The Power Of The Dog to be NYFF Centerpiece

Jane Campion looks forward to "emotional and joyous experience."

by Anne-Katrin Titze

Benedict Cumberbatch stars alongside Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, and Kodi Smit-McPhee in Centerpiece selection of the 59th New York Film Festival, Jane Campion's The Power Of The Dog
Benedict Cumberbatch stars alongside Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, and Kodi Smit-McPhee in Centerpiece selection of the 59th New York Film Festival, Jane Campion's The Power Of The Dog Photo: courtesy of Netflix

Film at Lincoln Center has announced that Jane Campion's adaptation of Thomas Savage’s novel The Power Of The Dog will be the Centerpiece selection of the 59th New York Film Festival. The film stars Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Kodi Smit-McPhee, Set in the 1920s on a Montana cattle ranch, Kirsten Dunst plays young widow Rose, who comes with her son Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee) to live with new husband, George (Jesse Plemons), and his brother Phil (Benedict Cumberbatch).

Kirsten Dunst plays Rose in The Power Of The Dog
Kirsten Dunst plays Rose in The Power Of The Dog Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

“I am very honoured that The Power Of The Dog has been selected as the Centerpiece Gala at this year’s New York Film Festival,” said director Jane Campion. “Public screenings we long took for granted feel exceptional now, so it is going to be a very emotional and joyous experience for me and my team to be there and present the film to such a film-celebrating audience.”

“We couldn’t be happier to welcome Jane Campion back to the festival with one of her very best films,” said Dennis Lim, NYFF Director of Programming. “Everything about The Power of the Dog is alive with surprise: its narrative turns, its rich characterizations, its complex ideas about masculinity and repression. It will introduce many to the work of the underappreciated novelist Thomas Savage, but it also reminds us of what cinema can do as a medium for accessing and expressing inner life.”

The NYFF Main Slate selection committee, chaired by Dennis Lim, also includes Eugene Hernandez, Florence Almozini, K Austin Collins and Rachel Rosen.

The Power Of The Dog will have its World Premiere at the Venice Film Festival.

The Power Of The Dog will screen at Alice Tully Hall on October 1.

The 2021 New York Film Festival runs from September 24 through October 10, 2020

Share this with others on...
News

Home truths Marijana Janković on Balkan representation, and the immigrant question of belonging

The division belle Suzannah Herbert on facing the US' troubled history and making Natchez

Spin-off alchemy Claude Schmitz on bringing back cop pairing for Conrad & Crab – Idiotic Gems

Past crime Christoffer Boe on creating a world for his period mystery Special Unit - The First Murder

The hidden river Helen MacDonald and Philippa Lowthorpe on adapting H Is For Hawk

Sundance announces winners Josephine, Nuisance Bear, Shame And Money and To Hold A Mountain take top prizes

More news and features

Interact

As we move into 2026, 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.

With awards season in full flow, you can keep track of the latest news on that here:

César nominations Nouvelle Vague leads the race for France's biggest awards

BAFTA nominations One Battle After Another and Sinners almost neck and neck

Golden Eddies Nominations for editing brilliance announced

OFCS Awards One Battle After Another triumphs; Sinners dominates