Julia Roberts, Daniel Day-Lewis, George Clooney and Jeremy Allen White are among the stars whose films will be making their world or national premieres at the 2025 New York Film Festival, beginning Friday.

This year’s festival, which runs through Oct. 13, showcases more than 70 fiction features and documentaries, as well as short film programs, revivals, and filmmaker talks, with screenings to be held in all five boroughs.

New York’s annual event is not only one of the best curated international film festivals; it’s also one of the most prescient. Last year’s festival lineup included “Anora,” which won five Oscars, including best picture, best director, and best actress for Mikey Madison; “The Brutalist” (best actor winner Adrien Brody); “Emilia Pérez” (best supporting actress winner Zoe Saldaña); best documentary winner “No Other Land”; and best international feature “I’m Still Here.”

Gala screenings at the New York Film Festival

The festival’s opening night feature, “After the Hunt,” stars Julia Roberts as a Yale University philosophy professor who hears that one of her students has been sexually assaulted by an adjunct professor. But the story, by Nora Garrett, is no simple he said/she said tale, as Roberts finds her own personal history drawn into the ethical quandary of whom to believe. Directed by Luca Guadagnino (“Call Me By Your Name”), it features a top-notch cast: Ayo Edebiri, Andrew Garfield, Michael Stuhlbarg and Chloë Sevigny. (Screens Sept. 26. Opens in theaters Oct. 10.)

Watch a trailer for “After the Hunt” in the video player below:

Director Jim Jarmusch — whose past features include the New York Film Festival premieres “Stranger Than Paradise,” “Down by Law,” “Only Lovers Left Alive” and “Paterson” — returns with the centerpiece attraction, “Father Mother Sister Brother.” A trilogy of stories about adult children and their parents, it stars Adam Driver, Cate Blanchett, Charlotte Rampling, Mayim Bialik, Tom Waits, Vicky Krieps, Indya Moore and Luka Sabbat. Winner, Golden Lion, Venice Film Festival. (Screens Oct. 3, 8, 9, 13. Opens in theaters Dec. 24.)

As Will Arnett and Laura Dern’s marriage falls apart, Arnett’s crisis takes him to an unusual destination: the New York stand-up comedy circuit. “Is This Thing On?” also stars Andra Day, Amy Sedaris, Sean Hayes, Christine Ebersole and Bradley Cooper, here also directing his third feature film (after “A Star Is Born” and “Maestro”). (Screens Oct. 10, 11, 13. Opens in theaters Dec. 19.)

Other notable debuts

In “Anemone” Daniel Day-Lewis, in his first film since 2017’s “Phantom Thread,” stars in a family drama of a man trying to reconnect with his estranged brother. Day-Lewis co-wrote the film with his son, Ronan, who also directed. With Sean Bean and Samantha Morton. (Sept. 28, 29, 30. Opens in theaters Oct. 3.)

Rebecca Ferguson, Idris Elba, Gabriel Basso and Tracy Letts star in the thriller “A House of Dynamite,” directed by Kathryn Bigelow (“The Hurt Locker,” “Zero Dark Thirty”), about the responses at all levels of government when radar detects an ICBM launched towards the United States. (Sept. 28, 29, Oct. 2, 6. Opens in theaters Oct. 10.)

In “The Mastermind,” Josh O’Connor plays a struggling husband and father who decides to orchestrate a heist at a local art museum, but he clearly hasn’t thought everything through very well. Directed by Kelly Reichardt (“First Cow,” “Showing Up”). (Sept. 27, 28. Opens in theaters Oct. 17.) 

Rose Byrne won the Best Leading Performance Award at the Berlin International Film Festival, as a woman pummeled from one absurd crisis to another, in “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.” With Christian Slater, Danielle Macdonald and Conan O’Brien. (Oct. 2, 3, 4, 8. In theaters Oct. 10.)

In the French-language “A Private Life,” Jodie Foster plays a psychoanalyst in Paris who investigates the sudden death of a patient she believes was murdered. Featuring Daniel Auteuil, Virginie Efira and Matthieu Amalric. (Oct. 5, 6, 12. Opens in theaters Dec. 5.)

Set in a Cornish fishing village, “Rose of Nevada” follows the ghostly return of a fishing boat that had mysteriously disappeared with all hands 30 years prior. But what of the crew? (Oct. 1, 2, 3, 9.)

In December 1974, photographer Peter Hujar and a friend, Linda Rosenkrantz, transcribed everything Peter did on one ordinary day. Director Ira Sachs, upon finding the transcript, decided to stage their diaristic conversation with actors Ben Whishaw and Rebecca Hall in “Peter Hujar’s Day.” (Sept. 27, 28, Oct. 1. In theaters Nov. 7.)

The artistic life

Several of the festival’s notable entries examine the filmmaking process, celebrity, and the struggle to maintain one’s creative vision. “Mr. Scorsese,” by Rebecca Miller, focuses on the greatest living director — and perhaps the greatest advocate of cinema ever — in a 4.5-hour Apple TV+ documentary that explores his unmatched body of work. (Oct. 4.)

