New York Film Festival: What We’re Excited For

Can you believe it’s already Fall? That means events galore including the 56th New York Film Festival. There’s so many fantastic films to see–from dramas to documentaries–that it may be hard for you to catch them all. So, here’s a quick look at the Main Slate films that we’re excited for:

If Beale Street Could Talk
Barry Jenkins, director of Moonlight, presents his second feature film. This is an adaptation of the James Baldwin’s novel. This one is sure to be just as emotional and beautiful.

At Eternity’s Gate
The Closing Night film for the NYFF is about Van Gogh’s last days. With Willem Dafoe as Van Gogh and Oscar Isaac as Gauguin, Julian Schnabel’s film looks lush and brilliant.

The Favourite
This is the Opening Night film. We love a good costume historical film, and this film looks like it fits the bill; plus, it promises some laughs. The always-terrific Olivia Colman plays Queen Anne during the War of the Spanish Succession. Rachel Weisz plays the Duchess of Marlborough and Emma Stone her servant.

Credit: Claire Denis

High Life  [no official trailer has been released yet]

This sounds like an epic movie. From writer-director Claire Denis (this is her first film shot in English) comes a story about a spaceship piloted by death row inmates. They attempting to get to a black hole to see if they can harness any power from it. The cast includes Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche, André Benjamin.

3 Faces
Director Jafar Panahi is one of Iran’s most famous filmmakers. He also has been infamously banned from filmmaking by the Iranian government. In this, actress Behnaz Jafari (playing herself) receives a video from a young woman (Marziyeh Rezaei) who has taken her own life because her parents wouldn’t let her become an actor. So Jafari goes to the small village (along with Panahi, playing himself) to investigate.

Shoplifters
This is from director Hirokazu Kore-eda. It was also the Palme d’Or winner at Cannes. The film shows the struggles of a family (not by blood) living in poverty in Tokyo and what happens when they bring a new young girl into the group.

Wildlife
Paul Dano’s directoral debut is an adaptation of a novel by Richard Ford. The adaptation is co-written by Zoe Kazan, and the film (about a family in which the husband fights wildfires and the wife and son are left behind time and again) stars Jake Gyllenhal and Carey Mulligan.

For more information on the New York Film Festival, click here. 

Feature Photo Credit: Claire Denis, still from High Life