Film at Lincoln Center Announces Revivals for the 62nd New York Film Festival

Film at Lincoln Center recently announced the anticipated Revivals section for the 62nd New York Film Festival (NYFF), scheduled to take place from September 27 to October 14. This section is a cherished tradition of the festival, offering audiences a chance to revisit and rediscover groundbreaking films that have been meticulously restored to their original glory.

Photo byLincoln Center

This year’s Revivals selection features a compelling lineup of world premieres of restorations, including Ardak Amirkulov’s The Fall of Otrar, Zeinabu irene Davis’s Compensation, Raymond Depardon’s Reporters, John Hanson and Rob Nilsson’s Northern Lights, and Robina Rose’s Nightshift. These films, now revived through digital remastering and preservation efforts, continue to resonate with contemporary audiences, showcasing their enduring cultural and artistic significance.

Among the highlights is The Fall of Otrar, a historical epic by Ardak Amirkulov that delves into the turmoil preceding Genghis Khan’s destruction of the civilization of Otrar. This Kazakh masterpiece is celebrated for its visual splendor and historical depth. Compensation, by Zeinabu irene Davis, is another standout, offering a dual narrative that explores Black lives and the intersection of Deaf and hearing communities in different eras in Chicago.

The Revivals section also includes Camp de Thiaroye, co-directed by Ousmane Sembène and Thierno Faty Sow, which addresses the tragic Thiaroye Massacre in post-World War II Senegal. This film, banned in France for over a decade, remains a powerful critique of colonialism and war.

Women’s resistance against oppression is another theme in this year’s selection, highlighted by Lino Brocka’s Bona and Marva Nabili’s The Sealed Soil. Bona tells the story of a Filipino woman’s struggle under Ferdinand Marcos’s dictatorship, while The Sealed Soil captures the daily challenges faced by women in patriarchal Iran.

In addition, the festival will present the North American premiere of Clive Barker’s horror classic Hellraiser in a newly restored 4K version, inviting audiences to experience the terror of Pinhead and the Cenobites as never before.

These films, along with others in the Revivals section, demonstrate the continued relevance of classic cinema in today’s cultural landscape. The restorations allow both seasoned cinephiles and new audiences to experience these cinematic treasures as they were meant to be seen.

The Revivals section is curated by Florence Almozini and Dan Sullivan, with contributions from Dennis Lim and Gina Telaroli. The New York Film Festival continues to be a premier platform for the celebration and preservation of cinematic history, offering a bridge between the past and present through these restored masterpieces.