10 Must-See Movies at the New York Film Festival
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Start spreading the news! I'm leaving today! I want to be a part of it, New York (Film Festival), New York (Film Festival)! America's premiere fall festival launches its 61st year on Sept. 29, 2023 with a brand new slate of must-see movies. The final major festival of the fall season, NYFF brings together some of the best films from Cannes, Venice, Telluride and Toronto while adding a few new features to the mix. The curators of NYFF are known for their impeccable taste, and select films from around the world to screen at Lincoln Center on New York's Upper West Side.
Courtesy of NYFF
The 2023 slate includes films from acclaimed directors like Sofia Coppola, Yorgos Lanthimos and Hayao Miyazaki. Stars like Natalie Portman, Emma Stone, Bradley Cooper and Saoirse Ronan will appear on he big screen (and perhaps in person if the SAG-AFTRA strike ends in time, although that seems unlikely). Plus, hot young celebs like Paul Mescal, Jacob Elordi and Glen Powell are starring in NYFF 2023 movies as well.
Related: 14 Must-See Movies Coming to Theaters This Fall
If you're based in New York, here's a helpful guide to the biggest, buzziest films at the festival. If you won't be able to make it to Lincoln Center in person, here are movies to add to your "to watch" list. After all, most of these films will be arriving to a theater near you before you know it.
Must-see movies at the 2023 New York Film Festival
Courtesy of NYFF
1. All of Us Strangers
If you've been thinking to yourself, "Wow I'd really love to see the Hot Priest from Fleabag and the guy from Normal People play gay lovers" (and I know I have been), then I'm pleased to inform you that All of Us Strangers does just that. Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal earned rave reviews out of Telluride for their performances in this romantic fantasy drama. After the pair meet Adam (Scott) returns to his childhood home to find that his dead parents are somehow not only alive but young again (and played by Jamie Bell and Claire Foy). In a year of queer romances (Passages, Red, White and Royal Blue, Of an Age), here's another to add to the list.
In theaters Dec. 22, 2023.
Courtesy of NYFF
2. Evil Does Not Exist
Japanese filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi earned acclaim and a number of Oscar nominations for Drive My Car in 2021. In fact, it became the first-ever Japanese film to be nominated for Best Picture. He's returned this year with the much quieter Evil Does Not Exist, which won second prize at the Venice Film Festival. The movie follows Takumi (Hitoshi Omika), a single parent who lives in a rural Japanese village. When a corporation attempts to open a glamping site nearby, the locals start putting up a fight. The film is bursting with beautiful nature footage and boasts a gorgeous score.
Release date not announced.
Courtesy of NYFF
3. Ferrari
In a slightly confusing marketing move, this is not Ford v. Ferrari but a completely separate movie about Ferrari cars that wants Oscars. Ferrari is a biopic about Enzo Ferrari, the founder of the luxury car brand, who will now be played by Adam Driver (the puns write themselves here, folks). It earned strong reviews in Venice where it debuted, and is now headed to NYFF.
In theaters Dec. 25, 2023.
Courtesy of NYFF
4. Foe
While many of NYFF's films have screened previously at international festivals, Garth Davis' Foe is one of the films premiering in New York. While little is known about the movie yet, it stars four-time Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal (yet again) as a couple of farmers. Mescal's Junior is informed he will be shipped off to space, while Ronan's Henrietta is left behind with a robot. Billed as a sci-fi psychological thriller, Foe could be channelling the same energy as Arrival or Interstellar, which sounds exciting.
In theaters Oct. 6, 2023.
Related: 14 Must-See Movies Coming to Theaters This Fall
Courtesy of NYFF
5. Maestro
One of the buzziest (and already most controversial) films of the fall is Bradley Cooper's follow-up to A Star Is Born, Maestro. Heading back to the musical well, he'll now be playing Leonard Bernstein in a biopic about the famed composer. He's joined on screen by Carey Mulligan, who will be playing Bernstein's wife, Felicia Montealegre. Neither Mulligan nor Cooper have ever won an Oscar and both roles here are meaty not only because of their characters' professional lives, but also due to the romantic element and Bernstein's affairs with men. These are performances you won't want to miss.
In theaters Nov. 22, 2023 and on Netflix Dec. 20, 2023.
Courtesy of NYFF
6. May December
One Cannes debut that's been held for the fall to court Oscar voters is Todd Haynes' May December. The meta film is loosely based on the Mary Kay Letourneau scandal in the '90s in which a 34-year-old teacher began an affair with her 12-year-old student only to then marry him once she'd been released from prison and he'd become an adult. In the film, Julianne Moore and Riverdale's Charles Melton play the grown up, fictionalized versions of the teacher and student. Natalie Portman plays an actor who visits the couple in order to prepare for a filmed adaptation of their life that she is staring in. The juicy film will be NYFF's opening night selection.
In theaters Nov. 17, 2023 and on Netflix Dec. 1, 2023.
Related: Academy Award Contenders from 2023 That You Can Already Watch
Courtesy of NYFF
7. Perfect Days
Perhaps the quietest film of 2023 is Wim Wenders' portrait of a man who works as a public bathroom cleaner in Tokyo. Much of the film is spent following around Hirayama (Kōji Yakusho) as he drives his van from one restroom to the next, picking up trash, scrubbing toilets and wiping down mirrors, all while listening to his cassette collection. While small, the humane celebration of life is incredibly touching and has earned nearly universal raves out of its previous festival runs. It is also Japan's submission for Best International Film even though the director is German.
Release date not announced.
Courtesy of NYFF
8. Poor Things
Yorgos Lanthimos is one of the oddest directors of our era, and we love him for that. After cult hits like Dogtooth, The Lobster and The Killing of a Sacred Deer, his costume drama The Favourite won big at the Oscars. Now he's back after a five-year hiatus with a surrealist drama about a woman resurrected from the dead by a mad scientist. It's sure to be an odd movie, but the cast of Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, Jerrod Carmichael, Christopher Abbott, Margaret Qualley and Kathryn Hunter seem up to the task of executing his vision.
In theaters Dec. 8, 2023.
Courtesy of NYFF
9. Priscilla
Yes. We did just get an Elvis film last year, and yes it did sweep up a ton of Oscar nominations and perhaps cause some Elvis fatigue. We're still thrilled to be getting another rendering of the man's life told from the point of view of his wife Priscilla. Sofia Coppola (an amazing director fwiw) will certainly be giving us a less hagiographic version of the king of rock 'n' roll as she focuses on the fact that he started dating Priscilla when he was an adult and she was just 14 (something Elvis glazed over). The film earned strong reviews at Venice and will be coming to NYFF with its cast thanks to securing a SAG-AFTRA waiver.
In theaters Nov. 3, 2023.
Courtesy of NYFF
10. The Zone of Interest
Zone of Interest is loosely based on a novel of the same name by Martin Amis. The film from Jonathan Glazer received rave reviews coming out of Cannes in how it delicately handles Holocaust subject matter by focusing Rudolf Hoss, the commandant of Auschwitz and his family who live right outside of the genocidal facility. It's earned consistently strong reviews in several festivals leading up to NYFF.
In theaters Dec. 8, 2023.
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