New York Film Festival 2025 Announces Main Slate: George Clooney’s ‘Jay Kelly,’ Park Chan-wook’s ‘No Other Choice,’ Joachim Trier’s ‘Sentimental Value’ Lead 34-Title Showcase

Entertainment NewsNYFFFilm FestivalFilmUpcoming ReleasesIndependent FilmMovie PremierePremierePress ReleaseNew YorkNew ReleasesMovies

Aug 8

Written By Jonathan P. Moustakas

**courtesy of NYFF / Film at Lincoln Center**

This year’s NYFF Main Slate is a global celebration of cinema’s resilience, blending Cannes prizewinners, Venice world premieres, and Sundance discoveries into one of the festival’s most daring lineups in years.

The 63rd New York Film Festival is making a bold statement with its newly unveiled 2025 Main Slate—a 34-film program that fuses international artistry, prestige premieres, and some of the most anticipated projects of the year. Among the fresh additions are George Clooney in Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly, Joachim Trier’s emotional Sentimental Value, and Park Chan-wook’s gripping political thriller No Other Choice.

“Anyone who cares about film knows that it is an art in need of defending,” said NYFF artistic director Dennis Lim in announcing the lineup. “The films we’ve selected this year suggest that safeguarding cinema can take many forms—acts of rejuvenation, refusal, unease, joy, imagination, and commemoration.”

A Festival With Global Reach

This year’s Main Slate draws from the world’s most prestigious festivals: Cannes standouts like Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident and Bi Gan’s Resurrection, Sundance gems including Mary Bronstein’s If I Had Legs I’d Kick You and *Ira Sachs’ Peter Hujar’s Day, and Venice debuts like Kathryn Bigelow’s A House of Dynamite and *Kent Jones’ Late Fame.

Screenings will run September 26 – October 12 at Lincoln Center, with satellite events at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema(Staten Island), AMC Bay Plaza Cinema (Bronx), BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music), and the Museum of the Moving Image (Queens)—expanding NYFF’s footprint across all five boroughs.

NYFF 63

Opening, Centerpiece & Closing Night

The New York Film Festival’s bookend selections are always more than just programming choices — they’re statements of intent. Opening, centerpiece, and closing night slots carry the weight of prestige, drawing global attention and often shaping the awards-season narrative. This year’s trio spans the lush drama of Luca Guadagnino, the wry lyricism of Jim Jarmusch, and the sharp comic-drama sensibilities of Bradley Cooper. Together, they set a tonal arc for the festival: grandeur, intimacy, and a send-off designed to leave audiences talking long after the final curtain.

Opening Night: After the Hunt – Luca Guadagnino

Luca Guadagnino’s long-awaited return to NYFF promises to be an opulent and emotionally charged curtain-raiser. Known for weaving sensuality, visual lushness, and razor-sharp character studies into his films (Call Me by Your Name, Challengers), Guadagnino turns his lens on an ensemble navigating ambition, betrayal, and desire in a high-stakes professional and personal arena. Premiering in the coveted Opening Night slot, After the Hunt is already sparking early Oscar chatter for its immersive direction and powerhouse performances, setting the tone for a festival steeped in prestige and artistic ambition.

Centerpiece: Father Mother Sister Brother – Jim Jarmusch

Few filmmakers embody the cool, wry spirit of independent cinema like Jim Jarmusch. His latest, Father Mother Sister Brother, brings his signature deadpan wit and minimalist aesthetic to a sprawling, multi-generational family story. Mixing dry humor with moments of aching tenderness, the film reportedly shifts between intimate domestic moments and broader cultural observations, reflecting Jarmusch’s ability to find poetry in the mundane. Positioned as the Centerpiece selection, it’s expected to be a warm, offbeat counterbalance to the festival’s more intense fare — and a likely magnet for critical acclaim.

Closing Night: Is This Thing On? – Bradley Cooper

After the operatic sweep of Maestro, Bradley Cooper pivots to a sharply written comedic drama that insiders describe as both disarmingly funny and surprisingly poignant. Is This Thing On? reportedly blends the rhythms of classic stage comedy with the intimacy of modern character drama, centering on a struggling performer whose life on and off the mic blurs in unexpected ways. Landing the coveted Closing Night slot positions Cooper’s film as a festival capstone with significant awards potential — and a likely crowd-pleaser to send audiences home buzzing.

The Big Three: Star-Studded Premieres Poised for Global Attention

Beyond its marquee openers and closers, NYFF is a launchpad for films that will dominate year-end conversations — the kind of premieres that ripple far beyond Lincoln Center. This year, three titles stand at the forefront: a George Clooney-led drama that marks a bold new chapter for Noah Baumbach, a deeply personal romance from Joachim Trier fresh off Cannes acclaim, and a razor-edged political thriller from Park Chan-wook that’s already inspiring critical superlatives. These aren’t just festival highlights; they’re global cinematic events in the making.

