The New York Film Festival is bringing big stars, big buzz, and bonkers cinema.Credit: Composite: Mashable / Images: A24/ A24 / Searchlight / TIFF / A24
The New York Film Festival kicks off this week, continuing what’s already been a jam-packed fall festival season. Whether you’re attending the festival in person or just planning out your fall moviegoing calendar, Mashable has you covered on the buzziest titles you’ll want to check out.
This year, NYFF’s slate includes films from acclaimed directors like Werner Herzog, Pedro Almodóvar, and James Gray, as well as highly-anticipated films like Godzilla Minus Onesequel Godzilla Minus Zero and Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s Elizabeth Holmes documentary You Can See Everything. Plus, keep an eye out for Oscar hopeful turns from stars like Julianne Moore, Pedro Pascal, John Turturro, and more.
From searing documentaries to poignant dramas, here are 14 films to keep an eye out for at NYFF.
1. Godzilla Minus Zero
One of the most thrilling surprises of 2023 cinema was just how epic Takashi Yamazaki’s Godzilla Minus Onewas. While American filmmakers had made a flurry of flashy monster movies, it was this period piece set in World War II that had audiences and critics roaring with renewed vigor for the iconic kaiju.
That its sequel is playing the New York Film Festival speaks to the enthusiasm of cinephiles for more. Yamazaki returns with a story that picks up two years after the events of the first film. The monster is sure to rise again. And we cannot wait! —Kristy Puchko, Entertainment Editor
Starring:Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, and Yuki Yamada
How to watch:Godzilla Minus Zerowill open in theaters and IMAX on Nov. 6.
2. Behemoth!
Tony Gilroy, writer/director of The Bourne Legacy, Duplicity,and Michael Clayton,returns with a tantalizing drama headlined by Pedro Pascal.
The Last of Usstar plays a musician — from a family of musicians — who makes a living playing for movie scores. Beyond that, it’s unclear what exactly will go down in Bohemoth!But considering Gilroy’s past films, we expect plenty of seduction and tension. And honestly, the cast alone would have us seated
How to watch:Behemoth!will open in theaters on Dec. 4.
3. Paper Tiger
Writer/director James Gray has previously offered audiences New York-set dramas like Two Lovers, The Immigrant,and Armageddon Time.His latest returns to the city that never sleeps, focusing on a pair of brothers who want to be kings of Queens.
Adam Driver stars as Gary Pearl, a cop-turned-security consultant, who’s living a luxury life and is eager to cut his young brother Irwin, an earnest engineer played by Miles Teller, in on a big opportunity. But when they accidentally cross the Russian mob, Irwin’s family — including two young sons and a loving wife (Scarlett Johansson) — are threatened. A thriller that explores how an average man might fare against Goodfellas makes for a tense watch you won’t want to miss
Starring:Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, and Miles Teller
How to watch:Paper Tigerwill open in theaters on Nov. 13.
4. A Long Winter
From Andrew Haigh, the writer/director of All of Us Strangers, comes another brilliant adaptation rooted in queer love. Based on Colm Tóibín’s novella of the same name, A Long Winterstars Fred Hechinger as a young man living in the Colorado Mountains with his parents whose life is forever changed when his mother goes missing.
A tale patient, passionate, poignant, and a bit spooky, A Long Winteris a stirring drama about growing up. Plus, it offers a phenomenal lead performance from Fred Hechinger. Don’t overlook it
Starring: Fred Hechinger, Caitríona Balfe, Martin Freeman, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Kit Connor, and D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai
How to watch:A Long Winterhas not yet announced a theatrical release date.
5. Clarissa
Directors Arie Esiri and Chuko Esiri (This Is My Desire) re-team for a curious adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway.Chuko began by transporting the novel’s setting from 1920’s London, England, to contemporary Lagos, Nigeria.
