Ailey
Alvin Ailey was a visionary artist who found salvation through dance. Told in his own words and through the creation of a dance inspired by his life, this immersive portrait follows a man who, when confronted by a world that refused to embrace him, determined to build one that would.
All Light, Everywhere
An exploration of the shared histories of cameras, weapons, policing and justice. As surveillance technologies become a fixture in everyday life, the film interrogates the complexity of an objective point of view, probing the biases inherent in both human perception and the lens.
The Blazing World
Decades after the accidental drowning of her twin sister, a self-destructive young woman returns to her family home, finding herself drawn to an alternate dimension where her sister may still be alive.
Censor
When film censor Enid discovers an eerie horror that speaks directly to her sister's mysterious disappearance, she resolves to unravel the puzzle behind the film and its enigmatic director – a quest blurring the lines between fiction and reality in terrifying ways.
CODA
As a CODA – Child of Deaf Adults – Ruby is the only hearing person in her deaf family. When the family’s fishing business is threatened, Ruby finds herself torn between pursuing her love of music and her fear of abandoning her parents.
Coming Home In The Dark
A family’s outing descends into terror when teacher Alan Hoaganraad, his wife Jill and stepsons Maika and Jordon explore an isolated coastline. An unexpected meeting with a pair of drifters, the enigmatic psychopath Mandrake and his accomplice Tubs, thrusts the family into a nightmare when they find themselves captured.
A Concerto Is A Conversation
Composer Kris Bowers talks to his grandfather Horace about his life.
Cryptozoo
As cryptozookeepers struggle to capture a Baku (a legendary dream-eating hybrid creature) they begin to wonder if they should display these rare beasts in the confines of a cryptozoo, or if these mythical creatures should remain hidden and unknown.

D

Eight For Silver
In the late 1800s, a man arrives in a remote country village to investigate an attack by a wild animal but discovers a much deeper, sinister force that has both the manor and the townspeople in its grip.
El Planeta
Amid the devastation of post-crisis Spain, mother and daughter bluff and grift to keep up the lifestyle they think they deserve, bonding over common tragedy and an impending eviction.
Faya Dayi
A spiritual journey into the highlands of Harar, immersed in the rituals of khat, a leaf Sufi Muslims chewed for centuries for religious meditations – and Ethiopia’s most lucrative cash crop today. A tapestry of intimate stories offers a window into the dreams of youth under a repressive regime.
First Date
Conned into buying a shady '65 Chrysler, Mike's first date with the girl-next door, Kelsey, implodes as he finds himself targeted by criminals, cops, and a crazy cat lady. A night fuelled by desire, bullets and burning rubber makes any other first date seem like a walk in the park.
Flee
Amin arrived as an unaccompanied minor in Denmark from Afghanistan. Today, he is a successful academic and is getting married to his long-time boyfriend. A secret he has been hiding for 20 years threatens to ruin the life he has built.
A Glitch In The Matrix
Are we living in a simulation?
Hive
Fahrije’s husband has been missing since the war in Kosovo. She sets up her own small business to provide for her kids, but as she fights against a patriarchal society that does not support her, she faces a crucial decision: to wait for his return, or to continue to persevere.
How It Ends
A woman and the embodiment of her younger self try to find closure on the day before the Apocalypse.
Human Factors
A mysterious house break in exposes the agony of an exemplary middle class family.

I

In The Earth
As a disastrous virus grips the planet, a scientist and a park scout venture deep into the forest for a routine equipment run. Through the night, their journey becomes a terrifying voyage through the heart of darkness as the forest comes to life around them.
In The Same Breath
How did the Chinese government turn pandemic cover-ups in Wuhan into a triumph for the Communist party? An essential narrative of first-hand accounts of the coronavirus, and a revelatory examination of how propaganda and patriotism shaped the outbreak’s course – both in China and in the US.
Jockey
An ageing jockey is determined to win one last championship, but his dream is complicated when a young rookie shows up claiming to be his son.
John And The Hole
When a teenager finds a hole in the ground, he hatches a chilling plot.
Knocking
When Molly moves into her new apartment after a tragic accident, a strange noise from upstairs begins to unnerve her. As its intensity grows, she confronts her neighbours – but no one seems to hear what she is hearing.
Land
The poignant story of one woman’s search, in the aftermath of an unfathomable event, for meaning in the vast and harsh American wilderness.
Luzzu
A struggling Maltese fisherman faces tough choices about the future.

