New York Film Festival sets slate with Almodovar, Varda

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Film Festival announced the main slate for its 57th edition on Tuesday, adding films by Pedro Almodovar, Noah Baumbach and the late Agnes Varda to its selective annual Lincoln Center event.

Film at Lincoln Center rolled out a lineup featuring nine prize-winners from May’s Cannes Film Festival, including Almodovar’s “Pain and Glory,” Bong Joon-ho’s Palme d’Or-winner “Parasite” and Celine Sciamma’s “Portrait of a Lady on Fire.” Almodovar, who is making his 11th appearance at the New York Film Festival, also designed the festival’s poster.

As previously announced, the festival will open with the world premiere of Martin Scorsese’s big-budget crime epic “The Irishman.” Baumbach’s “Marriage Story” will play as the festival centerpiece, and Edward Norton’s “Motherless Brooklyn” will close the festival. While some film festivals have resisted programming Netflix releases, New York has firmly embraced the streaming service’s films, which this year include “The Irishman” and “Marriage Story.”

Returning to the festival posthumously is Varda, who died in March at age 90. The French New Wave pioneer’s final film, “Varda by Agnes,” which playfully surveys her own legacy, premiered earlier this year at Berlin but still lacks a U.S. distributor.

Other selections include Mati Diop’s “Atlantics: A Ghost Love Story,” Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne’s “Young Ahmed,” Olivier Assayas’ “Wasp Network” and Kelly Reichardt’s “First Cow.”

Numbering 29 films, the main slate largely imports films that premiered to acclaim at other major international festivals. This year’s crop hails from 17 different countries.

The 57th New York Film Festival runs Sept. 27-Oct. 13.