The New York Film Festival's 55th edition begins on September 28th and runs through the first two weeks of October. This year they're super hooked on France (not that there's anything wrong with that) and their longstanding compulsion to screen every single thing that the prolific South Korean director Hong Sang-Soo has ever shot results in him hogging 2 of the 25 slots. Predicting a Hong Sang-Soo at NYFF is like saying "Woody Allen is filming an untitled new project this year"... it's always true so you will always be prophetic.
Joachim Trier's THELMA - will it be Norway's Oscar submission?
The results of the NYFF lineup are helpful when planning your Toronto festival because many of the titles overlap. If it's showing at NYFF I try to avoid it in Toronto knowing I can see it in just two weeks time. But in some cases the need to shove something in your eyeballs will be too great to wait.
How many of the foreign titles after the jump will be Oscar submissions this season? I'm guessing at least a few with the most likely being Sweden's The Square and Norway's Thelma. Other possibilities are Argentina's Zama (though Argentina often has several options), Finland's The Other Side of Hope (Finland's sole nomination comes from this director) and Poland's Spoor (two of Agnieszka Holland's previous movies have received an Oscar nomination, Europa Europa in screenplay and In Darkness for foreign language film).
The lineup is after the jump...
LAST FLAG FLYING
Last Flag Flying Dir. Richard Linklater (US) OPENING NIGHT
This is based on the book that's a sequel to The Last Detail which became a Jack Nicholson movie. This one stars Bryan Cranston, Steve Carell reportedly in the Jack Nicholson and Randy Quaid roles (though IMDb lists different character names then in the Last Detail so we're not sure what to think).
Wonderstruck Dir. Todd Haynes (US) CENTERPIECE
Wonder Wheel Dir. Woody Allen (US) CLOSING NIGHT
Before We Vanish Dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Japan)
BPM (Beats Per Minute) Dir. Robin Campillo (France)
Bright Sunshine In Dir. Claire Denis (France)
Juliette Binoche stars and if the movie is anything like the poster it will be Denis' most atypical film.
Call Me by Your Name Dir. Luca Guadagnino (Italy/France)
The Day After Dir. Hong Sang-soo (South Korea)
Visages villages Dir. Agnès Varda & JR (France)
Félicité Dir. Alain Gomis (France/Senegal)
The Florida Project Dir. Sean Baker (US)
His last picture was a near-breakthrough (why didn't Tangerine get bigger? it was so scrappy-perfect) and this one is winning raves
Ismael’s Ghosts Dir. Arnaud Desplechin (France)
Lady Bird Dir. Greta Gerwig (US)
We'll finally get more details about this one which stars Saoirse Ronan and Timothée Chalamet (who is having quite a year given that Call Me By Your Name is also happening)
Lover for a Day Dir. Philippe Garrel (France)
The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) Dir. Noah Baumbach (US)
Mrs. Hyde/Madame Hyde Dir. Serge Bozon (France)
This is a riff on Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde with Isabelle Huppert in the starring role. YES PLEASE
Mudbound Dir. Dee Rees (US)
On the Beach at Night Alone Dir. Hong Sang-soo (South Korea)
Kim Min-hee (of the Handmaiden fame) stars
The Other Side of Hope Dir. Aki Kaurismäki (Finland)
Kaurismaki turns his deadpan comic eye on a poker player and salesman befriending new immigrants to Finland
The Rider Dir. Chloé Zhao (US)
Spoor/Pokot Dir. Agnieszka Holland, in cooperation with Kasia Adamik (Poland/Germany)
The Square Dir. Ruben Östlund (Sweden)
The Palme d'Or winner seems like a certain Oscar player in foreign film -- though that competition has been known to surprise
Thelma Dir. Joachim Trier (Norway)
Trier steps away from his usual depressed young men character studies (brilliant though they are) for this female led picture with supernatural elements
Western Dir. Valeska Grisebach (Germany/Bulgaria)
Zama Dir. Lucrecia Martel (Argentina/Brazil)