Scott Cooper’s biodrama “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere,” adapted from Warren Zanes’ biography of Bruce Springsteen, stars Jeremy Allen White as the singer-songwriter during the period when he created his transformative album “Nebraska.” (Sept. 28, 29. In theaters Oct. 24.) 

In Noah Baumbach’s “Jay Kelly,” George Clooney plays a movie star undergoing a career crisis that might upend his place in the celebrity universe — or at least his standing with his two daughters. With Adam Sandler and Laura Dern. (Sept. 29, 30, Oct. 2, 8. In theaters Nov. 21.)

In “Late Fame,” Willem Dafoe plays a poet whose brief fame in the late 1970s is rekindled by a group of young admirers, prompting him to question his purpose – and even his ability to write again. With Greta Lee. (Sept. 28, 29, Oct. 3, 7.)

Richard Linklater, whose prior films include “Before Sunrise” and “Boyhood,” has two entries at this year’s festival. In “Blue Moon,” Ethan Hawke plays Broadway lyricist Lorenz Hart, who must contend with the breakup with his partner Richard Rodgers, only to watch Rodgers’ teaming with Oscar Hammerstein II produce a success greater than any he’d shared. With Margaret Qualley and Bobby Cannavale. (Sept. 29, 30, Oct. 5. In theaters Oct. 17.)

In “Nouvelle Vague,” a love letter from an independent cinema maven to the French New Wave, Linklater re-imagines the on- and off-screen creative passion behind the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s classic “Breathless.” With Guillaume Marbeck as Godard, Zoey Deutch as Jean Seberg, and Aubry Dullin as Jean-Paul Belmondo. (Sept. 30, Oct. 1, 4. In theaters Oct. 31.)

“Sentimental Value” features Stellan Skarsgård as a director who writes a role in his latest script for his estranged daughter (played by Renate Reinsve, the breakout star of “The Worst Person in the World”). (Sept. 30, Oct. 1, 11, 12. In theaters Nov. 7.) 

In Ulrich Köhler’s “Gavagai,” the production and premiere of a film adaptation of the classic Greek tragedy “Medea” is marred by cultural and adulterous challenges on-screen and off. (Sept. 27, 28, Oct. 2.)

The 1985 documentary “Robert Wilson and the Civil Wars” captured the acclaimed theater director’s risky attempt to stage a 12-hour opera, with music by Philip Glass and David Byrne, featuring theatrical troupes around the world. Elements of the film were lost or destroyed by Superstorm Sandy, but a 12-year-long restoration effort by Aaron Brookner, nephew of filmmaker Howard Brookner, pulled together archive materials, audio recordings and video to bring what was long unseen back to life. (Sept. 29, 30, Oct. 3, 5, 12.)

Visionaries

Some of the world’s most acclaimed directors are having their works featured in New York.

Jafar Panahi’s “It Was Just an Accident” is the latest film from the Iranian director who has been banned from making movies in his country, but who nonetheless stealthily creates tales that attack the Tehran regime. In this, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes this year, a former prisoner seeking revenge targets the man he believes is responsible for his torture. (Oct. 2, 3, 8. In theaters Oct. 15.)

In “La Grazia,” Paolo Sorrentino (the Oscar-winning “The Great Beauty”) studies the humanity behind the coldness of power as an Italian president (played by Venice Best Actor winner Toni Servillo) prepares for the end of his term and the setting of his legacy. (Oct 9, 10, 13. In theaters Dec. 5.) 

In “Magellan,” Filipino director Lavis Diaz de-mythologizes the explorer’s obsession with imperial conquest. (Oct. 9, 10, 13.)

Iceland’s entry for the Academy Awards is Hlynur Pálmason’s “The Love That Remains,” a drama about the breaking of a family and the shards of love that persist. (Oct. 7, 8, 11.) 

In “Sirât,” by Oliver Laxe, a father searches for his daughter in the Moroccan desert. This psychological tale is Spain’s entry for the Academy Awards. (Oct. 1, 2, 11. In theaters Nov. 14.)

In “Miroirs No. 3,” by Christian Petzold (“Barbara,” “Transit”), a young woman (Paula Beer) who survives a car crash is taken in by a woman living nearby. Their increasingly close bond opens up deep wellsprings of grief. (Oct. 6, 7, 9.)  

Carla Simón (“Alcarràs,” “Summer 1993”) directed “Romería,” about an orphaned 18-year-old girl meeting her extended family for the first time in the Spanish region of Galicia, all while holding onto the memories of the past. (Oct. 6, 7, 8.)

In “The Fence,” a film of simmering tensions by Claire Denis (“Beau Travail”), a death at a construction site in West Africa leads to a standoff between the site’s Western overseers (led by Matt Dillon) and the family of the local worker killed. (Oct. 5, 6, 9, 11.)

