The Irishman to open 57th New York Film Festival

Martin Scorsese film will screen at Alice Tully Hall

by Anne-Katrin Titze

"It’s an incredible honour that The Irishman has been selected" - Martin Scorsese
"It’s an incredible honour that The Irishman has been selected" - Martin Scorsese Photo: Niko Tavernise/Netflix

Film at Lincoln Center announced this afternoon that the world premiere of Martin Scorsese's The Irishman, based on Charles Brandt’s nonfiction book I Heard You Paint Houses, starring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci is the Opening Night Gala selection of the 57th New York Film Festival.

“The Irishman is so many things: rich, funny, troubling, entertaining and, like all great movies, absolutely singular,” said New York Film Festival Director and Selection Committee Chair Kent Jones. “It’s the work of masters, made with a command of the art of cinema that I’ve seen very rarely in my lifetime, and it plays out at a level of subtlety and human intimacy that truly stunned me. All I can say is that the minute it was over my immediate reaction was that I wanted to watch it all over again.”

Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

“It’s an incredible honour that The Irishman has been selected as the Opening Night of the New York Film Festival. I greatly admire the bold and visionary selections that the festival presents to audiences year after year,” said Martin Scorsese. “The festival is critical to bringing awareness to cinema from around the world. I am grateful to have the opportunity to premiere my new picture in New York alongside my wonderful cast and crew.”

The selection committee, chaired by Jones, also includes Dennis Lim, FLC Director of Programming, and Florence Almozini, FLC Associate Director of Programming.

The Irishman will be screened at Alice Tully Hall on Friday, September 27.

The Irishman will be released in select theatres and on Netflix later this year.

The 2019 New York Film Festival runs from September 27 through October 13.

Share this with others on...
News

Precision filmmaking Casey Walker on setting rules, layering complexity, and making Home Bodies

A dangerous woman Rebecca De Mornay on finding characters' truth and making The Gentleman Thief

Divine transformation Eriko Katagiri on the itako tradition and When You Open The Door

Learning to let go Gloria Mercer and Bethany Brown on filming sex, drugs and A Safe Distance

Framing a feature Michele Fiascaris on expanding his short Rain Catcher into a rain-slicked noir thriller

A heroine of the people Avid Liongoren on the Filipino animation industry and Zsazsa Zaturnnah

More news and features

We're bringing you news, reviews and more from the Fantasia International Film Festival.



We're looking forward to the Locarno Film Festival, the Edinburgh International Film Festival and Frightfest.

We've recently brought you coverage of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, the Muslim International Film Festival, Docs Ireland, Sheffield DocFest, ImagineNative, Tribeca and Cannes.



Read our full for more.


Visit our festivals section.

Interact

Don't forget that you can follow us on YouTube for trailers of festival films and more. You can also find us on Mastodon and Bluesky.


It's a busy time for festivals and here's the latest:


Dinard Amira Casar to head jury, plus opening film announced


San Sebastian Leigh, Naishtat and Larraín among those joining line-up


Fantasia Nighborn is Cheval Noir Best Film; full list of award winners announced


Frightfest Full line-up announced


Sarajevo Festival to honour Asghar Farhadi and present tribute programme