There, a wealthy, watchful wife named Clarissa (Sophie Okonedo) plans a party, which she hopes her submissive husband (Jude Akuwudike) won’t mar. Invited are some old friends, including a former beau (David Oyelowo), and an estranged gal pal (Nikki Amuka-Bird). But their pasts come alive as the story leaps back to their youth, where passion, status, and intellect intersect with young love.
With a crackling cast, Clarissais a promising new spin on Woolf’s beloved novel
Starring:Sophie Okonedo, David Oyelowo, India Amarteifio, Toheeb Jimoh, Nikki Amuka-Bird, and Ayo Edebiri
How to watch:Clarissawill open in limited release on Dec. 11.
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6. NAZA
Israeli documentarians Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, who co-directed 2024’s Academy Award-winning No Other Landalongside Palestinian filmmakers Basel Adra and Hamdan Ballal, return to NYFF with their new documentary NAZA. Made up of interviews with 24 anonymous Israeli military and intelligence officers, NAZAtakes an unflinching look at how Israeli forces use AI and high-tech surveillance systems to target and kill Palestinians. The film draws its title from the term for the number of estimated civilian deaths in strikes. Instead of saying 15 people will die, Israeli forces say 15 NAZA.
The term NAZA is one of the many ways Abraham and Szor’s striking film illustrates how the Israeli government and military dehumanize Palestinians and try to justify their killings. Often, interviewees will claim they’re just cogs in a machine. Abraham and Szor refrain from showing any actual atrocities, instead forcing viewers to sit in the descriptions of killings and strikes. The result is a calmly brutal portrait of the banality of evil that should be required viewing. — Belen Edwards, Entertainment Reporter
How to watch:NAZAopens in limited theaters Sept. 30.
7. Misty Green
Chris Rock writes and directs a drama about a once-revered Black actress who is struggling to make ends meet in Hollywood. Rosalind Eleazar stars as the eponymous has-been, who’s trying to keep her cool while remounting a second act and being confronted with a dehumanizing establishment that’s obsessed with everything new, hot, and white. In this journey, she’ll encounter lots of familiar faces, and with fire.
Rock knows comedy. Can he helm drama? We’re ready to find out
HBO Max
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top pick for premium content
Disney+
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best for families
Hulu
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popular choice for originals
Peacock
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low-cost choice for live sport
Starring: Rosalind Eleazar, Daniel Kaluuya, Adam Driver, and Anna Kendrick
How to watch:Misty Greenwill open in select theaters on Oct. 9.
8. The Only Living Pickpocket in New York
You might recognize Noah Segan from his appearances in Rian Johnson movies like Knives Out, Brick,and Looper.Now, he’s writer/director of The Only Living Pickpocket in New York,which stars John Turturro as an aging thief who targets the wrong mark. On a ticking clock to set things right, this thriller is being celebrated as a “love letter to New York” with another terrific turn by Turturro
Starring:John Turturro, Giancarlo Esposito, Will Price, and Tatiana Maslany
How to watch:The Only Living Pickpocket in New York opens in NYC and L.A. Oct. 23, before going nationwide on Oct. 30.
9. Tender Loving Care
If Widow‘s Bayhas you craving more Kate O’Flynn, you won’t want to miss Mike Leigh’s latest. Tender Loving Carestars the actress as a social worker who’s coping with a breakup and the realization that her beloved father is sliding into dementia. But far from a ruthless tearjerker, this is a drama alight with joy, love, and a bit of song and dance. And O’Flynn is brilliant in every bit.
Starring:Kate O’Flynn, Amanda Lawrence, Marion Bailey, and Paul Jesson
How to watch:Tender Loving Carewill open in theaters on Dec. 4.
10. You Can See Everything
Comedian Nathan Fielder and filmmaker Lance Oppenheim (Primetime) team up for a documentary about infamous Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. Following its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival, critics have been awed and the internet has been obsessed with You Can See Everything.
Considering Fielder is known for blurring the lines of reality and performance, what will his doc about living in the same house as Holmes ahead of her incarceration offer? We’re as curious as everyone else
Starring:Nathan Fielder, Elizabeth Holmes
How to watch:You Can See Everythingwill open in theaters on Oct. 16.