Jay Kelly-dir. Noah Baumbach

Produced by and starring George Clooney, Jay Kelly has emerged as one of the fall’s most closely watched prestige titles. Premiering in Venice before arriving at NYFF, the film marks an intriguing departure for director Noah Baumbach, trading the sharply observed domestic comedy of Marriage Story and White Noise for a more suspense-driven, character-focused drama. Clooney plays the titular Jay Kelly, a figure caught in a web of personal and political intrigue, in a performance already being discussed as a Best Actor frontrunner. With Baumbach’s literate sensibility meeting Clooney’s old-school star charisma, this is one of the season’s most high-profile collaborations.

Sentimental Value- dir. Joachim Trier

**NEON courtesy of NYFF / Film at Lincoln Center**

Following his breakout international success with The Worst Person in the World, Norwegian auteur Joachim Trier returns with a deeply personal, emotionally layered drama. Sentimental Value explores the fragility of memory and the lingering echoes of past love, weaving a delicate balance of melancholy and hope. Debuting at Cannes to widespread critical acclaim, the film is being praised for Trier’s deft tonal control and his ability to turn intimate emotional truths into sweeping cinematic experiences. Anchored by nuanced performances and shot with painterly precision, it’s a strong contender to resonate throughout awards season.

No Other Choice- dir. Park Chan-wook

The Korean master of intricate plotting and sumptuous visuals delivers one of the year’s most anticipated thrillers. No Other Choice is a taut political drama in which moral conviction clashes with personal survival, set against the backdrop of a society on the brink. Park, whose The Handmaiden and Decision to Leave cemented his reputation as one of world cinema’s great stylists, has crafted what early reviews call his most tightly constructed work to date — a slow-burn thriller with explosive payoffs. Its NYFF berth cements the film as a major player in the international awards race and a likely critical favorite.

Full 2025 NYFF Main Slate

After the Hunt – Luca Guadagnino (Opening Night)
Father Mother Sister Brother – Jim Jarmusch (Centerpiece)
Is This Thing On? – Bradley Cooper (Closing Night)
Below the Clouds – Gianfranco Rosi
BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions – Kahlil Joseph
Cover-Up – Laura Poitras, Mark Obenhaus
The Currents – Milagros Mumenthaler
Duse – Pietro Marcello
The Fence – Claire Denis
Gavagai – Ulrich Köhler
A House of Dynamite – Kathryn Bigelow
I Only Rest in the Storm – Pedro Pinho
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You – Mary Bronstein
It Was Just an Accident – Jafar Panahi
Jay Kelly – Noah Baumbach
Kontinental ’25 – Radu Jude
Landmarks – Lucrecia Martel
Late Fame – Kent Jones
The Last One for the Road – Francesco Sossai
The Love That Remains – Hlynur Pálmason
Magellan – Lav Diaz
The Mastermind – Kelly Reichardt
Miroirs No. 3 – Christian Petzold
No Other Choice – Park Chan-wook
Peter Hujar’s Day – Ira Sachs
Resurrection – Bi Gan
Romería – Carla Simón
Rose of Nevada – Mark Jenkin
The Secret Agent – Kleber Mendonça Filho
Sentimental Value – Joachim Trier
Sirât – Oliver Laxe
Sound of Falling – Mascha Schilinski
Two Prosecutors – Sergei Loznitsa
What Does That Nature Say To You – Hong Sangsoo

POPULAR ON THE CINEMA GROUP

Expanding the NYFF Footprint

While the festival’s beating heart remains Lincoln Center, this year’s screenings will reach further into the city’s five boroughs. Select titles will play at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema (Staten Island), AMC Bay Plaza Cinema (Bronx), BAM – Brooklyn Academy of Music, and the Museum of the Moving Image (Queens). The expansion underscores NYFF’s commitment to accessibility and its role as a truly citywide celebration of film.

Awards Season Implications

For Oscar prognosticators, NYFF’s main slate often doubles as a high-accuracy crystal ball. In the past decade, films like Moonlight, Parasite, Nomadland, and The Power of the Dog have used their NYFF bows to propel themselves into the awards conversation. With world premieres from heavyweights like Park Chan-wook and Joachim Trier, plus the North American debut of Kathryn Bigelow’s A House of Dynamite, the 2025 edition is poised to play a decisive role in shaping the awards narrative heading into late fall.

A Season-Defining Program

With Clooney, Trier, and Park leading a lineup that also features titans like Claire Denis, Luca Guadagnino, and Kelly Reichardt, this year’s festival promises to be a cornerstone of the fall awards circuit. Many of these titles are expected to travel directly from NYFF to Oscar campaigns, following the path of past breakouts like Marriage Story, The Power of the Dog, and Tar.

From politically urgent narratives to deeply personal dramas, the 2025 New York Film Festival underscores the role of cinema as both cultural artifact and living art—one that continues to thrive in uncertain times.