New Directors/New Films

New Directors/New Films
Name	New Directors/New Films
Founded	1972
Founders	MoMA; Film Society of Lincoln Center
Location	New York City
Frequency	Annual
Language	International

Contents

New Directors/New Films is a film festival established in 1972 showcasing debut and early-career work from emerging filmmakers around the world. Co-presented by the Museum of Modern Art and the Film at Lincoln Center (formerly the Film Society of Lincoln Center), it has premiered influential features, documentaries, and shorts by directors who later received honors such as the Palme d'Or, Academy Award for Best Director, Golden Globe Award, and César Award. The festival functions as a platform linking institutions like the Sundance Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, and distribution networks involving companies such as A24, NEON, Focus Features, Sony Pictures Classics, and IFC Films.

History

New Directors/New Films began in 1972 through collaboration between the Museum of Modern Art and the Film at Lincoln Center, with early programming influenced by retrospectives at the Cannes Film Festival and curatorial practices from the British Film Institute and Cinémathèque Française. Its 1970s selections reflected the aftermath of the New Hollywood era and the rise of auteurs associated with the American Film Institute and the National Endowment for the Arts. During the 1980s and 1990s the festival expanded amid the international art-house circulation shaped by markets like the Toronto International Film Festival and institutions including the British Council and the Institut français. In the 2000s and 2010s, technological shifts driven by companies such as Apple Inc. and Netflix (company) affected exhibition practices alongside preservation efforts involving the Library of Congress and the Cinémathèque de Toulouse.

Programming for New Directors/New Films is overseen by curators affiliated with the Museum of Modern Art and the Film at Lincoln Center—positions often held by figures who have worked with the Telluride Film Festival, the Rotterdam International Film Festival, the Edinburgh International Film Festival, and the BFI London Film Festival. The roster typically includes world premieres, North American premieres, and museum commissions, evaluated through submission channels used by organizations such as the Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP), the Sundance Institute, and the Cinéma du Réel festival. Selection criteria emphasize first- or second-time directorial work from candidates nurtured by programs like the AFI Conservatory, the La Fémis, the FAMU, and the NYU Tisch School of the Arts film program. Collaborative partnerships with distributors and rights holders, including Magnolia Pictures, Bleecker Street, IFC Midnight, and public funding bodies such as the National Endowment for the Arts and Creative Europe, frequently shape the slate.

The festival has showcased early works by filmmakers who later became central to global cinema: alumni include Pedro Almodóvar (whose career intersected with Cannes Film Festival recognition), Martin Scorsese (linked to New York Film Critics Circle), Spike Lee (associated with Sundance Film Festival), Wong Kar-wai (connected to Venice Film Festival), Krzysztof Kieślowski (tied to the César Award circuit), Agnes Varda (linked to the Venice Film Festival), Alfonso Cuarón (a future Academy Award for Best Director winner), Bong Joon-ho (later a Palme d'Or laureate), Greta Gerwig (associated with the Sundance Film Festival), Claire Denis (connected to the Cannes Film Festival), Jim Jarmusch (tied to the New York Film Critics Circle), Chantal Akerman (recognized by the César Award), Taika Waititi (later an Academy Award nominee), Andrea Arnold (linked to the BAFTA), Kelly Reichardt (connected to the Independent Spirit Awards), Steve McQueen (filmmaker) (a future Academy Award winner), Asghar Farhadi (a Filmfare Award and Academy Award winner), and Hou Hsiao-hsien (associated with the Golden Lion). Films that premiered or were early selections include works that later screened at Cannes Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, and entered retrospectives at the Museum of Modern Art and the British Film Institute.

Screenings occur at the Museum of Modern Art theaters and at venues affiliated with the Film at Lincoln Center such as the Walter Reade Theater and the Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Supplemental events have taken place at partner sites including the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s campus theaters, the SVA Theatre, and touring programs presented at institutions like the Chicago Cultural Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Brattle Theatre, and university cinemas at Columbia University and New York University. The festival also coordinates panel discussions with representatives from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Directors Guild of America, the Writers Guild of America, and curators from the Whitney Museum of American Art.

While primarily a showcase rather than a competitive market, New Directors/New Films presentations have been associated with honors bestowed by juries at events such as the Cannes Film Festival (including the Camera d'Or), the Berlin International Film Festival (including the Silver Bear), the Venice Film Festival (including the Lion of the Future), and the Sundance Film Festival (including the Grand Jury Prize). Filmmakers who exhibited here later received accolades from organizations including the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, the European Film Awards, and national film academies such as the Ariel Award and the Goya Awards.

Over decades New Directors/New Films has shaped auteur careers and influenced programming at institutions like the Museum of Modern Art, the British Film Institute, and the Cinémathèque Française, while contributing to the pipeline linking film school programs such as NYU Tisch School of the Arts, La Fémis, and the AFI Conservatory to international exhibition circuits including Sundance, Cannes, and Toronto International Film Festival. Its role in early exposure helped launch distribution deals with companies like A24, NEON, Sony Pictures Classics, and IFC Films and fostered dialogues between critics from outlets such as The New York Times, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and Sight & Sound. The festival’s archival and restoration collaborations have intersected with efforts by the Library of Congress and the National Film Preservation Foundation to preserve seminal works for future study and exhibition.

Category:Film festivals in New York City