New works by Steven Spielberg, Todd Haynes, Chantal Akerman, Michael Moore, Michel Gondry, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Guy Maddin, Stéphane Brizé, and Michael Almereyda are among the 26 films that will comprise the Main Slate of the 2015 New York Film Festival.
Joining the previously announced Opening Night ( The Walk ), Centerpiece (Steve Jobs), and Closing Night ( Miles Ahead ) selections are such titles as Haynes’ Cannes hit Carol, starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara; Moore’s new documentary Where To Invade Next (fast on the heels of its premiere at Toronto); Gondry’s new “handmade-SFX comedy” Microbe & Gasoline; the romantic comedy Maggie’s Plan, starring Greta Gerwig, Ethan Hawke, Julianne Moore, Bill Hader, and Maya Rudolph, from director Rebecca Miller; the world premiere of Don’t Blink: Robert Frank, Laura Israel’s documentary portrait of the legendary photographer; and the Sundance favorites Experimenter (a dramatization of the notorious Milgram experiment, starring Peter Sarsgaard and Winona Ryder) and John Crowley’s Brooklyn (our pick for the best film at Sundance this year, savvily held by Fox Searchlight for awards season).
But the biggest head-scratcher in the slate is Bridge of Spies, the Tom Hanks-fronted, Steven Spielberg-directed, Coen Brothers-co-written Cold War thriller. It’s not surprising that it’s screening at NYFF; what’s surprising (particularly as it’s a World Premiere) is that it didn’t nab one of those three spotlight slots. Perhaps it became available to the festival after those titles have been determined; perhaps Spielberg and company are merely choosing to fly into awards season under the radar.
The New York Film Festival runs September 25 through October 11. Check out the full slate here; festival passes and packages are available now, with individual tickets on sale for patrons at the end of August and general public shortly thereafter.