NYFF 2026’s Currents program lists Double Freedom, Heil, Jupiter! and The Life of Jorge Luis Borges as three distinct films by South American filmmakers Lisandro Alonso, Carlos Reygadas and Mariano Llinás. They range from a family’s altered rural life to speculative science fiction and a five-hour archival portrait of a writer; the available sources do not establish current streaming or home-video availability.
Three separate films, not a trilogy
The three titles appear in the NYFF64 Currents program, but they do not share a narrative or constitute a trilogy. Their connection is the filmmakers’ distinctive approaches: Alonso’s rural character study, Reygadas’s confrontational speculation and Llinás’s expansive archival documentary. Film-Forward groups them as works by veteran South American filmmakers, while program details below come from The Cinema Group’s lineup account.
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Double Freedom: a solitary life interrupted
Lisandro Alonso’s film returns to the world of his 2001 debut, La Libertad, with woodcutter Misael Saavedra roughly 25 years later. According to Film-Forward’s review, Misael’s sister Catalina has to move in with him after the state-funded care facility where she lived can no longer accommodate her. Her arrival unsettles his solitary routine and brings a new family responsibility into his life.
The review reads that change as commentary on rural precarity. That is the critic’s interpretation, rather than a stated filmmaker explanation. The Cinema Group lists Chile, Argentina, Luxembourg, Germany and the United Kingdom as production countries and identifies the NYFF screening as a U.S. premiere.
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#1 Best Overall
- For the first time in English, all the fiction by the writer who has been called “the greatest Spanish-language writer of our century” collected in a single volume
Heil, Jupiter!: remote coast, watching force
Carlos Reygadas’s Heil, Jupiter! is listed by The Cinema Group as a world premiere and as his first feature since Our Time. Its program synopsis follows two young couples on a remote coastline, watched by a force that seems godlike. Some of the dialogue uses a language invented for the film.
The Cinema Group characterizes the film as a science-fiction allegory about bodies, landscape, violence and transcendence. Film-Forward describes an indeterminate setting, surveillance, arbitrary state violence and a lengthy trial presented through security-camera images. Those descriptions reflect the reviewer’s account and interpretation, not an official consensus. The review also warns of disturbing imagery, a useful consideration for viewers sensitive to confrontational material.
Rank #2
The Cinema Group lists Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Norway and Sweden as production countries.
The Life of Jorge Luis Borges: an archival journey
Mariano Llinás’s documentary is listed by The Cinema Group at 323 minutes—5 hours and 23 minutes—and as a U.S. premiere. The program description says it draws on rediscovered documents, poems, drafts, manuscripts and archival fragments. Film-Forward describes Llinás as both narrator and character.
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Rank #3
According to the review, the film’s commissioned project is tied to a private collection of Borges memorabilia and follows objects and places associated with the writer. The critic sees the result as a labyrinthine portrait of Borges’s life and work rather than a conventional biography. The Cinema Group lists Argentina as the production country.
How the films differ
| Film | Subject and form | NYFF listing | Runtime evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Double Freedom | Misael’s changed rural life and the family obligation described in Film-Forward’s review. | U.S. premiere, according to The Cinema Group; countries listed: Chile, Argentina, Luxembourg, Germany and the United Kingdom. | A reliable runtime is not established by the cited sources. |
| Heil, Jupiter! | Speculative, formally confrontational science fiction; the program description notes an observing force and partly invented-language dialogue. | World premiere, according to The Cinema Group; countries listed: Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Norway and Sweden. | A reliable runtime is not established by the cited sources. |
| The Life of Jorge Luis Borges | An archival investigation of Borges’s life and work, described by the review as labyrinthine rather than conventionally biographical. | U.S. premiere, according to The Cinema Group; country listed: Argentina. | 323 minutes in The Cinema Group’s program listing. |
What to know before choosing a screening
- For a compact character-and-family premise: Double Freedom centers on a woodcutter whose secluded routine changes when his sister moves in, according to the review.
- For speculative and unsettling cinema: Heil, Jupiter! pairs a remote-coastline setup with surveillance and violence in the reviewer’s account; the review flags disturbing imagery.
- For an extended literary documentary: The Life of Jorge Luis Borges is listed at 323 minutes, so plan for a screening of more than five hours.
- For Borges context: the review discusses Borges’s books but does not recommend a specific edition. Reading a Borges book is optional background, not an official companion or prerequisite.
Where to watch
The available listings establish NYFF screenings and premiere status, but they do not establish current streaming, retail-disc or other home-video availability for any of the three films. Check the festival schedule for screening details: Film at Lincoln Center’s NYFF 2026 lineup.
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Sources
- Film at Lincoln Center’s NYFF 2026 lineup.
- Film-Forward review by Guillermo Lopez Meza.
- The Cinema Group’s NYFF 2026 program roundup.
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