Bacurau

2020

Intro

The following films appeared on year-end lists in Cinema Scope, The New York Times, and Sight & Sound. Film Comment was on hiatus in 2020 and did not publish any lists. Selection for the Berlin, Cannes, New York, Rotterdam, Sundance, Telluride, Toronto, and Venice film festivals is noted. Cannes and Telluride cancelled their 2020 festivals, but did announce their intended programs. Locarno presented a program of retrospectives and works in progress.

Films

The Assistant

USA
Kitty Green

Lists: Sight & Sound (14, 2020)

Festivals: Berlin (Panorama, 2020) | Sundance (Spotlight, 2020) | Telluride (2019)

Bacurau

Brazil
Juliano Dornelles, Kleber Mendonça Filho

Lists: New York Times (5 - Dargis / 7 - Scott, 2020) | Sight & Sound (17, 2020)

Festivals: Cannes (Competition, 2019) | New York (Main Slate, 2019) | Rotterdam (Limelight, 2020) | Toronto (Contemporary World Cinema, 2019)

Beanpole

Dylda
Russia
Kantemir Balagov

Festivals: Cannes (Un Certain Regard, 2019) | New York (Main Slate, 2019) | Rotterdam (Limelight, 2020) | Telluride (2019) | Toronto (Contemporary World Cinema, 2019)

Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets

USA
Bill Ross IV, Turner Ross

Lists: Sight & Sound (11, 2020)

Festivals: Berlin (Panorama, 2020) | Sundance (US Documentary Competition, 2020)

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

USA
Jason Woliner

Lists: New York Times (1 - Scott, 2020)

City Hall

USA
Frederick Wiseman

Lists: Cinema Scope (9, 2020) | New York Times (2 - Dargis / 2 - Scott, 2020)

Festivals: New York (Main Slate, 2020) | Toronto (TIFF Docs, 2020) | Venice (Out of Competition, 2020)

Collective

Colectiv
Romania, Luxembourg
Alexander Nanau

Lists: New York Times (8 - Dargis / 2 - Scott, 2020)

Festivals: Sundance (Spotlight, 2020) | Toronto (TIFF Docs, 2019) | Venice (Out of Competition, 2019)

Da 5 Bloods

USA
Spike Lee

Lists: Sight & Sound (12, 2020)

DAU. Degeneration

DAU. Degeneratsia
Germany, Ukraine, UK, Russia
Ilya Khrzhanovskiy, Ilya Permyakov

Lists: Cinema Scope (8, 2020)

Festivals: Berlin (Berlinale Special, 2020)

David Byrne's American Utopia

USA
Spike Lee

Lists: New York Times (4 - Dargis / 8 - Scott, 2020) | Sight & Sound (16, 2020)

Festivals: New York (Spotlight, 2020) | Toronto (Gala Presentations, 2020)

Days

Rizi
Taiwan
Tsai Ming-liang

Lists: Cinema Scope (1, 2020) | Sight & Sound (10, 2020)

Festivals: Berlin (Competition, 2020) | New York (Main Slate, 2020)

Dick Johnson Is Dead

USA
Kirsten Johnson

Lists: New York Times (9 - Scott, 2020) | Sight & Sound (6, 2020)

Festivals: Sundance (US Documentary Competition, 2020)

Fauna

Mexico, Canada
Nicolás Pereda

Lists: Cinema Scope (10, 2020)

Festivals: New York (Currents, 2020) | Toronto (Wavelengths, 2020)

First Cow

USA
Kelly Reichardt

Lists: New York Times (6 - Dargis / 3 - Scott, 2020) | Sight & Sound (3, 2020)

Festivals: Berlin (Competition, 2020) | New York (Main Slate, 2019) | Telluride (2019)

The Forty-Year-Old Version

USA
Radha Blank

Lists: New York Times (9 - Dargis / 5 - Scott, 2020)

Festivals: Sundance (US Dramatic Competition, 2020)