11. Club Kid
You might know Jordan Firstman as the self-sabotaging stylist on I Love L.A.Now, get to know him as a filmmaker.
Written and directed by and starring Firstman, Club Kidcenters on a New York City club promoter whose life dramatically changes when a kid comes into his life. Club Kidhas been gathering praise on the festival circuit, and seems certain to thrill audiences that are already in love with the Big Apple. Ready to party?
Starring:Jordan Firstman, Reggie Absolom, Cara Delevingne, and Diego Calva
How to watch:Club Kidwill open in theaters on Nov. 6.
12. Bucking Fastard
Werner Herzog hasn’t shown a film at NYFF since 1982’s Fitzcarraldo.So fans of the offbeat auteur are practically giddy over the New York premiere of Bucking Fastard.
In this drama, written and directed by Herzog, real-life sisters Rooney Mara and Kate Mara plays sisters who speak in unison, share the same dreams, and fall in love with the same man (Orlando Bloom). Early buzz has it that this setup makes for some surreal moments and unsettling threesome scenes
Starring:Rooney Mara, Kate Mara, and Orlando Bloom
How to watch:Bucking Fastard’s theatrical release is currently TBD.
13. Bitter Christmas
It’s Pedro Almodóvar, back with a semi-autobiographical drama about a filmmaker whose search for
Rich with color and melodrama, Bitter Christmasweaves not one story of an artist who irks their loved ones by pulling from their lives for his work, but two! In 2004, Elsa is looking to overcome grief over her mother with a new project. In 2025, Raúl faces a similar struggle, looking to a suffering friend for inspiration. But these two have more in common than you might expect.
After scoring praise out of the Cannes International Film Festival, Bitter Christmascomes to NYFF to stir emotions and discourse
Starring:Bárbara Lennie, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Victoria Luengo, Patrick Criado, Milena Smit, and Quim Gutiérrez
How to watch:Bitter Christmasopens in limited release on Nov. 13, expanding Nov. 25.
14. The Debut
Oh, we dolove a film about making theatre. Director, writer, and producer Jesse Eisenberg’s A24 comedy looks to capture the sheer grit and dedication of community theatre productions and the lifeline they can be for the people who make them.
In The Debut, Julianne Moore plays Mona Friedman, a wife and mother who decides to audition for a community musical in her local New Jersey theatre. What begins as a flight of fancy becomes a serious means for Mona to channel her inner rage and joy, as local legend and demanding director Jerry (Paul Giamatti) pushes her to unlock a part of herself she’s long suppressed.*— Shannon Connellan, Senior Editor
Starring:Julianne Moore, Paul Giamatti, Halle Bailey, Jesse Eisenberg, Cara Buono, Craig Bierko, Eldar Isgandarov, and Bernadette Peters
How to watch:The Debutopens in theaters Dec. 11.
TopicsFilmNYFF: New York Film Festival
Shannon Connellan is Mashable’s Senior Editor, General Assignments, based in London. She has been Mashable’s UK Editor (and still manages the illustrious UK team) and Australia Editor, but emotionally, she lives searching for Exit 8. A Tomatometer-approved critic, Shannon writes about entertainment, tech, social good, science, culture, and Australian horror, and loves to nerd outwith movie stars, filmmakers, and TV creators.
Belen Edwards is an Entertainment Reporter at Mashable. She covers movies and TV with a focus on fantasy and science fiction, adaptations, animation, and more nerdy goodness. She is a member of the Critics Choice Association and the Television Critics Association, as well as a Tomatometer-approved critic.
Kristy Puchko is the Entertainment Editor at Mashable. Based in New York City, she’s an established film critic and entertainment reporter who has traveled the world on assignment, covered a variety of film festivals, co-hosted movie-focused podcasts, and interviewed a wide array of performers and filmmakers.
