Festivals
Mark your calendars for our annual tentpole festivals! Please note that all festival dates, especially those many months in the future, are subject to change.
The New York Jewish Film Festival (January 10–23, 2018)
The Jewish Museum and the Film Society of Lincoln Center are delighted to continue their partnership to bring you the 27th annual New York Jewish Film Festival highlighting the finest films from around the world that explore the diversity of Jewish experience. This year’s festival features an exciting lineup of documentary, narrative, and short films, ranging from restored international classics, to iconoclastic debuts from new voices.
Film Comment Selects (February 23–27, 2018)
Of all the annual film festivals in New York, there is no other quite like this one, which the New York Times called “a combination of under-the-radar art house entries and idiosyncratic revivals that reliably deliver an atmosphere of cutting-edge eclecticism.” Film Comment’s movie showcase returns in its 18th edition with a selection of titles curated by the magazine’s editors, offering strikingly bold visions, mixing New York premieres of new films and long-unseen older titles that deserve the big-screen treatment. As evidenced by such past selections as Terrence Malick’s Voyage of Time: Life’s Journey, Claire Denis’s Trouble Every Day, Olivier Assayas’s demonlover, Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy, Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker, Werner Herzog’s Cave of Forgotten Dreams, Christian Petzold’s Phoenix, and Terence Davies’s Sunset Song, these are films that play by their own rules, works of considered artistry that reflect the philosophy of a magazine that has been essential for film lovers for more than 50 years.
Neighboring Scenes (February 28–March 4, 2018)
Now in its third year, Neighboring Scenes is the Film Society’s showcase of contemporary Latin American cinema. Highlighting impressive recent productions from across the region, this selective slate of premieres exhibits the breadth of styles, techniques, and approaches employed by Latin American filmmakers today. Neighboring Scenes spans a wide geographic range, featuring established auteurs as well as fresh talent from the international festival scene. Presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and Cinema Tropical.
Rendez-Vous with French Cinema (March 8–18, 2018)
Rendez-Vous with French Cinema returns in March with another edition that exemplifies the variety and vitality of contemporary French filmmaking. The films on display, by emerging talents and established masters, raise ideas both topical and eternal, and take audiences to entirely unexpected places. Highlights from recent Rendez-Vous with French Cinema editions include Bertrand Bonello’s Nocturama, François Ozon’s Frantz, Bruno Dumont’s Slack Bay, Robin Campillo’s Eastern Boys, Justine Triet’s Victoria, and Benoît Jacquot’s 3 Hearts. Co-presented with UniFrance Films, the 23rd edition of Rendez-Vous will demonstrate that the landscape of French cinema is as fertile, inspiring, and distinct as ever.
New Directors/New Films (March 28–April 8, 2018)
Celebrating its 47th edition in 2018, the New Directors/New Films festival introduces New York audiences to the work of emerging filmmakers from around the world. Throughout its rich, nearly half-century history, New Directors has brought previously little-known talents like Pedro Almodóvar, Chantal Akerman, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Christopher Nolan, Laura Poitras, Spike Lee, and Kelly Reichardt to wider audiences. We hope you’ll join us in celebrating a group of filmmakers who represent the present and anticipate the future of cinema: daring artists whose work pushes the envelope and is never what you’d expect. Presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art.
Art of the Real (April 26–May 6, 2018)
The usual movie categories don’t apply here. Celebrating its fifth year, the Art of the Real festival offers a survey of the most vital and innovative voices in nonfiction and hybrid filmmaking. Past editions have featured titles from Mati Diop, Agnès Varda, Derek Jarman, Corneliu Porumboiu, Robert Greene, Thom Andersen, Harun Farocki, Jem Cohen, Robinson Devor, Michael Glawogger, Theo Anthony, and Nicolás Pereda; this year’s slate promises a host of works from new filmmakers as well as exciting artist spotlights. Art of the Real is documentary redefined. Presented with support from MUBI.
New York African Film Festival (May 16–22, 2018)
The New York African Film Festival celebrates its milestone 25th edition. Co-presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the African Film Festival, Inc., the 2018 festival will feature new and classic African cinema, with a special focus on intergenerational discourse, featuring works by women and younger generations of African and diaspora artists. This year, the festival will also feature films that celebrate the centennial of Nelson Mandela. As in previous years, the festival program will include screenings and discussions with filmmakers and artists, panels, an art exhibit, and ancillary events at locations around the city.
Open Roads: New Italian Cinema (May 31-June 6, 2018)
Open Roads: New Italian Cinema is the only screening series to offer North American audiences a diverse and extensive lineup of contemporary Italian films. Co-presented by FSLC and Istituto Luce Cinecittà, this year’s 18th edition again strikes a balance between emerging talents and esteemed veterans, commercial and independent fare, outrageous comedies, gripping dramas, and captivating documentaries, with in-person appearances by many of the filmmakers.
Human Rights Watch Film Festival (June 14-20, 2018)
Human Rights Watch is one of the world’s leading independent organizations dedicated to defending and protecting human rights, and its annual film festival is a vital forum for movies that tackle important global issues. Showcasing an international selection of acclaimed works that bring human rights struggles to life through storytelling, the Human Rights Watch Film Festival presents challenging, provocative art that calls for justice and social change. Selections in recent years have included some of the most urgent documentary and fiction films of our time (including The Act of Killing, Born Into Brothels, Dheepan, Incendies, The Invisible War, Iraq in Fragments, The Oath, and Restrepo), and this year promises to again feature essential and entertaining films everyone will be talking about.
New York Asian Film Festival (June 29-July 12, 2018)
The seventeenth edition of the New York Asian Film Festival is nearly upon us. This annual survey of essential—and often wild—films is New York’s most exhaustive selection of titles from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and other countries across Southeast Asia. Programmed and operated by Subway Cinema, NYAFF features contemporary premieres and classic titles, plus a host of in-person appearances and Q&As with up-and-coming and established stars and auteurs.
Dance on Camera Festival (July 20-July 24, 2018)
Dance on Camera Festival honors ballet and contemporary dance personalities through documentaries and narrative films, while also demonstrating dance’s capacity to change lives and contribute to well-being.
Scary Movies (August 17-23, 2018)
Returning to summer, Scary Movies brings a deadly dosage of hair-raising premieres and classics.
56th New York Film Festival (September 28-October 14, 2018)
Since 1963, the New York Film Festival has brought new and important cinematic works from around the world to Lincoln Center. In addition to the Main Slate official selections, the festival includes newly restored classics, special events, filmmaker talks, panel discussions, an Avant-Garde showcase, and much more. The New York Film Festival highlights the best in world cinema, featuring top films from celebrated filmmakers as well as fresh new talent.
