--- title: 'NYFF 2026 Unveils 32-Film Main Slate, Led by Paper Tiger' type: 'blog post' section: 'Industry' format: 'Editorial feature' standfirst: 'James Gray opens New York Film Festival 2026 with Paper Tiger on Sept. 25, Tony Gilroy’s Behemoth! takes the centerpiece slot, and Ava DuVernay closes with 14th on Oct. 12. Yahoo Entertainment says the 32-feature slate also pushes screenings out across the city, from Lincoln Center to the Bronx.' author: 'CinePixo' published: '2026-09-01' updated: '2026-09-01' about_films: - 'The Devils (1971)' tags: - 'New York Film Festival 2026 lineup' - 'NYFF 2026 Paper Tiger opening night' - 'Behemoth! Tony Gilroy centerpiece NYFF' - 'NYFF 2026 screenings at Lincoln Center and BAM' - 'Ava DuVernay 14th closing night NYFF' sources: - 'https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/new-york-film-festival-2026-full-lineup-screenings-the-devils/ar-AA28362A' - 'https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/movies/articles/york-film-festival-2026-line-125908906.html' - 'https://www.yardbarker.com/entertainment/articles/new_york_film_festival_2026_dates_venues_schedule_film_lineup/s1_17785_44111801' canonical: 'https://cinepixo.com/blog/nyff-2026-unveils-32-film-main-slate-led-by-paper-tiger' publisher: 'CinePixo' --- # NYFF 2026 Unveils 32-Film Main Slate, Led by Paper Tiger *James Gray opens New York Film Festival 2026 with Paper Tiger on Sept. 25, Tony Gilroy’s Behemoth! takes the centerpiece slot, and Ava DuVernay closes with 14th on Oct. 12. Yahoo Entertainment says the 32-feature slate also pushes screenings out across the city, from Lincoln Center to the Bronx.* By CinePixo, 2026-09-01 · Industry New York Film Festival 2026 has set its main slate, and the shape of the program is now plain: James Gray opens the 64th edition with *Paper Tiger* on Sept. 25, Tony Gilroy’s *Behemoth!* holds the centerpiece slot, and Ava DuVernay closes with *14th* on Oct. 12. Yahoo Entertainment reported that the 32-feature lineup leans on major names, star casts, and a citywide rollout that reaches well beyond Lincoln Center. For readers who follow the fall festival race, this is the first clear map of what New York wants at the center of the conversation. ## Paper Tiger, Behemoth!, and 14th Set the Tone Gray’s opening-night pick is a crime drama, and the festival is giving it the kind of launch that turns a premiere into a statement. According to Yahoo Entertainment, Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver, and Miles Teller are part of the *Paper Tiger* package that will greet the festival crowd on the Upper West Side. Gilroy’s *Behemoth!* gets the centerpiece slot, with Pedro Pascal in the lead as a composer chasing the next piece of work while the film uses music cues to trigger flashes of his past. DuVernay’s *14th* closes the run, and its focus is the 14th Amendment and the long fight over birthright citizenship and equal protection. That opening-centerpiece-closing trio tells you what NYFF wants to do with this year’s edition. It is not just booking familiar names. It is putting three very different kinds of films in the spots that carry the most weight: a crime drama, a music-driven character piece, and a civil rights documentary. ## The 32-Film Main Slate Runs from Mike Leigh to Chris Rock The main slate does not lean on one camp or one country. Yahoo Entertainment’s rundown names new films from Mike Leigh (*Tender Loving Care*), Ira Sachs (*The Man I Love*), Pedro Almodóvar (*Bitter Christmas*), Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (*All of a Sudden*), Paweł Pawlikowski (*Fatherland*), Sandra Wollner (*Everytime*), Valeska Grisebach (*The Dreamed Adventure*), Andrey Zvyagintsev (*Minotaur*), Andrew Haigh (*A Long Winter*), Julia Loktev (*My Undesirable Friends: Part II – Exile*), and Chris Rock (*Misty Green*). There are also two titles that should pull extra attention. Takashi Yamazaki’s *Godzilla Minus Zero* gets a world premiere on Sept. 26 as the follow-up to *Godzilla Minus One*. Mani Haghighi’s *I Deserve a Lover Whose Every Rise Sets Fiery Dooms Raging Across the Skies* arrives as an international debut. That mix of prestige names, sequel momentum, and a title with very little interest in understatement gives the slate more texture than a simple roll call of famous directors. ## Lincoln Center Is Only the Start NYFF64 will screen at Lincoln Center and across New York City, including BAM in Brooklyn, the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, Alamo Drafthouse in Staten Island, and AMC Bay Plaza Cinema in the Bronx. Yahoo Entertainment says screenings will run from morning through late night, with press and industry slots in the morning, public screenings in the afternoon, and evening and midnight shows after that. Most feature screenings will include filmmaker Q&As. The festival is also keeping NYFF Talks in the mix, with free and ticketed panel discussions, conversations, and masterclasses. For accredited press and industry guests, there are dedicated badges for private screenings, networking events, and official press conferences. That matters because the festival is not only a public-facing movie event. It is also one of the places where fall titles start to gather attention before the rest of the season catches up. ## Dennis Lim’s Bet on the Moment Dennis Lim, NYFF’s artistic director, said it is hard to remember a main slate that reflects the state of the world so directly in so many different ways. He also said he is glad to introduce New York audiences to filmmakers whose work has been shaped by shared realities. That is festival language, but it is also a fair read of the program on paper. The lineup moves between established auteurs, a major sequel, and films that look built to argue with the room after the credits roll. The dates are set, the venues are spread across the city, and the opening night crowd gets Gray’s *Paper Tiger* first. After that, NYFF runs through Oct. 12, with the last word going to DuVernay and *14th*. ## How this piece was made **Format:** Editorial feature ## In this piece - 1971 · [The Devils](https://cinepixo.com/movies/the-devils-1971) ## Sources - https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/new-york-film-festival-2026-full-lineup-screenings-the-devils/ar-AA28362A - https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/movies/articles/york-film-festival-2026-line-125908906.html - https://www.yardbarker.com/entertainment/articles/new_york_film_festival_2026_dates_venues_schedule_film_lineup/s1_17785_44111801 Every factual claim above is drawn from these. The reading of them is ours. Source: https://cinepixo.com/blog/nyff-2026-unveils-32-film-main-slate-led-by-paper-tiger Written for CinePixo. Nothing on this page is imported prose.