New York Film Festival 2016: Charlie Hunnam's Lost City of Z set as closing night film

After scoring critical praise for movies like The Immigrant and Two Lovers in competition at Cannes, director James Gray has his sights set on another major festival as the Film Society of Lincoln Center announced Wednesday that his next project, The Lost City of Z, will have its world premiere as the 54th New York Film Festival’s closing night film.

The film, based on David Grann’s nonfiction book of the same name, follows British Lieutenant Colonel Percy Fawcett (Charlie Hunnam), an explorer searching for a lost city in the depths of the Amazon. His obsessive search begins to ruin his reputation and his personal relationships, including at home with his wife (Sienna Miller) and children. Robert Pattinson and Tom Holland also star.

“It’s truly a dream come true for me to have The Lost City of Z selected for the closing night of the New York Film Festival,” Gray said in a statement. “I couldn’t be more honored that the film’s world premiere will be in my hometown, a city I still love above all others.”

The Lost City of Z was shot by prolific cinematographer Darius Khondji, who was nominated for an Oscar for framing 1997’s Evita. In addition to DP’ing Gray’s The Immigrant, he also worked on Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris and Lady Gaga’s “Marry the Night” music video.

Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Anthony Katagas, and Dale Armin Johnson produced the project, which was executive-produced by Brad Pitt and Marc Butan. Gardner, Pitt, Katagas, and Kleiner worked together on the 2013 Best Picture-winning film 12 Years a Slave.

Annette Bening’s 20th Century Women, which test-screened for audiences in New York earlier this week, was previously announced as the New York Film Festival’s centerpiece selection. Ava DuVernay’s new documentary The 13th is set to become the first nonfiction film to open the event in the festival’s 54-year history.

The Lost City of Z will screen Saturday, Oct. 15 as a gala event. The NYFF, which typically launches awards-bound films into the Oscar race, runs from Sept. 30-Oct. 16.