New York Film Festival

Founding the festival

Newly appointed Lincoln Center President William Schuman visited the British Film Institute in 1962 for advice on establishing a film festival. He recruited the London Film Festival's director Richard Roud as the NYFF's first programmer, after James Quinn, the BFI director, agreed that the festivals could be run in tandem. Boston-born Roud was 33 years old at the time and based in London where he also worked as a film critic for The Guardian. Though Roud maintained his home base in London, he recruited Amos Vogel of the legendary Cinema 16 film club as his New York-based co-programmer. The first edition of the festival opened on September 10, 1963, with Luis Buñuel's The Exterminating Angel and closed on September 19. It was a success and almost all screenings nearly sold out. The festival also included films screened at the Museum of Modern Art that had not been shown in the United States previously, including Akira Kurosawa's I Live in Fear and Point of Order. In 1966, Roud and Vogel formed the festival's first selection committee, consisting of Arthur Knight and Andrew Sarris; Susan Sontag was added the next year. Richard Corliss later became part of the committee. Vogel resigned from his position as Festival Director in 1968. In 1976, US Customs wouldn't allow the premiere of In the Realm of the Senses. In 1985, Roman Catholics demonstrated against the showing of Jean-Luc Godard's Hail Mary. Though Roud was previously designated Program Director, he presided over the festival from 1969 to 1987. Roud became seriously ill in June 1987 but directed the 1987 festival, which was a success, however, he was later ordered to resign by Lincoln Film Society president Alfred Stern and executive director Joanna Koch after reports of 'interpersonal problems' and disagreements over appointing members of the committee. Committee member David Denby believed that Koch wanted more power after the committee turned down her push to include The Whales of August and Intervista in the festival and also to appoint Wendy Keys on the select committee. Several of the committee resigned following Roud's departure, including Corliss.

Roud's 25 years of running the festival were characterized by a focus on the European art cinema of the postwar years and the rise of auteurism.

1990s-2010s

Richard Peña, then 34, took over as lead programmer in 1988, with Roud becoming European consultant to the festival. The Queens native was already an accomplished film historian, academic, and programmer. Prior to his work with NYFF, he worked at the Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Peña came to NYFF as a seasoned festival-goer who held Roud in high esteem. During his stint as programmer (which also lasted 25 years), Peña honored the festival's traditions and unique character, retaining the selection committee process, the non-competitive format, the post-screening director Q&As, and the festival's strict selectivity, while also working to expand NYFF's somewhat Eurocentric focus. Filmmakers like Hou Hsiao-hsien, Manoel de Oliveira, Leos Carax, Raúl Ruiz, and Krzysztof Kieślowski were introduced to NYFF audiences during the Roud era, and became regulars under Peña. After 25 years as Program Director and head of the NYFF selection committee, Peña led his final year at NYFF in 2012, during the festival's 50th presentation.

2010s-present

After Richard Peña's departure, Robert Koehler briefly took over year-round programming duties, while Kent Jones, who left the Film Society of Lincoln Center in 2009 to serve as Executive Director of the World Cinema Foundation, returned to lead NYFF from 2013 to 2019. Jones began his programming career at Film Forum and the Rotterdam Film Festival, before joining The Film Society of Lincoln Center in 1998 as Associate Director of Programming and a member of the NYFF programming committee. The current Artistic Director of the festival is Dennis Lim, who was appointed in 2022.

As of 2026, the festival program is divided into the following sections:

Main Slate

The Main Slate is the Festival's primary section, a program typically featuring 25-30 feature-length films, intending to reflect the current state of cinema. The program is a mix of major international art house films from the festival circuit, new discoveries, and studio releases targeting awards season. The studio films are often selected as Opening Night, Centerpiece, and Closing Night presentations.

Currents

Currents complements the Main Slate, tracing a more complete picture of contemporary cinema with an emphasis on new and innovative forms and voices. This section is the only one at the festival which presents short films.

The selection team of Currents section consists of Dennis Lim (Chair), Aily Nash (is also Head of shorts programming), Rachael Rakes, and Tyler Wilson (is also Head of shorts programming).

Spotlight

Spotlight is showcase of the season's most anticipated and significant films.

Revivals

The Revivals section showcases important works from renowned filmmakers that have been digitally remastered, restored, and preserved with the assistance of generous partners.

Talks

Talks features in-depth conversations with filmmakers, critics, curators, and more.

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s