Noah Baumbach’s ‘Marriage Story’ set as New York Film Festival (NYFF) Centerpiece Film

Right on the heels of the announcement that Martin Scorsese’s long-awaited The Irishman will open the 57th New York Film Festival, another Netflix film – Marriage Story – has been selected as the fest’s Centerpiece Film, where it will show at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall on Friday, October 4. Netflix will release the film in select theaters and on its streaming platform in the fall.

With this announcement, Marriage Story becomes the only film of the fall season to hit Venice, Toronto, New York and (presumably now) Telluride. Last year, another Netflix film, Roma, did that and went on to win three Oscars (including Best Director) from 10 nominations.

Marriage Story “is about the rapid tangling and gradual untangling of impetuosity, resentment, and abiding love between a married couple negotiating their divorce and the custody of their son. Adam Driver is Charlie, a 100-percent New York experimental theater director; Scarlett Johansson is Nicole, his principal actress and soon-to-be L.A.-based ex-wife. Their ‘amicable’ breakup devolves, one painful rash response and hostile counter-response at a time, into a legal battlefield, led on Nicole’s side by Laura Dern and on Charlie’s side by ‘nice’ Alan Alda and ‘not-so-nice’ Ray Liotta,” said festival reps.

NYFF festival director Kent Jones added, “What amazed me about ‘Marriage Story’ is the way that Noah keeps the many conflicting emotions between his characters flowing into and around and under and over each other, so beautifully that the film achieves the condition of music. In fact, it actually flowers into song in two of the film’s loveliest and most surprising moments. ‘Marriage Story’ is a heartbreaker, it’s very funny, and it has an emotional complexity that’s worthy of Bergman.”

“I grew up coming to the New York Film Festival with my parents. And it’s where my first film Kicking and Screaming premiered 24 years ago,” said Baumbach. “I couldn’t be more thrilled and proud that Marriage Story has been selected as Centerpiece of the NYFF. The 14-year-old me’s mind is blown; the 49-year-old me’s mind is also blown.”

Presented by Film at Lincoln Center, the 17-day New York Film Festival highlights the best in world cinema, featuring works from celebrated filmmakers as well as fresh new talent. The selection committee, chaired by Jones, also includes Dennis Lim, FLC Director of Programming, and Florence Almozini, FLC Associate Director of Programming. 

Tickets for the 57th New York Film Festival will go on sale to the general public on September 8. Festival and VIP passes are on sale now and offer one of the earliest opportunities to purchase tickets and secure seats at some of the festival’s biggest events, including Opening Night.

The 57th New York Film Festival runs September 27 – October 13. More announcements are set to come with a the full slate revealed on August 6.