Film at Lincoln Center is pleased to announce the world premiere of South of Tehran, a new short film by Kleber Mendonça Filho featuring Iranian director Jafar Panahi, made during the 63rd New York Film Festival in 2025.
The first film in a new annual initiative titled NYFF Encounters, “South of Tehran” will premiere in the 64th New York Film Festival’s Spotlight section and screen in additional presentations alongside select features throughout the festival. Presented by Film at Lincoln Center in partnership with Rolex, NYFF64 will take place from September 25th through October 12th.
In the eight-minute “South of Tehran,” Jafar Panahi recalls the cinephilia of his youth from the surreal remove of the 2025 New York Film Festival, where his “It Was Just an Accident” screened alongside Kleber Mendonça Filho’s “The Secret Agent” (both were later nominated for Best International Feature Film at the 2026 Academy Awards). Crosscutting glimpses of Tehran as seen through a windshield in Panahi’s “Taxi” with 16mm footage of NYC movie palaces past and present, “South of Tehran” is a prismatic reflection on moviegoing and memory, an urban ghost tour. The film is produced by Emilie Lesclaux.
NYFF Encounters is a new annual commissioning program that invites one filmmaker with a film in the New York Film Festival to create an original short during the course of the festival. Selected by the festival’s Artistic Director and programming team, the participating filmmaker will produce a short film shot at least in part at NYFF. The completed work will premiere at the following year’s festival, creating an ongoing artistic dialogue across editions of NYFF. NYFF Encounters is made possible through the generous support of Executive Producer Mary Solomon.
NYFF Artistic Director Dennis Lim said, “The New York Film Festival is, above all, a place of encounter—among filmmakers, audiences, films, and the city itself. We invite each commissioned filmmaker to capture that spirit while leaving the choice of subject and style up to them. Our hope is that these films become lasting records of the spontaneous, stimulating moments that are central to the festival experience and, over time, form a historical archive as significant as our iconic poster collection.”
“I love the fact that my next film was suggested by Dennis Lim, much like a challenge,” said Mendonça Filho. “I accepted the challenge and got to shoot a little film at NYFF last year with the wonderful Jafar Panahi. Happy to screen it at NYFF this year. Thank you, Dennis.”
The NYFF Encounters project takes its inspiration from a four-minute short film by Agnès Varda, “Pier Paolo Pasolini — Agnès Varda — New York — 1967,” shot when the two legendary filmmakers were in town for the 4th New York Film Festival in 1966. Varda trained her 16mm camera on Pasolini one day as the two of them walked through the crowds of midtown Manhattan. She later edited the footage together with Pasolini’s wide-ranging reflections on filmmaking, belief, and the nature of reality. (The elements of the film were discovered in 2021, after Varda’s death, and the restoration has since played widely, including on the Criterion Channel and at the 61st New York Film Festival in 2023, where it was paired with new features by Mendonça Filho and Alice Rohrwacher and new restorations of short films by Man Ray with original music by Jim Jarmusch’s band Sqürl.)
The NYFF Main Slate and Spotlight selection committee is chaired by Dennis Lim, NYFF Artistic Director, and includes Florence Almozini, Justin Chang, and Rachel Rosen.
Presented by Film at Lincoln Center, the New York Film Festival is an annual celebration of the most significant international films of the year. Since 1963, the New York Film Festival has played a vital role in shaping film culture, championing bold and remarkable works by both celebrated auteurs and emerging voices from around the world.
NYFF64 is generously supported by Festival Co-Chairs Susannah Gray and John Lyons, Susan and John Hess, Almudena and Pablo Legorreta, and Nanna and Dan Stern; Vice-Chairs Jack Heller, Tara Kelleher and Roy Zuckerberg, and Ronnie Planalp; and Supporters Kathy and Kris Heinzelman, Hillary Koota Krevlin and Glenn Krevlin, Marcia DB Levy and William G. Levy, Ari Rifkin, and Mary Solomon / GS Gives.
Secure your tickets for NYFF64 with Passes, limited quantities on sale now. NYFF64 single tickets will go on sale to the general public on Tuesday, September 15th at noon ET, with pre-sale access for FLC Members and Pass holders prior to this date. Become an FLC Member by August 28th to secure NYFF64 pre-sale access and discounted tickets year-round. NYFF64 Press and Industry accreditation is now open through August 14th.
Sign up for forthcoming NYFF announcements, including Spotlight, Currents, Revivals, and Talks.
What do you think of this news? Are you excited to see “Godzilla Minus Zero?” What do you think? What else do you think will be announced for NYFF64? Please let us know your thoughts in the comments section below or on our X account.
