New York Film Festival unveils lineup to main slate. James Gray opens and Ava DuVernay closes

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NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Film Festival has unveiled the main slate of films to its 64th edition, including works from James Gray, Ava DuVernay and Tony Gilroy.

Organizers for Film at Lincoln Center on Wednesday announced the 32 films selected for its prestigious main slate lineup, all of which will play at the festival running Sept. 25 to Oct. 12. Kicking off the festival will be Gray's “Paper Tiger,” a Queens-set crime drama starring Adam Driver and Miles Teller.

While few of the festival's selections will be making their world premiere in New York, one exception is Gilroy's “Behemoth!” starring Pedro Pascal as a cellist. The festival is making “Behemoth!” its centerpiece gala. Also making its world premiere is Ava DuVernay's “14th,” a documentary on the much-contested constitutional amendment and a kind of sequel to her “13th” documentary. DuVernay's latest will close the festival.

In between, the festival's principle lineup will feature many filmmakers who have previously brought films to the NYFF, including Pedro Almodovar (“Bitter Christmas”), Ryusuke Hamaguchi ( “All of a Sudden” ), Andrew Haigh (“A Long Winter”), Radu Jude (“The Diary of a Chambermaid”), Lee Chang-dong (“Possible Love”), Mike Leigh (“Tender Loving Care”), Pawel Pawlikowski ( “Fatherland” ) and Ira Sachs ( “The Man I Love” ).

Other selections include Chris Rock's “Misty Green,” which will first premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, William and David Greaves' acclaimed documentary “Once Upon a Time in Harlem” and Julia Loktev's “My Undesirable Friends: Part II — Exile,” the continuation of the Russian filmmaker's sprawling documentary of modern-day dissent in Russia.

“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,” Dennis Lim, artistic director of the festival, said in a statement. “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.”

On Tuesday, the festival announced that Takashi Yamazaki's “Godzilla Minus Zero,” his sequel to 2023's “Godzilla Minus One,” will make its world premiere at the NYFF on Sept. 26.