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From the surprise election of mayor Zohran Mamdani to the Knicks winning the NBA championship, it’s been a time for underdog stories in the Big Apple. The New York Film Festival is continuing the trend, pulling off
a coup by securing several major world premieres in a year that’s been frustratingly light on festival fanfare.
NYFF starts on Sept. 25, and over the next two weeks, audiences will be the first to watch “Artificial,” Luca Guadagnino’s buzzy movie about OpenAI founder Sam Altman; “A Statement,” director Tom McCarthy’s starry drama about climate change; “Behemoth,” Tony Gilroy’s ode to film scores led by Pedro Pascal; “14th,” Ava DuVernay’s timely documentary about the 14th Amendment; and “Godzilla Minus Zero,” a kaiju sequel to Oscar-winner “Godzilla Minus One.” It’s an exciting change of pace for the small-but-mighty NYFF, whose lineup is often comprised of the buzziest movies from Cannes, Venice or Toronto.
“Premiere status is never the be-all and end-all for us,” says NYFF artistic director Dennis Lim. “But I think we’ve proved in the last few years that we create a pretty interesting context for the launch of a film.”
Many of these films tackle hot-button issues that speak to these politically fraught times. But that’s not to say that everything on this year’s lineup is fire and brimstone. There are fun and joyous movies, too, Lim points out, citing Jordan Firstman’s heartfelt comedy “Club Kid” and Jesse Eisenberg’s musical drama “The Debut.”
Ahead of this year’s festival, Lim spoke to Variety about lining up so many heavy hitters and whether festivalgoers should be prepared for any surprises.
NYFF is hosting several buzzy world premieres. Was that a priority?
There is more than usual this year. It’s just a confluence of factors. Timing is always part of it. We are a month after the major fall festivals: Telluride, Venice, and Toronto. We’re not a competitive festival. It doesn’t make sense for us to have world premieres be the majority of our program. But I’m very excited about each of the world premieres.
How did you get “Artificial” on the lineup? There was chatter that it might skip the festival circuit entirely.
That was genuinely an up-in-the-air situation. It was with a different studio until very recently, and it was an open conversation of whether this would do festivals. Luca is a filmmaker we have a relationship with, and I thought we would be a great launchpad for the film. This is a film that deals with a very pressing situation. AI is in the news practically daily. The film recaps this trajectory that we’ve been on with alarming clarity. And it does this in the form of an incredibly entertaining movie. It has a very dark humor, which is certainly one valid way of approaching the dystopian present.
Tom McCarthy’s climate change drama “A Statement” wasn’t on many people’s radars. How did that come together?
We knew the film might be ready. We saw it very late in the process. It fits exactly what I was saying about films that are tackling contemporary realities. We’ve just lived through some kind of climate apocalypse in most parts of the world this summer, and much in the same way that “Artificial” does with the AI crisis, this film is looking at a very specific moment in time with this climate conference from 1980. It explains why it’s so hard for action to be taken, despite very clear evidence.
There’s been a lot of debate recently about the place of politics at film festivals. At Venice, jury president Maggie Gyllenhaal called films “fundamentally, unavoidably political.” What is your take?
I’d agree with that statement. I think all films are political. Even to say that one is apolitical is kind of a political position to take. To be human, to be alive in the world, is political. Cinema of all the art forms is unavoidably political. We’re reflecting the world; we’re responding to the world. The most urgent, meaningful films today are engaged with the realities of contemporary existence.
Which film on the lineup surprised you the most?
That’s a really tough one. Maybe “Behemoth,” Tony Gilroy’s film, another world premiere, because even though he’s been very active, he hasn’t made a feature film in a while. It was so clearly a passion project, and it has such a clear point of view. This is a film that makes clear that music isn’t just an accompaniment in the background of a film but a narrative device.
We also try to make room for what you might call smaller films in the main slate, and those are often, for me, the most surprising. There are a couple of titles that have really stayed with me. “The Loneliest Man in Town” by Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel, an Austrian film that’s a really lovely character study, and Nicholas Pareda’s film’s “Everything Else Is Noise,” a Mexican film by I think one of the most interesting filmmakers working today. It’s important for us to create the possibility for discovery and surprise for the audience, so we balance out the higher profile films with these other titles.
One of the buzziest moments of last year’s festival was the surprise screening of “Marty Supreme.” Will there be surprises for festival attendees?
“Marty” was a very exciting moment for us. I think that might account for the larger-than-usual number of world premieres in the lineup. I don’t think we will or need to do a surprise every year. It has to be the right film. A surprise that ends up being anticlimactic doesn’t serve anyone. We’re not wedded to the surprise thing. It’s not an annual tradition. But I think we will have evenings this year that will certainly rival the excitement of the “Marty Supreme” night.
NYFF doesn’t have jury prizes. Will that ever change?
As long as I have any say, there will not be competitions. So many filmmakers have told me that one of the reasons they truly enjoy their time at New York is the instant removal of stress of not having a competition. That changes everything when you’re a filmmaker and you have this pressure of: Will you get called back? Will you win? What does it mean to win or not win? It makes sense for premier festivals to have competitions, but I don’t think, in the context of how we’re currently configured, a competition would add anything.
How do you survive long festival days, or when you have to screen multiple movies in one day?
I wish I knew… that would make it easier. [Laughs]. I’ve actually gone back to watch films multiple times because when I’m in that state, you have to acknowledge that you’re losing your perspective. You know what it’s like to be at a festival and have a three or four film day, and it’s like you don’t trust your judgement. [Laughs]. For me, not doing anything screen related is the only way to reset. Caffeine also helps.
You were crowned by GQ as the best dressed man at last year’s festival. How much thought do you put into your outfits? It’s a long festival!
It’s just about being aware that you’re on stage with people who have stylists and budgets, and you don’t want to look like a slob. But it is a long festival … 15 days. It’s something I should probably start thinking about soon.
