2020 New York Film Festival

2020 New York Film Festival
Opening filmLovers Rock
Closing filmFrench Exit
LocationNew York City, United States
Founded1963
Founded byRichard Roud and Amos Vogel
Hosted byFilm at Lincoln Center
Artistic directorDennis Lim
Festival dateSeptember 17 – October 11, 2020
Websitehttps://www.filmlinc.org/nyff2020/

The 58th New York Film Festival took place from September 17 to October 11, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, the festival was held virtually across the country and at drive-ins throughout New York City.[1][2]

It marked Dennis Lim first year as artistic director of the festival.[3]

Steve McQueen's Lovers Rock was the opening film. Chloé Zhao's Nomadland was festival's centerpiece. Azazel Jacobs' French Exit was the closing film.[2]

Appearing in the NYFF's "Main Slate" for the first time are Eugène Green, Déa Kulumbegashvili, Song Fang, Chaitanya Tamhane, Azazel Jacobs, Viktor Kossakovsky, Heidi Ewing, Matías Piñeiro, Sam Pollard, Philippe Lacôte, Garrett Bradley, Yulene Olaizola, Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw.

World premieres included Azazel Jacobs's French Exit, Steve McQueen's Lovers Rock, Mangrove and Red, White and Blue, David Dufresne's The Monopoly of Violence and Sofia Coppola's On the Rocks.

Official Selections

Main slate

The following films were selected to the "Main Slate" section of the Festival:[1][4]

English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country
Atarrabi and MikelatsAtarrabi et MikelatsEugène GreenBelgium, France
BeginningდასაწყისიDea KulumbegashviliGeorgia
The CalmingSong FangChina
City HallFrederick WisemanUnited States
Days日子Tsai Ming-liangTaiwan
The DiscipleChaitanya TamhaneIndia
French Exit (closing film)Azazel JacobsUnited Kingdom, Canada
GundaViktor KossakovskyUnited States, Norway
I Carry You with MeTe Llevo ConmigoHeidi EwingUnited States, Mexico
IsabellaMatías PiñeiroArgentina
Lovers Rock (opening film)Steve McQueenUnited Kingdom
MalmkrogCristi PuiuRomania
MangroveSteve McQueenUnited Kingdom
MLK/FBISam PollardUnited States
Night of the KingsLa Nuit des roisPhilippe LacôteFrance, Côte d'Ivoire, Canada, Senegal
Nomadland (centerpiece)Chloé ZhaoUnited States
NotturnoGianfranco RosiItaly
Red, White and BlueSteve McQueenUnited Kingdom
The Salt of TearsLe Sel des larmesPhilippe GarrelFrance
Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue 一直游到海水变蓝Jia ZhangkeChina
TimeGarrett BradleyUnited States
Tragic Jungle Selva trágicaYulene OlaizolaMexico
The Truffle HuntersMichael Dweck and Gregory KershawUnited States, Greece, Italy
UndineChristian PetzoldGermany
The Woman Who Ran도망친 여자Hong Sang-sooSouth Korea

Spotlight

The following films were selected for the Spotlight section:[1]

English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country
All In: The Fight for DemocracyLiz Garbus and Lisa CortésUnited States
David Byrne's American UtopiaSpike Lee
Hopper/WellesOrson Welles
The Human Voice (short)Pedro AlmodóvarSpain
The Monopoly of Violence Un pays qui se tient sageDavid DufresneFrance
On the RocksSofia CoppolaUnited States

Currents

The following films were selected for the Currents section:[1]

English title Original title Director(s) Production country
ApparitionIsmaïl BahriTunisia, France
FaunaFlora y faunaNicolás PeredaMexico, Canada
Her Name Was EuropaAnja Dornieden, Juan David González MonroyGermany
Her Socialist SmileJohn GianvitoUnited States
Hidden (short)Jafar PanahiFrance
The InheritanceEphraim AsiliUnited States
Its Distorting MirrorRaúl Ruiz and Valeria SarmientoChile
King of SanwiAkosua Adoma OwusuUnited States, Ghana
The Last CityHeinz EmigholzGermany
The LobbyGermany, Argentina
My Mexican BretzelNuria GiménezSpain
OuverturesThe Living and the Dead EnsembleUnited Kingdom, France
The Plastic HouseAlison ChhornAustralia
A Revolt Without ImagesPilar MonsellSpain
Slow MachineJoe DeNardo and Paul FeltenUnited States
The Tango of the WidowerRaúl Ruiz and Valeria SarmientoChile
There Are Not Thirty-Six Ways of Showing a Man Getting on a HorseNo existen treinta y seis maneras de mostrar cómo un hombre se sube a un caballoNicolás ZukerfeldArgentina
This Day Won't LastMouaad el SalemTunisia, Belgium
Untitled Sequence of GapsVika KirchenbauerGermany
The Works and DaysC.W. Winter and Anders EdströmUnited States, Sweden, Japan, United Kingdom
The Year of the DiscoveryLuis López CarrascoSpain

