Film at Lincoln Center announces Ava DuVernay’s 14th as the Closing Night selection of the 64th New York Film Festival, presented in partnership with Rolex. The film will make its world premiere at Alice Tully Hall on Friday, October 9, with DuVernay and film participants in attendance. Presented by Film at Lincoln Center in partnership with Rolex, the 64th New York Film Festival will take place from September 25 through October 12.

Get tickets for 14th and more with an NYFF64 Centerpiece and Closing Night Plus Pass. Limited quantities available!

Ten years ago, filmmaker Ava DuVernay released her epochal documentary 13th (NYFF54 Opening Night), which argued that loopholes in the U.S. Constitution’s 13th Amendment—the abolition of slavery—led to today’s mass incarceration of Black Americans. That film was released on the eve of Donald Trump’s presidency; since then, an alarming number of our democratic norms and principles have eroded, further disenfranchising Black Americans. In response to our distressing new reality, DuVernay has created a thrillingly expansive sequel of sorts, which passionately and persuasively details how the tenets of the 14th Amendment, ratified post–Civil War, are now under systematic attack. Building her case with an extraordinary chorus of voices—including Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), former Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ), current Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), legal minds Sherrilyn Ifill, Robert Chang, and Stacey Abrams, and social commentators like Donald T. Critchlow and Hasan Piker—DuVernay demonstrates how the 14th Amendment’s foundational principles of birthright citizenship, due process, equal protection under the law, and the prohibition for heads of state to engage in acts of insurrection all have been challenged to a dangerous degree in recent years. Drawing a direct line from the Reconstruction era to today, DuVernay’s film is a tough-minded reckoning with our moment of crisis. A Netflix release.

“Exactly a decade after 13th opened the New York Film Festival, it feels especially meaningful to return with 14th as the 2026 Closing Night Selection,” said DuVernay. “NYFF has always been a place where films invite conversation rather than simply applause. To that end, 14th attempts to interrogate a promise powerful enough to change a nation—and controversial enough to divide it for more than 150 years. There’s no better place to begin that conversation than NYFF. I’m grateful to Dennis Lim and team for believing in work that asks difficult questions, and I’m honored to share this film with New York audiences first. On behalf of everyone who worked to tell this story, we hope it leaves people debating, questioning, and, above all, imagining what is still possible.”

Ava DuVernay introducing the world premiere of 13th at NYFF54. Photo by Julie Cunnah.

“We are honored to close this edition of the New York Film Festival with Ava DuVernay’s supremely timely follow-up to 13th,” said Dennis Lim, NYFF Artistic Director. “14th is a movie for the moment that sees through the fog of the present. The great gift of this urgent and essential work is its clarity: Ava has made a film that shows us precisely what led us here, and what is at stake right now.”

Filmmaker Ava DuVernay is an Academy Award nominee and winner of Emmy, BAFTA, Sundance, Image, and Peabody Awards. Her films include Selma, 13th, Middle of Nowhere, A Wrinkle in Time, and Origin. She has created seven television series, including the acclaimed When They See Us and history-making Queen Sugar. Founder of the narrative change collective ARRAY, DuVernay holds honorary doctorates from Yale University and Morehouse College, along with the Great Americans Medal from the Smithsonian Institution. Following multiple terms on the boards of the Sundance Institute and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, she currently serves on the American Film Institute Advisory Board in her third term.

Ava DuVernay on the set of 14th.

The NYFF Main Slate selection committee is chaired by Dennis Lim, NYFF Artistic Director, and includes Florence Almozini, Justin Chang, and Rachel Rosen.

Presented by Film at Lincoln Center, the New York Film Festival is an annual celebration of the most significant international films of the year. Since 1963, the New York Film Festival has played a vital role in shaping film culture, championing bold and remarkable works by both celebrated auteurs and emerging voices from around the world.

NYFF64 is generously supported by Festival Co-Chairs Susan and John Hess, Almudena and Pablo Legorreta, Susannah Gray and John Lyons, and Nanna and Dan Stern; Vice-Chairs Jack Heller and Tara and Roy Kelleher; and Supporters Hillary Koota Krevlin and Glenn Krevlin, and Marcia DB Levy and William G. Levy.

Secure your tickets for Closing Night and more with Passes, limited quantities on sale now. NYFF64 single tickets will go on sale to the general public on Tuesday, September 15 at noon ET, with pre-sale access for FLC Members and Pass holders prior to this date. Become an FLC Member by August 28 to secure NYFF64 pre-sale access and discounted tickets year-round. NYFF64 Press and Industry accreditation is now open through August 14.

Sign up for forthcoming NYFF announcements, including Main Slate, Spotlight, Currents, Revivals, and Talks.

ABOUT ROLEX AND CINEMA
Rolex celebrates human achievement as a journey marked by milestones, emotions and defining moments. For more than half a century, the brand has partnered some of the world’s most talented artists and leading cultural institutions to promote excellence and the transmission of artistic heritage, creating a link between the past, present and future.

Through the Perpetual Arts Initiative, a broad portfolio of arts that extends through architecture, cinema, dance, music, literature, theatre and visual arts, the brand confirms its long-term commitment to global culture.

The company has had close ties with the film industry for decades, its watches playing a role in numerous films, including Oscar®-winning masterpieces. Since 2017, Rolex has supported the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, serving as Proud Sponsor of the Oscars®, hosting the event’s Greenroom, as well as supporting the Governors Awards, which recognize lifetime achievement and humanitarian efforts in the film industry. Rolex also sponsors Film at Lincoln Center as Official Partner and Exclusive Timepiece.

The company promotes achievement through Testimonees such as James Cameron, Leonardo DiCaprio, Zendaya, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Martin Scorsese and Jia Zhang-Ke. It also assists in the preservation of film history for future generations as a Founding Supporter of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, as a partner of The Film Foundation and through its support to the National Film and Television School in the UK.

For more information, please visit Rolex and Cinema.

FILM AT LINCOLN CENTER
Film at Lincoln Center (FLC) is a nonprofit organization that celebrates cinema as an essential art form and fosters a vibrant home for film culture to thrive. FLC presents premier film festivals, retrospectives, new releases, and restorations year-round in state-of-the-art theaters at New York’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. FLC offers audiences the opportunity to discover works from established and emerging directors from around the world with a passionate community of film lovers at marquee events including the New York Film Festival and New Directors/New Films.  

Founded in 1969, FLC is committed to preserving the excitement of the theatrical experience for all audiences, advancing high-quality film journalism through the publication of Film Comment, cultivating the next generation of film industry professionals through our FLC Academies, and enriching the lives of all who engage with our programs.

Rolex is the Official Partner and Exclusive Timepiece of Film at Lincoln Center. 

Support for the New York Film Festival is also generously provided by Benefactor Partner The New York Times; Contributing Partners Britbox, Kino Film Collection from Kino Lorber Media Group, Epson America, Inc., Dolby, MUBI, Manhattan Portage, and Thompson Central Park New York; Media Partners Variety, Deadline, WABC-TV, The Hollywood Reporter, IndieWire, The WNET Group, and The Envelope by the Los Angeles Times. Additional support is provided in part by the NYC’s Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. For more information, visit filmlinc.org and follow us here for updates.

For press inquiries regarding Film at Lincoln Center, please contact:
John Kwiatkowski, Film at Lincoln Center, [email protected]
Eva Tooley, Film at Lincoln Center, [email protected]