 — the fest will feature 27 other titles that will play throughout its 17 days, including many North American, U.S. and New York premieres.

Among the films coming to the Big Apple from Cannes — following possible stops in Telluride and/or Toronto and/or Venice — are Foxcatcher (Sony Classics), which stars Channing Tatum and Steve Carell, and for which Bennett Miller was named best director; Alice Rohrwacher‘s Italian Grand Prix award winner The Wonders (still seeking U.S. distribution); Mr. Turner (Sony Classics), the Mike Leigh film for which Timothy Spall was awarded the best actor prize; Maps to the Stars (eOne Entertainment), the David Cronenberg film for which Julianne Moore was chosen as best actress; and the Belgian brothers Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne‘s Two Days, One Night (Sundance Selects), which many expected to claim a major honor, but did not. The winner of a Sundance grand jury prize and audience award, Damien Chazelle‘s Whiplash (Sony Pictures Classics), was also selected.

A number of filmmakers who previously had works accepted by the fest have been invited to screen new works this year. American Abel Ferrara will showcase his biopic Pasolini (still seeking U.S. distribution), which stars Willem Dafoe. Additionally, several French filmmakers will be represented again: Olivier Assayas with Clouds of Sils Maria (IFC Films), a Juliette Binoche and Kristen Stewart drama that premiered at Cannes; Jean-Luc Godard, a fest favorite for decades, with Goodbye to Language (Kino Lorber), his first 3D feature, which also was unveiled on the Croisette; and another French New Wave legend, Alain Resnais, who died in March, with his final feature, Life of Riley (Kino Lorber), which premiered at Berlin in February. The fest will also screen a 4K restored version of Resnais’ first feature, Hiroshima Mon Amour, which was initially released in 1959.

Meanwhile, two respected thespians have directed films that will be at the fest: Italian actress Asia Argento‘s autobiographical Misunderstood (still seeking U.S. distribution) and French actor Mathieu Amalric‘s literary adaptation The Blue Room (Sundance Selects), both of which first screened at Cannes.

A number of New York-based filmmakers will also have works at the fest. Oren Moverman, the Oscar-nominated writer-director of The Messenger (2009), will bring his Richard Gere vehicle Time Out of Mind (still seeking U.S. distribution). Alex Ross Perry will have Listen Up Philip (Tribeca Film), which stars Jason Schwartzman and was warmly received at Sundance. And the brothers Josh Safdie and Benny Safdie will showcase Heaven Knows What (still seeking U.S. distribution), a dark drama about young drug-addicted lovers.

Founded in 1962, when only one other U.S. film festival was in existence (the San Francisco International Film Festival was started in 1957), the New York Film Festival takes place in and around Lincoln Center on the Upper West Side. This is its second year under the oversight of Kent Jones, who also chairs its selection committee, which is tasked with curating a 25- to 30-film lineup — slightly larger than the Telluride Film Festival and considerably smaller than the Toronto Film Festival, both of which precede it by only a few weeks. The rest of this year’s selection committee was FSLC director of programming Dennis Lim; FSLC senior programming advisor Marian Masone; Film Comment editor-in-chief Gavin Smith; and Film Comment and Sight & Sound contributing editor Amy Taubin.

52nd New York Film Festival Main Slate

Opening Night Gala Selection
GONE GIRL
Director: David Fincher

Centerpiece Gala Selection
INHERENT VICE
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

Closing Night Gala Selection
BIRDMAN OR THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE
Director: Alejandro G. Inarritu

BELOVED SISTERS (Die geliebten Schwestern)
Director: Dominik Graf

THE BLUE ROOM (La chambre bleue)
Director: Mathieu Amalric

CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA
Director: Olivier Assayas

EDEN
Director: Mia Hansen-Løve

FOXCATCHER
Director: Bennett Miller

GOODBYE TO LANGUAGE (Adieu au langage)
Director: Jean-Luc Godard

HEAVEN KNOWS WHAT
Directors: Josh & Benny Safdie

HILL OF FREEDOM (Jayuui Eondeok)
Director: Hong Sang-soo

HORSE MONEY (Cavalo Dinheiro)
Director: Pedro Costa

JAUJA
Director: Lisandro Alonso

LIFE OF RILEY (Aimer, boire et chanter)
Director: Alain Resnais

LISTEN UP PHILIP
Director: Alex Ross Perry

MAPS TO THE STARS
Director: David Cronenberg

MISUNDERSTOOD (Incompresa)
Director: Asia Argento

MR. TURNER
Director: Mike Leigh

PASOLINI
Director: Abel Ferrara

THE PRINCESS OF FRANCE (La Princesa de Francia)
Director: Matías Piñeiro

SAINT LAURENT
Director: Bertrand Bonello

LA SAPIENZA
Director: Eugène Green

’71
Director: Yann Demange

TALES OF THE GRIM SLEEPER
Director: Nick Broomfield

TIMBUKTU
Director: Abderrahmane Sissako

TIME OUT OF MIND
Director: Oren Moverman

TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT (Deux jours, une nuit)
Directors: Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne

TWO SHOTS FIRED (Dos Disparos)
Director: Martín Rejtman

WHIPLASH
Director: Damien Chazelle

THE WONDERS (Le meraviglie)
Director: Alice Rohrwacher

Twitter: @ScottFeinberg

Aug. 13, 8:53 a.m. A previous version of this story incorrectly included Dear White People as one of the films that would be screened at this year’s New York Film Festival. The Hollywood Reporter regrets the error.

Aug. 13, 12:29 p.m. A previous version of this story misstated the dates of the New York Film Festival. The festival takes place from Sept. 26-Oct. 12, not Oct. 26-Nov. 12, as was originally written. THR regrets the error.