The Main Slate for the New York Film Festival has been revealed

Yesterday afternoon, the 2018 New York Film Festival unveiled the Main Slate for this year’s celebration of cinema. NYFF already had announced their big three titles, with The Favourite from Yorgos Lanthimos being the Opening Night Selection, Roma from Alfonso Cuaron being the Centerpiece Selection, and At Eternity’s Gate from Julian Schnabel being the Closing Night Selection. Now, the festival can add 30 more titles to the lineup. This slate makes up most of what the fest will have to offer this year. You’ll be able to see the full list in a bit, but some discussion is more than warranted here today. So, first that.

The 56th New York Film Festival has added a number of flicks that could be seen as Academy Award contenders. In addition to the three we’ve already mentioned, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs from Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Cold War from Paweł Pawlikowski, Her Smell from Alex Ross Perry, High Life from Claire Denis, If Beale Street Could Talk from Barry Jenkins, Private Life from Tamara Jenkins, and Wildlife from Paul Dano have Oscar aspirations. That only scratches the surface, as the slate also has some other Cannes Film Festival award winners, along with, wait for it…a 14 hour movie. Yes, that’s actually happening. Now, on to the actual list, before I say a bit more about NYFF and what could be in store for everyone this year.

This is part of the festival’s announcement, as well as the Main Slate:

This year’s Main Slate showcases films from 22 different countries, including new titles from celebrated auteurs, extraordinary work from directors making their first NYFF bows, and captivating features that wowed audiences at international festivals. Five films in the festival were honored at Cannes, including Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Palme d’Or–winner Shoplifters; Jean-Luc Godard’s The Image Book, awarded a Special Palme d’Or; Cold War, which took home the Best Director prize for Paweł Pawlikowski; and Alice Rohrwacher’s Happy as Lazzaro and Jafar Panahi’s 3 Faces, which shared the Best Screenplay award. Returning to the festival for the sixth consecutive year is Hong Sangsoo with two new films, joined by his fellow NYFF54 filmmakers Olivier Assayas and Barry Jenkins. Frederick Wiseman makes his 10th appearance at the festival, while other returning filmmakers include Joel & Ethan Coen, Alex Ross Perry, Claire Denis, Ulrich Köhler, Lee Chang-dong, Jia Zhangke, and Christian Petzold. Making both their directorial and NYFF debuts are Paul Dano and Richard Billingham, and Louis Garrel makes his first NYFF showing as a director. Other filmmakers new to the festival include Dominga Sotomayor, Christophe Honoré, Tamara Jenkins, Mariano Llinás, and Ying Liang, as well as Bi Gan and Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, both alumni of New Directors/New Films 2016.

As previously announced, the NYFF56 Opening Night is Yorgos Lanthimos’s The Favourite, Alfonso Cuarón’s ROMA is Centerpiece, and Julian Schnabel’s At Eternity’s Gate will close the festival.

The 56th New York Film Festival Main Slate

Opening Night
The Favourite
Dir. Yorgos Lanthimos

Centerpiece
ROMA
Dir. Alfonso Cuarón

Closing Night
At Eternity’s Gate
Dir. Julian Schnabel

3 Faces
Dir. Jafar Panahi

Asako I & II
Dir. Ryûsuke Hamaguchi

Ash Is Purest White
Dir. Jia Zhangke

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Dir. Joel Coen & Ethan Coen

Burning
Dir. Lee Chang-dong

Cold War
Dir. Paweł Pawlikowski

A Faithful Man/L’Homme fidèle
Dir. Louis Garrel

A Family Tour
Dir. Ying Liang

La Flor
Dir. Mariano Llinás

Grass
Dir. Hong Sangsoo

Happy as Lazzaro/Lazzaro felice
Dir. Alice Rohrwacher

Her Smell
Dir. Alex Ross Perry

High Life
Dir. Claire Denis

Hotel by the River
Dir. Hong Sangsoo

If Beale Street Could Talk
Dir. Barry Jenkins

The Image Book/Le Livre d’image
Dir. Jean-Luc Godard

In My Room
Dir. Ulrich Köhler

Long Day’s Journey Into Night
Dir. Bi Gan

Monrovia, Indiana
Dir. Frederick Wiseman

Non-Fiction
Dir. Olivier Assayas

Private Life
Dir. Tamara Jenkins

RAY & LIZ
Dir. Richard Billingham

Shoplifters
Dir. Hirokazu Kore-eda

Sorry Angel
Dir. Christophe Honoré

Too Late to Die Young
Dir. Dominga Sotomayor

Transit
Dir. Christian Petzold

Wildlife
Dir. Paul Dano

NYFF Special Events, Spotlight on Documentary, Retrospective, Revivals, Convergence, Shorts, and Projections sections, as well as filmmaker conversations and panels, will be announced in the coming weeks.

As you can see, while there are no world premieres, there’s still a ton to be excited about. Each and every year, the festival showcases some of cinema’s best, from all over the world. Personally, I can vouch for Wildlife as one of the better films of 2018. Beyond that, I’m most looking forward to seeing the big three of At Eternity’s Gate, The Favourite, and Roma, of course, plus The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Cold War, Her Smell, High Life, If Beale Street Could Talk, and Private Life. NYFF seems sure to be a memorable fest, as always. Sit tight and before you know it, the fall festival season will be fully upon us…