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For some people, fall means apple-picking and questionable latte choices. For others, it’s time to start planning early Oscar bets. This is, after all, the season of Prestige Films, featuring big stars and bigger ambitions.
Happily, the New York Film Festival—which opens September 27 and runs through October 14—is a one-stop shop for cinephiles. As always, this year’s NYFF lineup offers a little of everything, and a lot of awards potential.
The entire slate is worth checking out, but you won’t go wrong by starting here:
Oscar Bait
These are among the top titles leading awards talk (so far):
Nickel Boys
RaMell Ross’ adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer-winning novel—which opens this year’s festival—tells the story of two Black teen boys sent to an abusive reform school in 1962 Florida.
The Brutalist
It’s long—215 minutes to be exact—but critics are already raving about Brady Corbet’s mid century epic, in which the life of a Hungarian architect (Adrien Brody) is redefined by a wealthy patron (Guy Pearce).
Emilia Pérez
The buzz is building around Jacques Audiard’s crime musical—you have to see it to get it—co starring Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, Adriana Paz and Selena Gomez (all of whom shared the Best Actress trophy at Cannes).
Hard Truths
Marianne Jean-Baptiste nabbed a 1997 Oscar nomination for her work in Mike Leigh’s Secrets & Lies. They reunite for an intimate drama that earned her an effusive ovation at the Toronto Film Festival a few weeks ago.
Anora
Sean Baker’s dark comedy—about an exotic dancer in love with the son of a Russian oligarch—has been rapturously received at other fests, and even won the Palme d’Or at Cannes.
Blitz
The festival will close out with this visceral WWII drama from Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave), featuring Saoirse Ronan as a single mother trying to reconnect with her young son.
Star Turns
NYFF boasts so many celebrities onscreen that we need two categories to hold them all. Here are a few others worth noting (and by the way, if you go to the first screening you’re likely to spot some stars at the post-show Q&A):
Maria
Angelina Jolie is at her most mesmerizing in Pablo Larraín’s psychological biopic, about Greek opera singer Maria Callas.
The Room Next Door
Pedro Almodóvar’s first English-language feature--based on Sigrid Nunez’ novel What Are You Going Through--stars Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton as old friends who reconnect under complex circumstances.
Queer
The latest provocation from Luca Guadagnino (Challengers) stars Daniel Craig as a 1950s expat—based on author William S. Burroughs--in an erotically-charged Mexico City.
Megalopolis
The reviews have thus far been…mixed. But there’s no doubt that Francis Ford Coppola’s first feature in more than a decade is an event. Adam Driver, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Giancarlo Esposito, and Dustin Hoffman are among the costars in Coppola’s neo-Roman epic.
The Friend
Naomi Watts plays an NYC novelist who inherits a Great Dane from her mentor (Bill Murray), in Scott McGehee and David Siegel’s adaptation of a(nother!) Sigrid Nunez novel.
A Real Pain
You’ll be hearing much more about Jesse Eisenberg’s moving dramedy, in which he and Kieran Culkin play estranged cousins who go to Poland to reconnect with their heritage.
Strong Docs
When you’ve had your fill of fiction, these worthy documentaries await:
San Juan Hill: Manhattan’s Lost Neighborhood
Stanley Nelson’s history of the area destroyed for Lincoln Center takes us back to a time and place that are long gone, but still resonate with New Yorkers—particularly those attending this festival--today.
Union
Wonder what actually happened when Staten Island workers went up against Amazon in 2022? Brett Story and Stephen Maing take us behind the scenes.
Model
Who wouldn’t want to see a documentary about a townhouse full of models in 1981 Manhattan? Especially if it was made by the master, Frederick Wiseman?
Pavements
The title does indeed refer to the adored indie band—though as Pavement fans might assume, Alex Ross Perry’s subversive approach doesn’t exactly travel down expected paths.
Revivals
One of the reliable joys of the NYFF is its lineup of older works rarely seen onscreen. Including these:
La Musica
Any chance to watch an early film by Marguerite Duras—especially her debut, about the inhabitants of a small French town—should be grabbed. Particularly if it’s preceded by the Chantal Akerman vignette J’ai faim, j’ai froid.
Compensation
This experimental, and gorgeous, 1999 feature debut from Zeinabu irene Davis tells the story of two Chicago couples via American Sign Language and silent-era title cards.
Hellraiser
You know that icky image of a head with pins sticking out of it? Better known as, well, Pinhead? Yeah, that all started with Clive Barker’s 1987 gross-out horror fantasy. If this sounds like it’s for you, you probably already have tickets. And if it doesn’t, feel free to move swiftly along.
Four Nights of a Dreamer
When else will you get to see Robert Bresson’s gauzy, episodic French romance from 1971? Film students, assemble.
OK! So now you’ve got your list, you’re super excited, and … there are no tickets left for your chosen titles. First, breathe. Second, follow this essential assurance from NYFF’s artistic director, Dennis Lim: “While some screenings sell out almost immediately, we are always able to get people in from standby lines for every screening, even the most popular ones.” Whew.
The 2024 New York Film Festival runs September 27-October 14 at Lincoln Center. Tickets and schedule are available at filmlinc.org. Standby lines form before showtime at the corresponding venue, and rush tickets will be announced and available throughout the festival online and via newsletter.