While it’s still uncertain whether the New York Film Festival will have any indoor screenings, it’s not stopping the announcement of the opening night film. Film at Lincoln Center has set the Steve McQueen-directed Lovers Rock as the opening-night film of the 58th New York Film Festival. The film will be making its world premiere, and the festival is going heavily into the work of McQueen.
Lovers Rock is part of his Small Axe anthology, which comprises five original films by the director. Two other films from the anthology, Mangrove, and Red, White, and Blue, will also have their world premieres as part of the NYFF’s Main Slate.
Organizers of the 58th edition of the New York Film Festival are placing a focus on social distance conscious outdoor and virtual screenings, with indoor screenings only a possibility if allowed by state and health officials. Film at Lincoln Center is partnering with arts and citywide cultural institutions to have screenings at two drive-ins: the Queens Drive-In at Flushing Meadows Corona Park, the New York Hall of Science, Museum of the Moving Image, and the Brooklyn Drive-In at The Brooklyn Army Terminal.
