New York Film Festival unveils lineup, plots in-person fest

NEW YORK >> A year after depending on drive-in and virtual screenings, the New York Film Festival, one of the premier destinations of the fall festival circuit, will return to in-person premieres at Lincoln Center in September, with vaccination proof required for all attendees.

Film at Lincoln Center, which presents the annual festival, announced the lineup to the 59th NYFF on Tuesday.

This fall, festivals are taking varied approaches to the pandemic. The Venice Film Festival, which kicks off the circuit, will be entirely in-person, while the soonafter Toronto International Film Festival will depend more heavily on virtual screenings in addition to gala events in downtown Toronto venues.

The New York Film Festival will include virtual events and some outdoor screenings but forgo virtual screenings.

Organizers said that decision was “in response to distributor and filmmaker partners and in light of festivals returning and theaters reopening across the country.”

Dennis Lim, the festival’s director of programming, called the lineup “a reminder of cinema’s world-making possibilities” that “help us make sense of our moment.”

“I’m in awe of the sheer range of voices, styles, ideas and images contained in this lineup, which includes many returning filmmakers but also more new names than we’ve had in some time, and I’m eager to welcome audiences back to our cinemas to experience these films as live, communal events,” said Lim in a statement.

The New York Film Festival runs Sept. 24 through Oct. 10.