NYFF55 Slate Dominated by Amazon, Netflix

Events, Film Festivals, Past Events

Gordon Cox | Variety

The New York Film Festival has announced the full list of films on its tightly curated main slate — and the roster shows just how quickly streaming services have become major players in the film industry, with all three of the previously announced gala screenings — Richard Linklater’s “Last Flag Flying,” Todd Haynes “Wonderstruck” and Woody Allen’s “Wonder Wheel” — distributed by Amazon, and two more slate additions — Noah Baumbach’s ensemble comedy “The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)” and Dee Rees’ period drama “Mudbound” — coming from Netflix.

Also among the the 25 titles on the lineup are festival-circuit favorites including Robin Campillo’s AIDS drama “BPM,” Luca Guadagnino’s romance “Call Me by Your Name” and Sean Baker’s childhood drama “The Florida Project.”

Presented annually by Film Society of Lincoln Center, the NYFF has over the years garnered a reputation for rigorous programming choices slanted toward international and often challenging work, although more recent years has seen NYFF encompass more accessible studio fate. A slot in the fest often serves as a launchpad for a run at awards season.

With a full one-fifth of NYFF’s 55th annual main slate coming from Amazon and Netflix — and last year’s opener, Ava DuVernay’s “13th,” also a Netflix title — streaming services continue to make major inroads in the film industry, betting heavily on the kind of mid-budget comedies and dramas that studios have largely abandoned in favor of tentpoles. Last year the bet paid off with Amazon snagging three Oscars for “Manchester by the Sea” (also in last year’s NYFF) and “The Salesman,” and Netflix taking its first Academy Award for documentary short “The White Helmets.”

The 55th annual New York Film Festival runs Sept. 28-Oct. 15. The full 2017 main slate follows.

NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL 2017 MAIN SLATE

  • Last Flag Flying – Dir. Richard Linklater
  • Wonderstruck – Dir. Todd Haynes
  • Wonder Wheel – Dir. Woody Allen
  • Before We Vanish – Dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa
  • BPM (Beats Per Minute)/120 battements par minute – Dir. Robin Campillo
  • Bright Sunshine In/Un beau soleil intérieur – Dir. Claire Denis
  • Call Me by Your Name – Dir. Luca Guadagnino
  • The Day After – Dir. Hong Sang-soo
  • Faces Places/Visages villages – Dir. Agnès Varda & JR
  • Félicité – Dir. Alain Gomis
  • The Florida Project – Dir. Sean Baker
  • Ismael’s Ghosts/Les fantômes d’Ismaël – Dir. Arnaud Desplechin
  • Lady Bird – Dir. Greta Gerwig
  • Lover for a Day/L’Amant d’un jour – Dir. Philippe Garrel
  • The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) – Dir. Noah Baumbach
  • Mrs. Hyde/Madame Hyde – Dir. Serge Bozon
  • Mudbound – Dir. Dee Rees
  • On the Beach at Night Alone – Dir. Hong Sang-soo
  • The Other Side of Hope/Toivon tuolla puolen – Dir. Aki Kaurismäki
  • The Rider – Dir. Chloé Zhao
  • Spoor/Pokot – Dir. Agnieszka Holland, in cooperation with Kasia Adamik
  • The Square – Dir. Ruben Östlund
  • Thelma – Dir. Joachim Trier
  • Western – Dir. Valeska Grisebach
  • Zama – Dir. Lucrecia Martel
Tags: Dee Rees