Film at Lincoln Center announced today that the 58th New York Film Festival (NYFF), taking place from September 25 through October 11, will feature changes to the festival’s programming structure and new selection committee and advisory roles. The festival is also exploring a combination of both in-person and digital experiences, as circumstances allow.
Since 1963, the NYFF has been a centerpiece of New York’s arts scene. Festival organizers will keep this tradition alive while adapting as necessary to the current health crisis. Film at Lincoln Center will determine the format of the festival this summer, maintaining its commitment and responsibility to films and filmmakers, while ensuring that the safety and well-being of its audiences and guests remain their priority.
With new leadership in place, the festival’s offerings will be included into five banner sections: Main Slate, Currents, Spotlight, Revivals and Talks. The Main Slate selection committee has been expanded to five members. The festival is also bringing new voices into its overall curatorial team, which will now, with the goal of expanding and diversifying its reach, consist of Film at Lincoln Center programming staff and an international roster of programmers and advisors.
The updated structure will include The Main Slate, which is the historic core of the festival. It will bring together the films that promise to define the year in cinema. The selection committee for this section will be Dennis Lim (Chair), Florence Almozini, K. Austin Collins, Eugene Hernandez (NYFF Director) and Rachel Rosen.
A new section called Currents will be added to the lineup, and is designed to complement the Main Slate. The Currents section traces a more complete picture of contemporary cinema, with an emphasis on new and innovative forms and voices. The section will present a diverse offering of short and feature-length work by filmmakers and artists working at the vanguard of the medium. The newly formed selection committee for this section will be Lim, Almozini, Aily Nash, and Tyler Wilson.
The new Splotlight section will be NYFF‘s showcase of sneak previews, gala events, screenings with live or performance elements, guest-curated selections and other special evenings. The section will be programmed by Hernandez and Lim.
The Revivals section connects cinema’s rich past to its dynamic present through an eclectic assortment of new restorations, titles selected by the festival’s filmmakers, rarities and more. This section will be programmed by Almozini and Dan Sullivan.
The Talks section will supplement NYFF‘s screenings with a series of free and ticketed panel discussions and in-depth conversations with a wide range of guests. This section will be programmed by Hernandez, Devika Girish and Madeline Whittle.
The new NYFF structure effectively consolidates many sections that previously existed in the festival. Documentaries, which have always been an important part of the program, will now be represented throughout the festival. Shorts programming will largely exist within the new Currents section, as will the experimental work and artists’ films previously shown in the Projections section.
NYFF is also appointing a new team of five advisors, including Violeta Bava, Michelle Carey, Leo Goldsmith, Rachael Rakes and Gina Telaroli. The advisors collectively bring a depth of experience and expertise in film festivals, development and production, criticism and academia, moving-image exhibitions, and archival projects, and will work with festival programmers on film scouting and to facilitate connections and collaborations with various sectors of cinema.
As the festival dates approach, Film at Lincoln Center will share additional NYFF programming updates. For more information about the Learn more about the festival at Film at Lincoln Center’s official website.