Festival season makes its way to the Empire State for the New York Film Festival, which runs from Sept. 30 through Oct. 16th. This year marks the 60th edition of the festival, and as part of its celebrations, NYFF is offering screenings in all five boroughs, in addition to its traditional home at Film at Lincoln Center.
The line up includes 32 features, including the world premieres of She Said and Till, along with stateside premieres of films like Venice's Silver Lion-winning Saint Omer and Cannes' Grand Prix-winning Stars At Noon, plus Paul Schrader's Master Gardener and Kelly Reichardt's Showing Up.
NYFF will also mark the latest festival stop for favorites out of Cannes, Venice, Telluride and Toronto, with screening of Charlotte Wells' Aftersun, Luca Guadagnino's Bones and All, Park Chan-wook's Decision to Leave, Joanna Hogg's The Eternal Daughter, Todd Field's TÁR, Ruben Östlund's Triangle of Sadness, and Sarah Polley's Women Talking.
MORE: Everything to Know About the 2022 New York Film Festival
Below, A.frame has curated a list of 10 of the must-see movies playing during this year's NYFF.
White Noise
After premiering at the Venice Film Festival, White Noise makes its North American debut on opening night of the festival. Noah Baumbach directs this adaptation of Don DeLillo's classic novel of the same name, starring Oscar nominees Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig as a married couple facing suburban peril, both existential and very real. The cast is rounded out by Don Cheadle, Jodie Turner-Smith, and André Benjamin. (Watch the trailer.)
When it's showing: White Noise opens the festival on Friday, Sept. 30, with another screening on Saturday, Oct. 15.
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
Laura Poitras' documentary about photographer Nan Goldin's activism against the Sackler family, whose company Purdue Pharma manufactures OxyContin, won the Golden Lion when it premiered at Venice. It is only the second time a documentary has taken home the festival's top prize, a testament to the film's power in showcasing how art can raise the alarm on a crisis. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed is also the only film invited to screen at every major festival this year.
When it's showing: All the Beauty and the Bloodshed screens on Friday, Oct. 7.
The Inspection
Director Elegance Bratton's autobiographical drama premiered at TIFF earlier this month, and now screens at NYFF as the closing night selection. Based on Bratton's personal experience, The Inspection follows Ellis French (Jeremy Pope), a young Black man who joins the Marines after he's rejected by his mother (Gabrielle Union) because of his sexuality. (Watch the trailer.)
When it's showing: The Inspection screens on Friday, Oct. 14.
Armageddon Time
Director James Gray's "deeply personal" drama premiere during the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, now earning the honor of being NYFF's 60th Anniversary screening event, fitting as the film is a very New York tale. Armageddon Time tells the coming-of-age story of a boy growing up in Queens in the '80s and stars Oscar winner Anne Hathaway, Jeremy Strong, and two-time Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins. (Watch the trailer.)
When it's showing: Armageddon Time screens on Wednesday, Oct. 12, with additional screenings Oct. 13-14.
A Cooler Climate
Oscar-winning screenwriter James Ivory (Call Me by Your Name) and documentarian Giles Gardner's A Cooler Climate will world premiere at NYFF. Their collaboration began when Ivory unearthed film he shot during a life-changing trip to Afghanistan in 1960, with the film looking back on his life and exploring "the voyages we all take, around the globe and within our own interior landscapes."
When it's showing: A Cooler Climate premieres on Friday, Oct. 7, with another screening on Oct. 14.
Is That Black Enough For You?!?
Making its world premiere at NYFF, Is That Black Enough For You?!? is both a history of Black cinema in the '70s and a personal reflection by critic and curator-turned-first-time filmmaker Elvis Mitchell. Looking back on his own upbringing through the lens of Blaxplotation flicks and arthouse cinema, Mitchell also interviews artists like Laurence Fishburne, Samuel L. Jackson, and Zendaya.
When it's showing: Is That Black Enough For You?!? premieres on Sunday, Oct. 9, with additional screenings on Oct. 10 and Oct. 13.
The Novelist's Film
Korean auteur Hong Sang-soo has two films currently making the rounds on the festival circuit: Walk Up played at TIFF; now The Novelist's Film arrives at NYFF, about a prickly, middle-aged novelist who has a chance encounter with a famous actress. The Novelist's Film previously premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, where Sang-soo won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize.
When it's showing: The Novelist's Film screens on Friday, Oct. 7, with another screening on Oct. 10.
Personality Crisis: One Night Only
Oscar winner Martin Scorsese combines his love of chronicling with his love of New York in Personality Crisis, which he helmed alongside editor and co-director David Tedeschi. The documentary captures a singular performance by David Johansen, the lead singer of '70s glam punk band The New York Dolls who reinvented himself as a lounge lizard Buster Poindexter in the '80s.
When it's showing: Personality Crisis: One Night Only premiers on Wednesday, Oct. 12, with another screening on Oct. 14.
She Said
Based on their best-selling nonfiction book, She Said follows New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, played by Oscar nominee Carey Mulligan and Zoey Kazan, as they break the Harvey Weinstein story. The film is adapted by Rebecca Lenkiewicz (writer of the Oscar-winning Ida) and Maria Schrader (the Emmy-winning director of Unorthodox). (Watch the trailer.)
When it's showing: She Said premiers on Thursday, Oct. 13, with additional screenings Oct. 14-15.
Till
Director Chinonye Chukwu broke out with her 2019 drama, Clemency, and now turns her talents to the story of Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley. Till follows Mamie's quest to find justice for her son, who was brutally lynched in the 1950s. The tragedy of Emmett Till is one of the most indelible stories of American racism, and Chukwu's film looks to tell not only his story, but that of the people left to grieve him. (Watch the trailer.)
When it's showing: Till premieres on Saturday, Oct. 1, with additional screenings on Oct. 2 and Oct. 6.
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