Paul Thomas Anderson’s New Movie ‘Cameron Winter at Carnegie Hall’ Sets World Premiere at NYFF

The New York Film Festival has significantly bolstered its 2025 lineup with the announcement that Paul Thomas Anderson's latest project, a concert documentary titled "Cameron Winter at Carnegie Hall," will celebrate its world premiere at the prestigious event. This cinematic capture of the Geese frontman's electrifying solo performance at the legendary Manhattan venue, which took place last year, is slated to hit the screen on Oct. 1 at Alice Tully Hall. Both Anderson and Winter are expected to grace the occasion with their presence. Adding a layer of deliberate artistic choice, the presentation will be screened in 35mm—a format that speaks volumes about the director's unwavering dedication to traditional, analog filmmaking methods in an increasingly digital age.

For Anderson, this venture into the world of music documentation is not uncharted territory. His 2015 feature "Junun," a collaboration with Radiohead's guitarist Jonny Greenwood, stands as a testament to his prior work in this genre. This time around, the director has taken on dual responsibilities, handling both the directing and cinematography, utilizing a hybrid approach with 35mm and 16mm cameras to capture the performance's raw energy. The auditory experience, a critical element for any live music film, has been masterfully engineered by Ariel Rechtshaid, a Grammy-winning producer whose impressive portfolio includes collaborations with Vampire Weekend and Adele. The production is also notable for its behind-the-scenes team, with Benny Safdie—the actor and filmmaker known for his previous partnership with Anderson on "Licorice Pizza"—serving as co-producer alongside Sara Murphy, Erica Frauman, and Maggie Ambrose. This continued collaboration between Anderson and Safdie highlights a fruitful creative synergy that has consistently produced compelling cinematic results.

The festival's artistic director, Dennis Lim, has already championed the film as a highlight of this year's program, offering effusive praise in an official statement: "A generational talent delivers a mesmerizing performance before a rapt audience in an iconic venue, and a filmmaker with a rare and instinctive feel for music captures it with the utmost sensitivity: Paul Thomas Anderson's document of Cameron Winter's Carnegie Hall triumph is, quite simply, a concert movie for the ages." The choice of venue adds a layer of historical gravitas to the project. Carnegie Hall, an institution that has witnessed landmark performances from the likes of Judy Garland and Bob Dylan, provides a fitting stage for Winter's breakthrough moment as a solo artist. This context enriches the film's narrative, positioning it within a broader tradition of iconic musical milestones captured on camera.

This announcement rounds out a festival program that is already brimming with a diverse selection of international cinema. The centerpiece slot has been reserved for Tony Gilroy's "Behemoth!", while Ava DuVernay's documentary "14th" will bring the festival to a close. Other notable entries include Mani Haghighi's "I Deserve a Lover Whose Every Rise Sets Fiery Dooms Raging Across the Skies," Takashi Yamazaki's monster epic "Godzilla Minus Zero," and Ryûsuke Hamaguchi's French-language drama "All of a Sudden." The lineup further features Arie Esiri and Chuko Esiri's "Clarissa," a contemporary reinterpretation of "Mrs. Dalloway," alongside Paweł Pawlikowski's monochrome postwar drama "Fatherland" and "Minotaur," which took home the Grand Prix from Andrey Zvyagintsev. This eclectic mix underscores the festival's commitment to showcasing a wide range of cinematic voices and styles.

Since its establishment in 1963, the New York Film Festival has served as a crucial barometer for cinematic achievement, and this year's edition is set to open on Sept. 25 with James Gray's period thriller "Paper Tiger," starring Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, and Miles Teller. The inclusion of Winter's concert film reflects a broader industry shift toward music-driven storytelling, a trend that has gained considerable momentum following the critical and commercial success of projects like "Summer of Soul" and "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour." These productions have not only redefined the artistic possibilities of the genre but have also proven its financial viability as a theatrical draw—a factor that likely played a significant role in the festival's programming decisions this year. As audiences increasingly seek out shared, immersive experiences, the concert film has emerged as a powerful medium, bridging the gap between live performance and cinematic artistry.