Gunda

Norway, USA
Victor Kossakovsky

Lists: New York Times (3 - Dargis, 2020)

Festivals: Berlin (Encounters, 2020) | New York (Main Slate, 2020)

I'm Thinking of Ending Things

USA
Charlie Kaufman

Lists: Sight & Sound (4, 2020)

Kajillionaire

USA
Miranda July

Lists: Sight & Sound (20, 2020)

Festivals: Cannes (Directors' Fortnight, 2020) | Sundance (Premieres, 2020)

The Last City

Die letzte Stadt
Germany
Heinz Emigholz

Lists: Cinema Scope (4, 2020)

Festivals: Berlin (Encounters, 2020) | New York (Currents, 2020)

Lovers Rock

UK
Steve McQueen

Lists: Cinema Scope (5, 2020) | New York Times (8 - Scott, 2020) | Sight & Sound (1, 2020)

Festivals: Cannes (Official Selection, 2020) | New York (Main Slate - Opening Night, 2020)

Malmkrog

Romania, Serbia, Switzerland, Sweden, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia
Cristi Puiu

Lists: Cinema Scope (7, 2020)

Festivals: Berlin (Encounters, 2020) | New York (Main Slate, 2020)

Mangrove

UK
Steve McQueen

Lists: Sight & Sound (13, 2020)

Festivals: Cannes (Official Selection, 2020) | New York (Main Slate, 2020)

Never Rarely Sometimes Always

USA
Eliza Hittman

Lists: New York Times (7 - Dargis, 2020) | Sight & Sound (7, 2020)

Festivals: Berlin (Competition, 2020) | Sundance (US Dramatic Competition, 2020)

Nomadland

USA
Chloé Zhao

Lists: Sight & Sound (8, 2020)

Festivals: New York (Main Slate - Centerpiece, 2020) | Telluride (2020) | Toronto (Gala Presentations, 2020) | Venice (In Competition, 2020)

Palm Springs

USA
Max Barbakow

Festivals: Sundance (US Dramatic Competition, 2020)

Rocks

UK
Sarah Gavron

Lists: Sight & Sound (9, 2020)

Festivals: Rotterdam (Perspectives, 2020) | Toronto (Platform, 2019)

Saint Maud

UK
Rose Glass

Lists: Sight & Sound (5, 2020)

Festivals: Rotterdam (Voices, 2020) | Toronto (Midnight Madness, 2019)

Shirley

USA
Josephine Decker

Lists: Sight & Sound (15, 2020)

Festivals: Berlin (Encounters, 2020) | Sundance (US Dramatic Competition, 2020)

Soul

USA
Pete Docter

Lists: New York Times (10 - Scott, 2020)

Festivals: Cannes (Official Selection, 2020)

Time

USA
Garrett Bradley

Lists: Sight & Sound (2, 2020)

Festivals: New York (Main Slate, 2020) | Sundance (US Documentary Competition, 2020)

Wolfwalkers

Ireland, Luxembourg, France
Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart

Lists: Sight & Sound (19, 2020)

Festivals: Toronto (Special Events, 2020)

The Woman Who Ran

Domangchin yeoja
South Korea
Hong Sang-soo

Lists: Cinema Scope (6, 2020) | Sight & Sound (18, 2020)

Festivals: Berlin (Competition, 2020) | New York (Main Slate, 2020)

The Works and Days (of Tayoko Shiojiri in the Shiotani Basin)

Werke und Tage (der Tayoko Shiojiri im Shiotanibecken)
USA, Sweden, Japan, UK,
C.W. Winter, Anders Edström

Lists: Cinema Scope (2, 2020)

Festivals: Berlin (Encounters, 2020) | New York (Currents, 2020)

The Year of Discovery

El año del descubrimiento
Spain
Luis López Carrasco

Lists: Cinema Scope (3, 2020)

Festivals: New York (Currents, 2020) | Rotterdam (Tiger Competition, 2020)