NYFF Reveals Main Slate: Sandra Hüller in ‘Rose,’ Andrew Haigh’s ‘A Long Winter,’ Mike Leigh’s ‘Tender Loving Care,’ and Cannes Favorites

The New York Film Festival (September 25-October 12), as usual, will bring a thoughtfully curated collection of world premieres and 2026 festival favorites to all five boroughs this fall. If you missed out on the Berlin, Cannes, or Toronto film festivals — or didn’t get a chance to see everything that’s on your watch list — the NYFF is a great chance to catch up. Or discover many films for the first time.

On Wednesday, the festival team announced the grand total of 32 films featured as part of its annual Main Slate, with Opening Night (“James Gray’s “Paper Tiger“), Centerpiece (Tony Gilroy’s “Behemoth!“), and Closing Night (Ava DuVernay’s “14th“) previously unveiled. (Additionally, NYFF named “Godzilla Minus Zero” as the Spotlight Gala on Tuesday.)

Overall, the Main Slate selection hails from 31 countries — with three world, seven North American, and 13 U.S. premieres. Along with “Behemoth!” and “14th,” NYFF will world-premiere Iranian filmmaker Mani Haghighi’s (“Subtraction,” “A Dragon Arrives!”) “I Deserve a Lover Whose Every Rise Sets Fiery Dooms Raging Across the Skies” — a documentary about Iranian artist/curator Nasser Bakhshi. His sprawling collection of found art objects has helped preserve Iran’s pre-Islamic Republic memory.

Out of the Cannes Film Festival: Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s Best Actress-winning emotional epic “All of a Sudden,” Marine Atlan’s Critics’ Week winner “La Gradiva,” NYFF perennial Pedro Almodóvar’s “Bitter Christmas,” Arie and Chuko Esiri’s Nigerian-set Virginia Woolf reimagining “Clarissa,” Valeska Grisebach’s Jury Prize-winning “The Dreamed Adventure,” Emmanuel Marre’s screenplay winner “A Man of His Time,” Sandra Wollner’s Un Certain Regard prizee “Everytime,” Paweł Pawlikowski’s Best Director winner “Fatherland,” Ira Sachs’ Rami Malek-starring “The Man I Love,” Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Grand Jury Prize winner “Minotaur,” Arthur Harari’s Léa Seydoux-starrer “The Unknown,” and more.

William Greaves and David Greaves’ recent Albie Award-winning documentary “Once Upon a Time in Harlem,” which recaptures a reunion of Harlem Renaissance luminaries and was a major hit out of Sundance, also makes a stop at NYFF.

Hailing from all the way back to the Berlin Film Festival: Alain Gomis’ epically scaled story of African immigrants in France, “DAO”; Hong Sangsoo’s latest character study “The Day She Returns”; Angela Schanelec’s relationship puzzle “My Wife Cries”; and Markus Schleinzer’s devastating historical drama “Rose,” which won Sandra Hüller the Silver Bear for Best Actress.

Not seen elsewhere quite yet: Andrew Haigh’s queer Colm Toíbín adaptation “A Long Winter,” Chris Rock’s industry drama “Misty Green,” Mike Leigh’s probably final film “Tender Loving Care,” the next installment of “My Undesirable Friends” from Julia Loktev, and “Possible Love” — Lee Chang-dong’s first feature film since 2018’s “Burning.”

In addition to Lincoln Center in Manhattan, venues include BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) (Brooklyn), Museum of the Moving Image (Queens), Alamo Drafthouse Cinema (Staten Island), and AMC Bay Plaza Cinema (Bronx).

“It’s hard to recall a prior Main Slate program in which the state of the world has been as urgently reflected in so many creative ways,” said Dennis Lim, NYFF artistic director. “You could take any cross-section of this lineup and come away with a vivid picture of what our present looks, sounds, and feels like. I’m deeply encouraged to be able to introduce New York audiences to works by so many fearless, imaginative directors whose artistry has been inspired by the shared realities of our world.”

Not pictured (yet anyway): Cristian Mungiu’s Palme d’Or-winning “Fjord” (October 9) and Los Javis’ “La Bola Negra” (October 16) — but they’re both opening in close proximity to NYFF anyway, so you won’t be waiting long.

See the full main slate selection below.

Opening Night: “Paper Tiger” (James Gray)
Centerpiece: “Behemoth!” (Tony Gilroy)
Closing Night: “14th” (Ava DuVernay)
“9 Temples to Heaven” (Sompot Chidgasornpongse)
“All of a Sudden” (Ryûsuke Hamaguchi)
“Bitter Christmas” (Pedro Almodóvar)
“Clarissa” (Arie Esiri and Chuko Esiri)
“Dao” (Alain Gomis)
“The Day She Returns” (Hong Sangsoo)
“I Deserve a Lover Whose Every Rise Sets Fiery Dooms Raging Across the Skies” (Mani Haghighi)
“The Diary of a Chambermaid” (Radu Jude)
“Double Freedom” (Lisandro Alonso)
“The Dreamed Adventure” (Valeska Grisebach)
“Everything Else Is Noise” (Nicolás Pereda)
“Everytime” (Sandra Wollner)
“Fatherland” (Paweł Pawlikowski)
“La Gradiva” (Marine Atlan)
“I Rarely Wake Up Dreaming” (Isabelle Stever)
“The Loneliest Man in Town” (Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel)
“A Long Winter” (Andrew Haigh)
“The Man I Love” (Ira Sachs)
“A Man of His Time” (Emmanuel Marre)
“Minotaur” (Andrey Zvyagintsev)
“Misty Green” (Chris Rock)
“My Undesirable Friends: Part II – Exile” (Julia Loktev)
“My Wife Cries” (Angela Schanelec)
“Nowhere To Lay My Eyes” (Hong Sangsoo)
“Once Upon a Time in Harlem” (William Greaves and David Greaves)
“Possible Love” (Lee Chang-dong)
“Rose” (Markus Schleinzer)
“Tender Loving Care” (Mike Leigh)
“The Unknown” (Arthur Harari)