The Behemoth! has landed. Film at Lincoln Center announced on Tuesday that writer-director Tony Gilroy’s latest feature will have its world premiere at the 64th New York Film Festival as the festival’s centerpiece selection, scheduled to run Sept. 25-Oct. 12 in Manhattan.
Gilroy’s first directorial effort since 2012’s The Bourne Legacy, Behemoth! stars Pedro Pascal as a cellist named Alex who navigates various professional and personal obstacles, including a strained relationship with an ex-lover (played by Olivia Wilde) and the looming shadow of his family’s expectations for his stalled career. The supporting cast includes Eva Victor, Alexa Swinton, Kaya Ralls, Erik Griffin, JoBeth Williams, Margarita Levieva, Hank Azaria,and Will Arnett.
“I have been orbiting NYFF for the great majority of my life,” Gilroy said in a statement provided to Gold Derby. “I was baptized by Fitzcarraldo. I was tending bar across the street and a customer tipped me a single ticket. It was a bad seat to the most remarkable screening I’d ever attended. There were many memorable nights to follow. The Centerpiece invitation is a fantasy I’ve conjured more times than I care to admit. NYFF has always been the benchmark for me; the opportunity to premiere a film I cannot wait to show, in that hall, to that audience, feels every bit as thrilling as I’d imagined. I’m honored.”
“We are delighted to present the world premiere of Tony Gilroy’s anticipated return to the big screen as this year’s NYFF Centerpiece,” NYFF’s artistic director, Dennis Lim, said in a separate statement. “There is so much to savor in this immaculately crafted film, from its creative use of music to its note-perfect ensemble cast. Holding it all together is a tour de force by Pedro Pascal, one of the performances of the year from one of our true movie stars.”
Gilroy is a previous Oscar nominee for his 2007 hit, Michael Clayton, which earned seven nods, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. Most recently, he oversaw the Emmy-winning Star Wars series Andor on Disney+. Behemoth! is already registering in multiple categories on Gold Derby’s Oscar leaderboards including Best Original Screenplay (No. 6) and Best Actor (No. 6).
Opening and closing night
As previously announced, James Gray‘s Paper Tiger will serve as NYFF’s opening-night presentation on Sept. 25. Paper Tiger had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May where Gray was joined by his stars, Adam Driver and Miles Teller. It will open theatrically on Nov. 20 as it seeks to be the writer-director’s first feature to break into the Oscar race. Set in 1980s-era New York, Paper Tiger features Adam Driver and Miles Teller as brothers who pursue a business opportunity that lands them in trouble with the Russian mob.
“I’m immensely grateful to be welcomed back to this remarkable festival,” Gray remarked in a statement provided to Gold Derby. “This deeply personal film is rooted in New York City; from my upbringing to life-changing family experiences. To be here, at the heart of art and cinema, with our cast and crew — many of whom are New Yorkers — is a privilege. Thank you to the entire New York Film Festival team. It is an honor.”
A staple of the New York filmmaking scene going all the way back to his breakout 1994 debut, Little Odessa, this will be Gray’s fourth time screening a film for NYFF audiences. The Immigrant was a Main Slate selection in 2013; The Lost City of Z served as the 2016 festival’s closing-night presentation; and Armageddon Time pulled double duty as a Main Slate selection and 60th Anniversary Screening in 2022.
The world premiere of Ava DuVernay’s 14th will be the closing-night presentation at the 64th NYFF. The documentary is the follow-up to DuVernay’s Oscar-nominated documentary 13th, which served as the opening-night world premiere presentation at NYFF’s 2016 edition. That film explored the legacy of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which officially abolished slavery in America, but also contributed to racist legislation being passed in statehouses across the country in the decades following the Civil War. It was nominated for Best Documentary at the 89th Oscars, where O.J.: Made in America took home the statuette.
14th looks at the 14th Amendment, which grants citizenship to all Americans born or naturalized in the U.S. That’s an amendment that’s been the subject of recent attacks by President Donald Trump and his administration as it seeks to exert control over birthright citizenship. 14th will include interviews with such political, legal, and social scholars as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Sherrilyn Ifill, Stacey Abrams, and Hasan Piker.
“Exactly a decade after 13th opened the New York Film Festival, it feels especially meaningful to return with 14th as the 2026 closing-night selection,” DuVernay said in a statement provided to Gold Derby. “NYFF has always been a place where films invite conversation rather than simply applause. To that end, 14th attempts to interrogate a promise powerful enough to change a nation — and controversial enough to divide it for more than 150 years.”
More 2026 NYFF announcements will be coming in the weeks ahead. Here’s everything you need to know about this year’s festival.
Ticket information
Tickets to the festival go on sale to the general public on Sept. 15 at noon ET. Pre-sale access will be available to FLC members and pass holders prior to that date.
When will NYFF take place
The 2026 New York Film Festival runs Sept. 25-Oct. 12.
This post was originally published on July 16, and has been updated with the centerpiece information
