Opening Night—Savanah Leaf’s Earth Mama 

Closing Night—Vuk Lungulov-Klotz’s Mutt

Presented in the MoMA and FLC theaters

The Museum of Modern Art and Film at Lincoln Center announce the 52nd edition of New Directors/New Films (ND/NF), taking place from March 29 through April 9, 2023. For more than half a century, the festival has celebrated filmmakers who speak to the present and anticipate the future of cinema, and whose bold work pushes the envelope in unexpected, striking ways. This year’s selection will introduce 27 features and 11 shorts, a total of 41 directors, to filmgoers in theaters at both MoMA and FLC.

La Frances Hui, Curator, Department of Film, MoMA, and 2023 ND/NF Co-chair observes, “This geographically diverse lineup brings together new directors from all over the world presenting works that make bold and creative statements on everything from identity and family to political repression and postcolonial discourse. The power of cinema to inspire imagination and explore perspectives is evident in the wide range of styles, ideas, and voices in the selection.”

Opening the festival is Savanah Leaf’s debut feature Earth Mama, a devastating and evocative portrait of motherhood refracted through the prisms of race and class. ND/NF will close with first-time director Vuk Lungulov-Klotz’s Mutt, starring Lío Mehiel (Special Jury Award winner at Sundance) as Feña, a twentysomething trans man who must contend with an onslaught of aggravations, surprise encounters, and emotional choices over a 24-hour period. The rest of the lineup showcases work from a broad geographic range, with films from Angola, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Iran, Japan, Mexico, Mozambique, Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Serbia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States; prizewinners from Cannes (Metronom), Locarno (Safe Place, Tommy Guns), Sundance (Mutt); and many feature debuts.

“We are thrilled to bookend the 2023 ND/NF edition with two remarkable features, directed by up-and-coming artists Savanah Leaf and by Vuk Lungulov-Klorz, portraying tormented yet determined characters with sensitivity, authenticity, and a true inspiring artistic vision,” said Florence Almozini, FLC Director of Programming and 2023 New Directors/New Films Co-Chair. “We strongly believe that the future of cinema is in the hands of these brilliant directors and cannot wait to share their unique creations with our audience.”

The complete 2023 New Directors/New Films lineup:

Features

Absence dir. Wu Lang
Almost Entirely a Slight Disaster dir. Umut Subaşi
Arnold Is a Model Student dir. Sorayos Prapapann
Ashkal: The Tunisian Investigation dir. Youssef Chebbi
Astrakan dir. David Depesseville  Autobiography dir. Makbul Mubarak
Chile ’76 dir. Manuela Martelli
Coconut Head Generation dir. Alain Kassanda  Disco Boy dir. Giacomo Abbruzzese
Earth Mama dir. Savanah Leaf
Family Time dir. Tia Kouvo
Gush dir. Fox Maxy. Have You Seen This Woman? dir. Dušan Zorić, Matija Gluščević
Joyland dir. Saim Sadiq
Leila’s Brothers dir. Saeed Roustaee Maputo Nakuzandza dir. Ariadne Zampaulo  Metronom dir. Alexandru Belc  Milisuthando dir. Milisuthando Bongela  Mutt dir. Vuk Lungulov-Klotz Pamfir dir. Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk  Petrol dir. Alena Kodkina
Remembering Every Night dir. Yui Kiyohara  The Face of the Jellyfish dir. Melisa Liebenthal  The Maiden dir. Graham Foy Safe Place dir. Juraj Lerotić  Tommy Guns dir. Carlos Conceicao  Tótem dir. Lila Avilés

Shorts

48 Hours dir. Azadeh Moussavi
Aqueronte dir. Manuel Muñoz Rivas  Center, Ring, Mall dir. Mateo Vega
Chomp It! dir. Mark Chua and Lam Li Shuen Civic dir. Dwayne LeBlanc
Escasso dir. Gabriela Gaia Meirelles, Clara Anastácia  Jitterbug dir. Ayo Akingbade
The Kidnapping of the Bride dir. Sophia Mocorrea Human Nature dir. Mónica Lima  The Spiral dir. María Silvia Esteve  Serafina dir. Noa Epars, Anna Simonetti

ND/NF demonstrates that there isn’t just one way forward for young directors entering the vanguard of filmmaking. Directors who were presented to New York audiences in earlier ND/NF editions, some for the very first time, include Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Kelly Reichardt, Pedro Almodóvar, Souleymane Cissé, Euzhan Palcy, Jia Zhangke, Spike Lee, Lynne Ramsay, Michael Haneke, Wong Kar Wai, Agnieszka Holland, Lino Brocka, Guillermo del Toro, Luca Guadagnino, and more than a thousand others. Although the program has grown in size and stature, ND/NF maintains its commitment to experimentation and sharing the gift of discovery with audiences.