In “No Other Choice,” a new satirical thriller by Park Chan-wook (“Decision to Leave”), a man who is laid off after decades of loyal employment turns to acts of violence. Based on Donald E. Westlake’s crime novel, “The Ax.” (Oct. 9, 10, 12, 13. In theaters Dec. 25.)

Documentaries

Non-fiction features at the festival include “Below the Clouds,” Gianfranco Rosi’s Venice Film Festival’s prize-winner about a region of Naples nestled within the Campi Flegrei volcanic caldera, and within range of Mount Vesuvius. (Oct. 5, 6.)

Laura Poitras, an Oscar-winner for “Citizenfour,” and Mark Obenhaus co-directed “Cover-Up,” a portrait of crusading investigative journalist Seymour Hersh. (Oct. 8, 10. Opens in theaters in December.)

Sepideh Farsi’s “Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk” spans a year in which he communicates with photojournalist Fatma Hassouna in Gaza solely through their smartphones, as she bears witness to the destruction on the ground. (Oct. 4, 5, 13. Opens in theaters November 5.) For “With Hasan in Gaza,” Palestinian filmmaker and artist Kamal Aljafari resurrects recently-discovered MiniDV tapes he’d made of a road trip 24 years ago in Gaza, a land now decimated by war. (Oct. 5, 6, 7.)

The true-crime “Nuestra Tierra (Landmarks)” tells the story of the 2009 murder of Javier Chocobar, an Indigenous leader in Argentina killed while trying to protect the Chuschagasta tribe’s land, and of the three men prosecuted for his death. (Oct. 7, 8, 9.)

Ben Stiller directs what is in effect a home movie: a documentary about his parents, comedians Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. “Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost” explores their lives and careers, and how their legacy affected his own. (Oct. 5, 6, 11. Opens in theaters October 17.)

Animation

Animated features include Mamoru Hosoda’s Shakespearean anime “Scarlet,” in which a young princess seeks to avenge the death of her father. (Oct. 7, 8, 11. Opens in theaters Dec. 12.) In Orian Barki and Meriem Bennani’s anthropomorphized autobiography “Bouchra,” a coyote stands in for a Moroccan woman venturing in New York City while maneuvering the tenuous relationship with her parents owing to her queerness — a narrative told through recorded phone calls between Bennani and her mom, and Blender 3D animation conjuring a cast full of animals. (Sept. 27, 28, 29.)

There is also a 4K restoration of Mamoru Oshii’s 1985 dystopian allegory “Angel’s Egg” marking the film’s 40th anniversary. (Sept. 27, 30; Oct. 4, 6.)

Revivals

Among the festival’s notable revivals: A digital reconstruction of Erich von Stroheim’s 1929 film “Queen Kelly,” starring Gloria Swanson, and featuring a new orchestral score. (Footage of Swanson from the legendary unfinished film found its way into “Sunset Boulevard” as an example of silent star Norma Desmond’s luminous screen presence.) (Sept. 30, Oct. 3, 7.)

Also: Ossie Davis’ third directorial feature, 1972 “Black Girl,” starring Peggy Pettitt as a young woman trying to become a dancer (Sept. 28, 29, Oct. 1); Henry Jaglom’s 1983 romance “Can She Bake a Cherry Pie?” starring Karen Black (Sept. 27, 29, Oct. 1); Satyajit Ray’s 1970 “Days and Nights in the Forest” (Sept. 28, Oct. 2, 4); and a restored cut of the Indian “curry western” “Sholay,” featuring cops, thieves, gang leaders, love interests, revenge, gunfights, explosions, and musical numbers – 3.5 hours of widescreen Hindi film action. (Oct. 4, 9.)

Talks and roundtables

Conversations and roundtable discussions with filmmakers include Iranian director Jafar Panahi with Martin Scorsese (Oct. 3); Claire Denis with Barry Jenkins (Oct. 5); Ethan Hawke and Wilem Dafoe (Sept. 28); Mark Jenkin (“Rose of Nevada”) and Alexandre Koberidze (“Dry Leaf”) (Oct. 1); Noah Baumbach and “Sentimental Value” director Joachim Trier (Oct. 1); Oliver Lake (“Sirât”) and Oliver Laxe (“Mare’s Nest”) (Oct. 2); and Palestinian filmmaker Kamal Aljafari (“With Hasan in Gaza”) (Oct. 6).

On October 5 Rebecca Miller and Ari Aster discuss the legacy of Martin Scorsese; “BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions” Kahlil Joseph, artist Kaneza Schaal and others discuss Black cinema as an avenue for world-building (Oct. 6); and Kent Jones (“Last Wave”), Kelly Reichardt (“The Mastermind”), and Lucio Castro (“Drunken Noodles”) discuss a life in the arts (Sept. 28).

You think you know cinema? Participate in one of the NYFF Trivia Night challenges and win tickets to sold-out screenings (Sept. 27, 29, Oct. 9)

For information on these and other festival features, as well as the programs of short and experimental films, go to the New York Film Festival website for their lineup of films, screening schedule and talks, and ticket availability (include rush and standby tickets).

The festival runs through October 13.