Behemoth! Starring Pedro Pascal Set as Centerpiece of New York Film Festival

Tony Gilroy’s Behemoth!, starring Pedro Pascal, will make its world premiere as the Centerpiece selection of the 64th New York Film Festival.

Also starring in the drama film are Eva Victor, Alexa Swinton, Kaya Ralls, Erik Griffin, JoBeth Williams, and Margarita Levieva, with Hank Azaria and Will Arnett.

Pedro Pascal stars as Alex, a cellist picking up the pieces of a fractured life, in this American drama of uncommon intelligence, humor, and grace from Academy Award–nominated writer-director Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton). A former child prodigy living in the shadow of a storied musical family, Alex has left his position with an orchestra in Chicago—fleeing a soured relationship with a manic ex (a piledriving Olivia Wilde)—and returned to Los Angeles to record Hollywood film scores and resolve unfinished family business. Using a deft flashback structure to weave in and out of his adult life, while cleverly employing a panoply of original movie compositions to both accompany and comment upon them (in a soundtrack featuring nine of the industry’s leading musicians), Gilroy turns Alex’s desire for stability, meaning, and redemption into a sophisticated drama of the highest order.

“I have been orbiting NYFF for the great majority of my life,” said Gilroy. “I was baptized by Fitzcarraldo. I was tending bar across the street and a customer tipped me a single ticket. It was a bad seat to the most remarkable screening I’d ever attended. There were many memorable nights to follow. The Centerpiece invitation is a fantasy I’ve conjured more times than I care to admit. NYFF has always been the benchmark for me; the opportunity to premiere a film I cannot wait to show, in that hall, to that audience, feels every bit as thrilling as I’d imagined. I’m honored.”

“We are delighted to present the world premiere of Tony Gilroy’s anticipated return to the big screen as this year’s NYFF Centerpiece,” said Dennis Lim, NYFF Artistic Director. “There is so much to savor in this immaculately crafted film, from its creative use of music to its note-perfect ensemble cast. Holding it all together is a tour de force by Pedro Pascal, one of the performances of the year from one of our true movie stars.”

The 64th New York Film Festival (NYFF64) will take place from September 25 through October 12, 2026.