Revivals

The following films were selected to the Revivals section:[1]

English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country
Chess of the Wind (1976)شطرنج بادMohammad Reza AslaniIran
Climax (2018)Gaspar NoéFrance, Belgium
Damnation (1988)KárhozatBéla TarrHungary
Flowers of Shanghai (1998)海上花Hou Hsiao-hsienTaiwan
The Hourglass Sanatorium (1973)Sanatorium pod klepsydrąWojciech HasPoland
In the Mood for Love (2000)花樣年華Wong Kar-waiHong Kong
Meeting the Man: James Baldwin in ParisTerence DixonUnited Kingdom, France
Muhammad Ali, the GreatestWilliam KleinFrance
Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)Salò o le 120 giornate di SodomaPier Paolo PasoliniItaly, France
Simone Barbes or VirtueSimone Barbès ou la vertuMarie-Claude TreilhouFrance
Smooth Talk (1985)Joyce ChopraUnited States
The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1973)Ivan Dixon
Xiao Wu (Pickpocket) (1998)小武Jia ZhangkeChina
Zero for Conduct (1933)Zéro de conduiteJean VigoFrance

Short films

The following short films were selected:[1][5]

English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country
Apiyemiyekî?Ana VazBrazil, France, Portugal, Netherlands
Aquí y alláMelisa LiebenthalArgentina, France
An Arrow Pointing to a HoleSteve ReinkeUnited States, Canada
August 22, This YearGraham FoyCanada
AutoficcionLaida LertxundiSpain, United States, New Zealand
The ChickenNeo SoraUnited States
Claudette's StarAyo AkingbadeUnited Kingdom
CorrespondenceCarla Simón and Dominga SotomayorSpain/Chile
DrillsSarah FriedlandUnited States
EkphrasisRiccardo GiacconiItaly
The End of Suffering (a proposal)Jacqueline LentzouGreece
Episodes – Spring 2018Mathilde GirardFrance
ExtractionsThirza CuthandCanada
Figure Minus FactMary Helena ClarkUnited States
– force –Simon Liu and Jennie MaryTai LiuHong Kong, United States
Glimpses from a Visit to Orkney in Summer 1995Ute AurandGermany
Hard, Cracked the WindMark JenkinUnited Kingdom
Humongous!Aya KawazoeJapan
In Sudden DarknessTayler MontagueUnited States
In the Air TonightAndrew Norman WilsonUnited States
The IsolatedJay GiampietroUnited States
Labor of LoveSylvia SchedelbauerGermany
Letter From Your Far-Off CountrySuneil SanzgiriUnited States, India
Look Then BelowBen RiversUnited Kingdom
MalembeLuis ArníasVenezuela, United States
A Night at the OperaSergei LoznitsaFrance
Notes, Imprints (On Love): Part IAlexandra CuestaUnited States, Ecuador
Object Lessons, or: What Happened WhitsundayRicky D'AmbroseUnited States
Once RemovedLawrence Abu HamdanLebanon
Point and Line to PlaneSofia BohdanowiczCanada
SanfieldKevin Jerome EversonUnited States
See You in My DreamsShun IkezoeJapan
Shots in the Dark with David GodlisNoah Kloster and Lewie KlosterUnited States
Single CopyHsu Che-YuTaiwan
Stump the GuesserGuy Maddin, Evan Johnson and Galen JohnsonCanada
To the HarbourAnonymousHong Kong
Trust Study #1Shobun BaileUnited States
The Unseen RiverPhạm Ngọc LânVietnam, Laos
While Cursed by SpectersBurak ÇevikTurkey
Wild Bill HorsecockOliver ShaheryUnited States

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "58th New York Film Festival". Film at Lincoln Center. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
  2. 1 2 Yorker, The New (September 18, 2020). "The New York Film Festival Goes Virtual". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
  3. ↑ Ang, Raymond (October 9, 2025). "The Best-Dressed Man at the New York Film Festival Is the Guy in Charge". GQ. Retrieved October 11, 2025.
  4. ↑ Rubin, Rebecca (August 13, 2020). "New York Film Festival Unveils Main Slate". Variety. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
  5. ↑ Leonard Pearce, "NYFF's Inaugural Currents Lineup Features Intrepid Filmmaking Voices from Around the World". The Film Stage, August 24, 2020.
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