New York Film Festival

{{asof|2020|post=,}} the festival program is divided into the following sections:

The Main Slate is the Festival's primary section, a program typically featuring 25–30 feature-length films, intending to reflect the current state of cinema. The program is a mix of major international art house films from the festival circuit, new discoveries, and studio releases targeting awards season. The studio films are often selected as Opening Night, Centerpiece, and Closing Night presentations.{{Cite web|url=https://www.filmlinc.org/nyff2016/sections/main-slate/|title=Main Slate {{!}} New York Film Festival|website=Film Society of Lincoln Center|language=en-US|access-date=2017-04-05}}

Currents complements the Main Slate, tracing a more complete picture of contemporary cinema with an emphasis on new and innovative forms and voices. This section is the only one at the festival which presents short films.

The selection team of Currents section consists of Dennis Lim (Chair), Aily Nash (is also Head of shorts programming), Rachael Rakes, and Tyler Wilson (is also Head of shorts programming).{{Cite web |title=Meet the NYFF61 Team |url=https://www.filmlinc.org/meet-the-nyff61-team/ |access-date=2023-12-21 |website=Film at Lincoln Center |language=en}}

Spotlight is showcase of the season's most anticipated and significant films.

The Revivals section showcases important works from renowned filmmakers that have been digitally remastered, restored, and preserved with the assistance of generous partners.

Talks features in-depth conversations with filmmakers, critics, curators, and more.

The NYFF's first programmer, Richard Roud, was recruited by Lincoln Center President William Schuman in 1962. Boston-born Roud was 33 years old at the time and based in London where he worked as a film critic for The Guardian and programmed the London Film Festival. Though Roud maintained his home base in London, he recruited Amos Vogel of the legendary Cinema 16 film club as his New York–based co-programmer. The first edition of the festival opened on September 10, 1963, with Luis Buñuel's The Exterminating Angel and closed on September 19.{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1963-09-18_232_4/page/7/mode/1up?view=theater|last=Landry|first=Robert J.|date=September 18, 1963|title=Film Front & Lincoln Center|page=7|magazine=Variety|access-date=February 11, 2024|via=Internet Archive}} It was a success and almost all screenings nearly sold out. The festival also included films screened at the Museum of Modern Art that had not been shown in the United States previously, including Akira Kurosawa's I Live in Fear and Point of Order.{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1963-09-18_232_4/page/7/mode/1up?|title=New York Film Trade Somewhat Miffed As Public Flocks To See One-Time Screenings at Festival|last=Canby|first=Vincent|author-link=Vincent Canby|date=September 18, 1963|page=7|magazine=Variety|access-date=February 11, 2024|via=Internet Archive}}{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1963-09-18_232_4/page/6/mode/1up?view=theater|date=September 18, 1963|title=New York Film Festival Reviews|pages=6, 22|magazine=Variety|access-date=February 11, 2024|via=Internet Archive}} In 1966, Roud and Vogel formed the festival's first selection committee, consisting of Arthur Knight and Andrew Sarris; Susan Sontag was added the next year. Vogel resigned from his position as Festival Director in 1968. Though Roud was previously designated Program Director, he presided over the festival from 1969 to 1987.

Roud's 25 years at the festival were characterized by a focus on the European art cinema of the postwar years and the rise of auteurism.Smith, Gavin (September/October 2012). "Breaking the Waves". Film Comment.

Richard Peña, then 34, took over as lead programmer in 1988. The Queens native was already an accomplished film historian, academic, and programmer. Prior to his work with NYFF, he worked at the Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Peña came to NYFF as a seasoned festival-goer who held Roud in high esteem. During his stint as programmer (which also lasted 25 years), Peña honored the festival's traditions and unique character – retaining the selection committee process, the non-competitive format, the post-screening director Q&As, and the festival's strict selectivity – while also working to expand NYFF's somewhat Eurocentric focus. Filmmakers like Hou Hsiao-hsien, Manoel de Oliveira, Leos Carax, Raúl Ruiz, and Krzysztof Kieślowski were introduced to NYFF audiences during the Roud era, and became regulars under Peña. After 25 years as Program Director and head of the NYFF selection committee, Peña led his final year at NYFF in 2012, during the festival's 50th presentation.

After Richard Peña's departure, Robert Koehler briefly took over year-round programming duties, while Kent Jones, who left The Film Society of Lincoln Center in 2009 to serve as Executive Director of the World Cinema Foundation, returned to lead NYFF. Jones began his programming career at Film Forum and the Rotterdam Film Festival, before joining The Film Society of Lincoln Center in 1998 as Associate Director of Programming and a member of the NYFF programming committee.

As of 2022, Dennis Lim is the Artistic Director of NYFF.

{{see also|List of films shown at the New York Film Festival}}

• New York International Children's Film Festival

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• [https://www.filmlinc.org/nyff2016/ New York Film Festival] Official website (2016)
• [https://www.filmlinc.org Film Society of Lincoln Center] Presenting organization website
• {{NYTtopic|subjects/n/new_york_film_festival}}

{{New York Film Festival}}

Category:1963 establishments in New York City

Category:Experimental film festivals

Category:Film festivals established in 1963

Category:Film festivals in New York City

Category:Lincoln Center