M

Mass
Years after a tragic shooting, the parents of both the victim and the perpetrator meet face-to-face.
Ma Belle, My Beauty
A surprise reunion in southern France reignites passions and jealousies between two women who were formerly polyamorous lovers.
Misha And The Wolves
A woman's Holocaust memoir takes the world by storm, but a fallout with her publisher-turned-detective reveals her story as an audacious deception created to hide a darker truth.
The Most Beautiful Boy In The World
Swedish actor/musician Björn Andresen's life was forever changed at the age of 15, when he played Tadzio, the object of Dirk Bogarde's obsession in Death in Venice – a role which led Italian maestro Luchino Visconti to dub him "the world's most beautiful boy".
Mother Schmuckers
Issachar & Zabulon, two brothers in their twenties, are supremely stupid and never bored, as madness is part of their daily lives. When they lose their mother's beloved dog, they have 24 hours to find it – or she will kick them out.
My Name Is Pauli Murray
Profile of the legal trailblazer.
The Nest
Charismatic entrepreneur, Rory, relocates his family to England with dreams of profiting from booming 1980s London. But as his wife, Allison, struggles to adapt, and the promise of a lucrative new beginning starts to unravel, the couple have to face the unwelcome truths lying beneath the surface of their marriage.
Night Of The Kings
A young man is sent to La Maca, a prison of Ivory Coast in the middle of the forest ruled by its prisoners. With the red moon rising, he is designated by the Boss to be the new Roman and must tell a story to the other prisoners.
One For The Road
Boss is a consummate ladies' man, a free spirit and a bar owner in NYC. One day, he gets a surprise call from Aood, an estranged friend who has returned home to Thailand. Dying of cancer, Aood enlists Boss' help to complete a bucket list – but both are hiding something.
On The Count Of Three
Two guns. Two best friends. And a pact to end their lives when the day is done.
Passing
Two African-American women who can "pass" as white choose to live on opposite sides of the colour line in 1929 New York in an exploration of racial and gender identity, performance, obsession and repression.
Philly D.A.
A groundbreaking inside look at the long shot election and tumultuous first term of Larry Krasner, Philadelphia's unapologetic District Attorney, and his experiment to upend the criminal justice system from the inside out.
The Pink Cloud
A mysterious and deadly pink cloud appears across the globe, forcing everyone to stay home. Strangers at the outset, Giovana and Yago try to invent themselves as a couple as years of shared lockdown pass. While Yago is living in his own utopia, Giovana feels trapped deep inside.
Pleasure
A 20-year-old woman moves from her small town in Sweden to LA for a shot at a career in the adult film industry.
President
Zimbabwe is at a crossroads. The leader of the opposition MDC party, Nelson Chamisa, challenges the old guard ZANU-PF led by Emmerson Mnangagwa, known as "The Crocodile." The election tests both the ruling party and the opposition – how do they interpret principles of democracy in discourse and in practice?
Prisoners Of The Ghostland
A notorious criminal is sent to rescue an abducted woman who has disappeared into a dark supernatural universe. They must break the evil curse that binds them and escape the mysterious revenants that rule the Ghostland, an East-meets-West vortex of beauty and violence.

R

Rita Moreno: Just A Girl Who Decided To Go For It
Profile of the West Side Story star.
R#J
A re-imagining of Romeo and Juliet, taking place through their cell phones, in a mash-up of Shakespearean dialogue with current social media communication.
Sabaya
With just a mobile phone and a gun, Mahmud, Ziyad and their group risk their lives trying to save Yazidi women and girls being held by ISIS as Sabaya (abducted sex slaves) in the most dangerous camp in the Middle East, Al-Hol in Syria.
Son Of Monarchs
After his grandmother’s death, a Mexican biologist living in New York returns to his hometown, nestled in the majestic monarch butterfly forests of Michoacán. The journey forces him to confront past traumas and reflect on his hybrid identity, sparking a personal and spiritual metamorphosis.
The Sparks Brothers
How can one rock band be successful, underrated, hugely influential, and criminally overlooked all at the same time? Take a musical odyssey through five weird and wonderful decades with brothers Ron & Russell Mael, celebrating the inspiring legacy of Sparks: your favorite band's favorite band.
Strawberry Mansion
In a world where the government records and taxes dreams, an unassuming dream auditor gets swept up in a cosmic journey through the life and dreams of an ageing eccentric named Bella. Together, they must find a way back home.
Street Gang: How We Got To Sesame Street
How did a group of rebels create the world’s most famous street? In 1969 New York, this “gang” of mission-driven artists, writers and educators catalysed a moment of civil awakening, transforming it into Sesame Street, one of the most influential and impactful television shows in history.
Summer Of Soul (...Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
During the same summer as Woodstock, over 300,000 people attended the Harlem Cultural Festival, celebrating African American music and culture, and promoting Black pride and unity. The footage from the festival sat in a basement, unseen for over 50 years, keeping this incredible event in America’s history lost – until now.
Superior
On the run, Marian returns to her hometown in upstate New York to hide out with her estranged identical twin sister, Vivian. Struggling to put the past behind her, Marian lies about the reason for her return, leaving her sister in the dark until their two worlds begin to collide.
Taming The Garden
A poetic ode to the rivalry between men and nature.
Together Together
When young loner Anna is hired as the surrogate for Matt, a single man in his 40s, the two strangers come to realise this unexpected relationship will quickly challenge their perceptions of connection, boundaries and the particulars of love.

V

Violation
A troubled woman on the edge of divorce returns home to her younger sister after years apart. But when her sister and brother-in-law betray her trust, she embarks on a vicious crusade of revenge.
We're All Going to The World's Fair
A teenage girl becomes immersed in an online role-playing game.
Wild Indian
Two men are inextricably bound together after covering up the savage murder of a schoolmate. After years of separation following wildly divergent paths, they must finally confront how their traumatic secret has irrevocably shaped their lives.
The World To Come
In upstate New York in the 1850s, Abigail begins a new year on the rural farm where she lives with her husband Dyer. But a friendship with the wife of a new neighbour leads to trouble.
Writing With Fire
In a cluttered news landscape dominated by men, emerges India's only newspaper run by Dalit women. Armed with smartphones, Chief Reporter Meera and her journalists break traditions on the frontlines of India's biggest issues and within the confines of their own homes, redefining what it means to be powerful.
You Wouldn't Understand
An idyllic picnic of one is upended after the arrival of a stranger.
Zola
A waitress goes on a pole dancing trip to Florida with a new found friend and gets a lot more than she bargained for.
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59th New York Film Festival early bird highlights Futura, Jane By Charlotte, James Baldwin: From Another Place and The Velvet Underground

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