Indie auteur Jim Jarmusch is bringing his eighth movie to the 2025 New York Film Festival: “Father Mother Sister Brother” will play on Oct. 3, making its North American debut.
“I am so very proud of the long history of my work being presented at the NYFF,” Jarmusch said in a Thursday statement, “and am now super honored that my newest film ‘Father Mother Sister Brother’ has been selected for this year’s Centerpiece. The NYFF, the chosen church of my religion, has provided many of my greatest inspirations and revelations in its continuing celebration of the deep and diverse beauty of cinema.”
Structured in the form of a triptych, “Father Mother Sister Brother” explores relationships between adult children and their parents in different corners of the world. In one story, siblings (Adam Driver and Mayim Bialik) visit their reclusive father (Tom Waits) in New Jersey. In another, sisters (Vicky Krieps and Cate Blanchett) reconnect with their chilly mother (Charlotte Rampling) in Dublin. In the third, twins (Indya Moore and Luka Sabbat) go to their family apartment in Paris to deal with a tragedy.
The festival described the film (which will be released by Mubi) as “a kind of anti-action film, its subtle and quiet style carefully constructed to allow small details to accumulate — almost like flowers being carefully placed in three delicate arrangements.”
“Jim Jarmusch’s new movie is not just one of his very best, it distills everything we have come to love and value about this singular filmmaker’s work into one glorious triptych,” Dennis Lim, the festival’s artistic director, said in a statement. “‘Father Mother Sister Brother’ is wise, generous, slyly funny and enormously moving, and we are honored to present it as our Centerpiece selection this year.”
Jarmusch made his debut at the New York Film Festival in 1984 with “Stranger Than Paradise.” He had a continued presence at the festival in the 1980s and ’90s with “Down by Law,” “Mystery Train” and “Night on Earth,” and returned in the 2010s with “Only Lovers Left Alive,” “Paterson” and “Gimme Danger.” In addition to screening his work over many years, in 2023, Jarmusch designed the poster for the 61st NYFF.
Some of his other best-known films include “Permanent Vacation,” “Dead Man,” “Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai,” “Coffee and Cigarettes” and “Broken Flowers,” winner of the Grand Prix at the 2005 Cannes film festival.
Jarmusch will attend the Oct. 3 North American premiere of “Father Mother Sister Brother” with cast members to be determined.
As previously announced, Luca Guadagnino’s “After the Hunt,” starring Julia Roberts and Ayo Edebiri, will open the 63rd festival. Last year, Pedro Almodóvar’s “The Room Next Door” was the festival’s Centerpiece.
