‘You Had to Be There’ and ‘Sentimental Value’ to Headline Inaugural New York Comedy Film Festival

New York City is about to get a whole lot funnier. This spring, the New York Comedy Film Festival makes its debut, launching a brand-new event designed to bring together filmmakers, comedians, and passionate audiences.

The festival positions humor front and center – spotlighting the stories, voices, and creative risk-taking that define comedy on screen and beyond.

The festival will open with the New York City premiere of You Had to Be There: How the Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution…, a documentary directed by Nick Davis and executive produced by Judd Apatow.

The film explores how a 1972 Toronto production of Godspell unexpectedly launched a generation of performers who went on to shape modern comedy through SCTV, Saturday Night Live, and beyond.

The documentary features Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Gilda Radner, Victor Garber, Andrea Martin, Dave Thomas, and musical director Paul Shaffer, with original interviews with all the surviving cast members as well as reflections from Mike Myers, Dan Aykroyd, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and others, capturing a singular creative moment whose influence continues to resonate.

“I am so thrilled – as is Jane Mendelsohn, my co-writer and partner in our production company, Series of Dreams — that our film will be having its New York City premiere at the inaugural New York Comedy Film Festival,” said director Nick Davis. “It feels especially fitting that this new festival would launch with a story about a group of young performers whose collaboration ignited a comedy revolution that continues to this day.”

The festival will close with Sentimental Value, Joachim Trier’s darkly comedic drama starring Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas and Elle Fanning. The film follows a celebrated actress forced to confront unresolved tensions when her estranged, once-renowned filmmaker father reenters her life.

“New York has always been a capital of comedy, so we are thrilled to bring the first-ever film festival dedicated to the genre to the city,” said Norm Laviolette, CEO of NYCFF. “Our opening and closing films perfectly reflect the spirit of the festival, and they are just the beginning of an incredible slate of films that will be announced in the weeks ahead. Comedic films deserve their own spotlight and we’re building an event that puts them at center stage.”