Director of the New York Film Festival on strikes, film premiere

As artistic director of the New York Film Festival, Dennis Lim learned to multitask. “Sometimes I have to introduce one film and then run across the street to moderate questions and answers on different films,” he says. “If I have a free hour or two, I’ll sneak into the cinema and watch something to hide out.”

This year, he’ll be hopping around Manhattan’s Upper West Side to take part in the biggest films from Cannes and Venice, such as Todd Haynes’ soapy romantic drama “December in May,” Bradley Cooper’s Leonard Bernstein biopic “Maestro” and “Elvis” » Sofia Coppola. and the “I” adaptation “Priscilla.”

The New York Film Festival will also feature the world premiere of Nathan Fielder and Benny Safdie’s genre-defying series The Grudge, as well as Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal’s sci-fi tale Enemy.

Ahead of the 61st edition, which will take place from September. From 29 to 15 October, Lim spoke with Diversity about what to expect from this year’s film festival.

What was your goal this year?

The festival is now in its 61st year, but its core identity remains the same: providing a snapshot of the cinema of the year. We are a festival without competition. We don’t have prizes. We have a few world premieres, but that’s not what we prioritize. We ask ourselves: If we are trying to make a case for cinema as a vital art form, what films would we present to make the case?

How early do you start curating a lineup of films?

This is a year-round process. We already have opportunities for next year. We start earning best in January and February. We have team members at Sundance and Berlin. The process will resume after Cannes. We will complete it in July.

During the selection process, how many movies do you watch a day?

At festivals I can do four or five performances. This is not uncommon. When we watch movies in our cinema, we can move even faster. We’ll set aside seven to eight hours and watch five to six films. I don’t think this is the optimal way to watch movies, but in order to watch them, we sometimes have to do it.

How did you choose May December as your premiere film?

My team members and I were in Cannes and immediately fell in love with the film. Todd Haynes’s work has long been shown at the festival. It had a major film, but never premiered. It was too late to recognize Todd at this point. This is one of the most witty scripts, it is beautifully acted and directed. We think about how the film will play in the room and this one ticks all the boxes.

What movie are you looking for in this year’s lineup?

The movie titled “Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus”. The composer in question is Sakamoto, who passed away a few months ago and wrote some of the most incredible soundtracks for films such as Merry Christmas Mister Lawrence and The Last Emperor. Essentially, this is him, a few months before his death, at the piano, just performing in front of the camera. This is one of the most touching film performances I have ever seen.

How will the SAG strike affect the festival?

There will be fewer full-time actors, but there are interim agreements for some films. We are international in scope, so maybe 20% of our films are American. Proportionally, this will not affect the majority of the composition. And perhaps only half of them were produced or released by AMPTP members. These are a few films where you will unfortunately feel the absence of an actor who might otherwise have supported it. This did not affect our supervisory process because by the time the strike was announced we were already prepared.

Are you concerned about the lingering effects of the strikes? Will this make it difficult to draw up a program for next year?

Yes, it occurred to me. This has already affected the pipeline in the form of shutdowns and delays in production. But many international films and American independent films received rejections and began production. So I think we’ll be fine next year.

What is your NYFF success rate?

I look forward to seeing you, whether it’s journalists covering the festival or a packed house. These are conversations, not necessarily Q&A, but people talking about movies.

What might moviegoers not know about curating a film festival?

Some people think it’s like ordering a menu…you have a list and you just choose. There are a lot of studies on this. I think people understand that you need to watch a lot of films. But then you have to discuss what makes sense to program. It must be consistent in some way. It should appeal to different audiences. This is not just a list of our favorite films.