The New Directors/New Films selection committee is made up of members from both presenting organizations. The 2023 feature committee comprises La Frances Hui (Co-Chair, MoMA), Florence Almozini (Co-Chair, FLC), Rajendra Roy (MoMA), Josh Siegel (MoMA), Dan Sullivan (FLC), and Tyler Wilson (FLC), and the shorts were programmed by Olivia Priedite (MoMA) and Maddie Whittle (FLC).

Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Monday, March 6, at noon ET. Tickets are $17 for the general public; $13 for students, seniors (62+), and persons with disabilities; and $12 for members. Opening Night tickets are $25 for the general public; $22 for students, seniors (62+), and persons with disabilities; and $20 for FLC and MoMA members.

See more and save with a 5-Film Package for $50; discount automatically applied when adding tickets to cart (excludes Opening and Closing films). Complete your ND/NF experience with a VIP Pass, $500 for the general public and $450 for MoMA and FLC Members (includes two tickets to every film and two tickets to Opening Night and the Opening Night Party). Learn more at newdirectors.org.

New Directors/New Films is presented by Film at Lincoln Center and The Museum of Modern Art.

Film at MoMA is made possible by CHANEL. Additional support is provided by the Annual Film Fund. Leadership support for the Annual Film Fund is provided by Debra and Leon D. Black, with major contributions from The Contemporary Arts Council of The Museum of Modern Art, Jo Carole and Ronald S. Lauder, the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP), The Junior Associates of The Museum of Modern Art, and Karen and Gary Winnick.

Film at Lincoln Center funding for New Directors/New Films is provided in part by Film at Lincoln Center’s New Wave Membership Program, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART

The Museum of Modern Art’s Department of Film marked its 80th anniversary in 2015. Originally founded in 1935 as the Film Library, the Department of Film is a dedicated champion of cinema past, present, and future. With one of the strongest international collections of motion pictures in the world—totaling more than 30,000 films between the permanent and study collections—the Department of Film is a leader in film preservation and a discoverer of emerging talent.

Through The Celeste Bartos Film Preservation Center, a state-of-the-art storage facility in Hamlin, Pennsylvania, MoMA restores and preserves films that are shown across the world and in many of the Museum’s diverse programs, most notably in To Save and Project: The Annual MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation. The Department of Film engages with current cinema by honoring films and filmmakers that will have a lasting historical significance through its annual Film Benefit, which raises funds for the continued maintenance and growth of the collection, and The Contenders series, an annual series of the year’s best movies, as selected by MoMA Film curators from major studio releases and top film festivals.

Always looking to the future, the Department of Film is constantly unearthing emerging talent and providing a venue for young filmmakers through programs such as New Directors/New Films and Documentary Fortnight. Playing an essential role in MoMA’s mission to collect, preserve, and exhibit modern and contemporary art, the department was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 1978 “for the contribution it has made to the public’s perception of movies as an art form.”

Film at MoMA is made possible by CHANEL. Additional support is provided by the Annual Film Fund. For more information, visit moma.org and follow @MoMAFilm and @MuseumModernArt on Twitter and @themuseumofmodernart on Instagram.

FILM AT LINCOLN CENTER

Film at Lincoln Center is dedicated to supporting the art and elevating the craft of cinema and enriching film culture.

Film at Lincoln Center fulfills its mission through the programming of festivals, series, retrospectives, and new releases; the publication of Film Comment; and the presentation of podcasts, talks, special events, and artist initiatives. Since its founding in 1969, this nonprofit organization has brought the celebration of American and international film to the world-renowned Lincoln Center arts complex, making the discussion and appreciation of cinema accessible to a broad audience and ensuring that it remains an essential art form for years to come.

Film at Lincoln Center receives generous, year-round support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. American Airlines is the Official Airline of Film at Lincoln Center. For more information, visit www.filmlinc.org and follow @filmlinc on Twitter and Instagram.