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.
It marked Dennis Lim first year as artistic director of the festival.
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.
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: English Title Original Title Director(s) Production CountryAtarrabi and Mikelats Atarrabi et Mikelats Eugène Green Belgium, France Beginning დასაწყისი Dea Kulumbegashvili Georgia The Calming Song Fang China City Hall Frederick Wiseman United StatesDays 日子 Tsai Ming-liang Taiwan The Disciple Chaitanya Tamhane India French Exit (closing film) Azazel Jacobs United Kingdom, Canada Gunda Viktor Kossakovsky United States, NorwayI Carry You with Me Te Llevo Conmigo Heidi Ewing United States, Mexico Isabella Matías Piñeiro Argentina Lovers Rock (opening film) Steve McQueen United Kingdom Malmkrog Cristi Puiu Romania Mangrove Steve McQueen United Kingdom MLK/FBI Sam Pollard United StatesNight of the Kings La Nuit des rois Philippe Lacôte France, Côte d'Ivoire, Canada, Senegal Nomadland (centerpiece) Chloé Zhao United States Notturno Gianfranco Rosi Italy Red, White and Blue Steve McQueen United KingdomThe Salt of Tears Le Sel des larmes Philippe Garrel France Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue 一直游到海水变蓝 Jia Zhangke China Time Garrett Bradley United States Tragic Jungle Selva trágica Yulene Olaizola Mexico The Truffle Hunters Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw United States, Greece, Italy Undine Christian Petzold GermanyThe Woman Who Ran 도망친 여자 Hong Sang-soo South Korea
Spotlight The following films were selected for the Spotlight section: English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country All In: The Fight for Democracy Liz Garbus and Lisa Cortés United States David Byrne's American Utopia Spike Lee Hopper/Welles Orson Welles The Human Voice (short) Pedro Almodóvar Spain The Monopoly of Violence Un pays qui se tient sage David Dufresne France On the Rocks Sofia Coppola United States
Currents The following films were selected for the Currents section: English titleOriginal titleDirector(s)Production country Apparition Ismaïl Bahri Tunisia, France Fauna Flora y fauna Nicolás Pereda Mexico, Canada Her Name Was Europa Anja Dornieden, Juan David González Monroy Germany Her Socialist Smile John Gianvito United States Hidden (short) Jafar Panahi France The Inheritance Ephraim Asili United States Its Distorting Mirror Raúl Ruiz and Valeria Sarmiento Chile King of Sanwi Akosua Adoma Owusu United States, Ghana The Last City Heinz Emigholz Germany The Lobby Germany, Argentina My Mexican Bretzel Nuria Giménez Spain Ouvertures The Living and the Dead Ensemble United Kingdom, France The Plastic House Alison Chhorn Australia A Revolt Without Images Pilar Monsell Spain Slow Machine Joe DeNardo and Paul Felten United States The Tango of the Widower Raúl Ruiz and Valeria Sarmiento ChileThere Are Not Thirty-Six Ways of Showing a Man Getting on a Horse No existen treinta y seis maneras de mostrar cómo un hombre se sube a un caballo Nicolás Zukerfeld Argentina This Day Won't Last Mouaad el Salem Tunisia, Belgium Untitled Sequence of Gaps Vika Kirchenbauer Germany The Works and Days C.W. Winter and Anders Edström United States, Sweden, Japan, United Kingdom The Year of the Discovery Luis López Carrasco Spain
Revivals The following films were selected to the Revivals section: English Title Original Title Director(s) Production CountryChess of the Wind (1976) شطرنج باد Mohammad Reza Aslani Iran Climax (2018) Gaspar Noé France, BelgiumDamnation (1988) Kárhozat Béla Tarr HungaryFlowers of Shanghai (1998) 海上花 Hou Hsiao-hsien TaiwanThe Hourglass Sanatorium (1973) Sanatorium pod klepsydrą Wojciech Has PolandIn the Mood for Love (2000) 花樣年華 Wong Kar-wai Hong Kong Meeting the Man: James Baldwin in Paris Terence Dixon United Kingdom, France Muhammad Ali, the Greatest William Klein FranceSalò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975) Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma Pier Paolo Pasolini Italy, FranceSimone Barbes or Virtue Simone Barbès ou la vertu Marie-Claude Treilhou France Smooth Talk (1985) Joyce Chopra United States The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1973) Ivan Dixon Xiao Wu (Pickpocket) (1998) 小武 Jia Zhangke ChinaZero for Conduct (1933) Zéro de conduite Jean Vigo France
Short films The following short films were selected: English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country Apiyemiyekî? Ana Vaz Brazil, France, Portugal, Netherlands Aquí y allá Melisa Liebenthal Argentina, France An Arrow Pointing to a Hole Steve Reinke United States, Canada August 22, This Year Graham Foy Canada Autoficcion Laida Lertxundi Spain, United States, New Zealand The Chicken Neo Sora United States Claudette's Star Ayo Akingbade United Kingdom Correspondence Carla Simón and Dominga Sotomayor Spain/Chile Drills Sarah Friedland United States Ekphrasis Riccardo Giacconi Italy The End of Suffering (a proposal) Jacqueline Lentzou Greece Episodes – Spring 2018 Mathilde Girard France Extractions Thirza Cuthand Canada Figure Minus Fact Mary Helena Clark United States – force – Simon Liu and Jennie MaryTai Liu Hong Kong, United States Glimpses from a Visit to Orkney in Summer 1995 Ute Aurand Germany Hard, Cracked the Wind Mark Jenkin United Kingdom Humongous! Aya Kawazoe Japan In Sudden Darkness Tayler Montague United States In the Air Tonight Andrew Norman Wilson United States The Isolated Jay Giampietro United States Labor of Love Sylvia Schedelbauer Germany Letter From Your Far-Off Country Suneil Sanzgiri United States, India Look Then Below Ben Rivers United Kingdom Malembe Luis Arnías Venezuela, United States A Night at the Opera Sergei Loznitsa France Notes, Imprints (On Love): Part I Alexandra Cuesta United States, Ecuador Object Lessons, or: What Happened Whitsunday Ricky D'Ambrose United States Once Removed Lawrence Abu Hamdan Lebanon Point and Line to Plane Sofia Bohdanowicz Canada Sanfield Kevin Jerome Everson United States See You in My Dreams Shun Ikezoe Japan Shots in the Dark with David Godlis Noah Kloster and Lewie Kloster United States Single Copy Hsu Che-Yu Taiwan Stump the Guesser Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson and Galen Johnson Canada To the Harbour Anonymous Hong Kong Trust Study #1 Shobun Baile United States The Unseen River Phạm Ngọc Lân Vietnam, Laos While Cursed by Specters Burak Çevik Turkey Wild Bill Horsecock Oliver Shahery United States
References Leonard Pearce, "NYFF's Inaugural Currents Lineup Features Intrepid Filmmaking Voices from Around the World". The Film Stage, August 24, 2020.