2008 New York Film Festival

2008 New York Film Festival
Opening filmThe Class
Closing filmThe Wrestler
LocationNew York City, United States
Founded1963
Founded byRichard Roud and Amos Vogel
Hosted byFilm at Lincoln Center
Artistic directorRichard Peña
Festival dateSeptember 26 – October 12, 2008
Websitehttps://www.filmlinc.org/nyff/

The 46th New York Film Festival took place from September 26 to October 12, 2008, in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center.[1]

The festival's opening film was Laurent Cantet's The Class, Clint Eastwood's Changeling was the festival's centerpiece, while Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler was the festival's closing film.

Appearing in NYFF's "Main Slate" for the first time were: Alexander Olch, Antonio Campos, Ari Folman, Brillante Mendoza, Laurent Cantet, Pablo Larraín, Sergey Dvortsevoy, and Steve McQueen.

In addition to screening the feature films, which were often preceded by short films, the festival ran a sidebar retrospective of the films of controversial Japanese filmmaker Nagisa Ōshima. The festival also included its twelfth annual series Views from the Avant-Garde, showcasing a variety of experimental films.

Official Selections

The edition marked Richard Peña 20th year as NYFF's Artistic director. The selection committee was led by Peña (programming director of the Film Society of Lincoln Center), Kent Jones (editor-at-large of Film Comment and former associate programming director of the Film Society), Scott Foundas (chief film critic for L.A. Weekly), J. Hoberman (senior film critic at The Village Voice), and Lisa Schwarzbaum (film critic at Entertainment Weekly).

Main slate

The following films were selected:

English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country
24 City 二十四城记 Jia Zhangke China
AfterschoolAntonio CamposUnited States
Ashes of Time Redux (1994)東邪西毒Wong Kar-waiHong Kong
Bullet in the HeadTiro en la cabezaJaime RosalesSpain
Changeling (centerpiece) Clint Eastwood United States
Che (Part I: The Argentine and Part II: Guerilla)Steven SoderberghSpain, Germany, France, United States
ChougaShugaDarezhan OmirbaevFrance, Kazakhstan
A Christmas TaleUn conte de NoëlArnaud DesplechinFrance
The Class (opening film) Entre les murs Laurent Cantet
Four Nights with AnnaCztery noce z AnnąJerzy SkolimowskiPoland, France
GomorrahGomorraMatteo GarroneItaly
Happy-Go-LuckyMike LeighUnited Kingdom
The Headless WomanLa mujer sin cabezaLucrecia MartelArgentina, Spain, France, Italy
HungerSteve McQueenIreland, United Kingdom
I'm Gonna ExplodeVoy a explotarGerardo NaranjoMexico
Let It RainParlez-moi de la pluieAgnès JaouiFrance
Lola Montès (1955) (retrospective) Max Ophüls France, West Germany
Night and Day밤과 낮Hong Sang-sooSouth Korea
The Northern LandA Corte do NorteJoão BotelhoPortugal
ServiceSerbisBrillante MendozaPhilippines, France
Summer HoursL'heure d'étéOlivier AssayasFrance
Tokyo SonataトウキョウソナタKiyoshi KurosawaJapan
Tony ManeroPablo LarraínChile
TulpanТюльпанSergey DvortsevoyKazakhstan, Russia
Waltz with Bashirואלס עם באשירAri FolmanIsrael, France, Germany, United States, Finland, Switzerland, Belgium, Australia
Wendy and LucyKelly ReichardtUnited States
The Windmill MovieAlexander Olch
The Wrestler (closing film) Darren Aronofsky
Short films
Cry Me a River 河上的爱情 Jia Zhangke China
Deweneti Dyana Gaye France, Senegal
Dust Baker Smith United States
Gauge Alistair Banks Griffin
I Don't Feel Like Dancing Joachim Dollhopf and Evi Goldbrunner Germany
I Hear Your Scream Ahendu nde sapukai (Oigo tu grito) Pablo Lamar Paraguay, Argentina
Love Is Dead Rupture pour tous Eric Capitaine France
Maybe Tomorrow Demain peut-être Guilhem Amesland
Pal/Secam Dmitry Povolotsky Russia
Quarry (1970) Richard P. Rogers United States
Ralph Alex Winckler United Kingdom
Security Lars Henning Germany
Surprise! Fabrice Maruca France
This Is Her Katie Wolfe New Zealand
Unpredictable Behaviour Pasha Shapiro and Ernst Weber United States
Wait for Me Ross Kauffman

Special Events

The following films were selected:

English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country
The Day Shall Dawn (1959) جاگو ہوا سویرا A. J. Kardar Pakistan
It's Hard Being Loved by Jerks C'est dur d'être aimé par des cons Daniel Leconte France
The Last Command (1928) Josef von Sternberg United States
Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951) Albert Lewin United Kingdom

Retrospective

The following films were selected:

English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country
100 Years of Japanese Cinema (1994) 百年日本映画 Nagisa Ōshima Japan, United Kingdom
Boy (1969) 少年 Japan
The Catch (1961) 飼育
The Ceremony (1971) 儀式
Cruel Story of Youth (1960) 青春残酷物語
Dear Summer Sister (1972) 夏の妹
Death by Hanging (1968) 絞死刑
Diary of a Shinjuku Thief (1969) 新宿泥棒日記
Diary of a Yunbogi (1965) (short) ユンボギの日記
Double Suicide: Japanese Summer (1967) 無理心中日本の夏
Empire of Passion (1978) 愛の亡霊 France, Japan
Gohatto (1999) 御法度 Japan
In the Realm of the Senses (1976) 愛のコリーダ Japan, France
Kyoto, My Mother's Place (1991) キョート・マイ・マザーズ・プレイス Japan
The Man Who Left His Will on Film (1970) 東京戦争戦後秘話
Max mon amour (1986) France, United States, Japan
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983) 戦場のメリークリスマス Japan, United Kingdom, New Zealand
Night and Fog in Japan (1960) 日本の夜と霧 Japan
The Pleasures of the Flesh (1965) 悦楽
The Rebel (1962) 天草四郎時貞
Sing a Song of Sex (1967) 日本春歌考
The Sun's Burial (1960) 太陽の墓場
Tales of the Ninja (1967) 忍者武芸帳
Three Resurrected Drunkards (1968) 帰って来たヨッパライ
A Town of Love and Hope (1959) 愛と希望の街
Violence at Noon (1966) 白昼の通り魔

References

  1. ↑ "46th New York Film Festival". Film at Lincoln Center. Retrieved 2026-08-16.