The Debut, Eisenberg’s A24 comedy, is a Spotlight New York Premiere at the 64th festival

Emma Stone attended the New York premiere of The Debut on Wednesday, Oct. 7, during the 64th New York Film Festival, according to W Magazine. Jesse Eisenberg wrote, directed and stars in the A24 comedy, and Stone is one of its producers, alongside Eisenberg, Dave McCary and Ali Herting.

The festival’s listing places the film in the Spotlight section, labelled a New York Premiere. The sections around it, the release plans and the points that remain open are set out below.

What the Oct. 7 premiere confirmed

W’s article, published Oct. 8, says Stone arrived on Wednesday night, which is Oct. 7. The festival ran from Sept. 25 to Oct. 12, according to the festival’s film listing and The Playlist. Counting both ends, Oct. 7 is day 13 of the 18-day run.

The W article is by Natalie Michie and was published Oct. 8.

The outfit was a custom version of a Louis Vuitton slip. W reports that the runway original appeared in the spring 2027 show at Paris Fashion Week on Tuesday, Oct. 6, with Stone seated front row. That version had a bright yellow underlay and embellished silver straps.

Stone’s custom version is more subdued, with a gray satin panel draping along the neckline and a muted bottom with a faint sheer finish.

Festival placement
Film at Lincoln Center lists The Debut in the Spotlight section as a New York Premiere, and describes it as an A24 release.

How the 64th festival’s sections are arranged

The festival’s announcements list a Main Slate, Spotlight, Currents, Revivals, NYFF Encounters, NYFF64 Talks and an Artists and Critics Academy. Currents includes 15 features, including five world premieres, five North American premieres, three U.S. premieres and one restoration world premiere. It also has 28 shorts in six programmes from 24 countries and regions.

Revivals includes 12 restored, preserved or remastered features and two programmes of rare shorts. NYFF Encounters opened with South of Tehran, a new short by Kleber Mendonça Filho that features Jafar Panahi and was made during the 63rd festival in 2025. The Playlist also lists it among the Spotlight shorts.

The NYFF64 Talks lineup includes Hamaguchi, Almodóvar, Coppola, DuVernay, James Gray, Mike Leigh and Lee Chang-dong. The festival describes the talks as conversations with auteurs, emerging filmmakers, industry craftspeople and special guests.

Rolex is hosting a series of special activations that celebrate its relationship with cinema, and the Artists and Critics Academy has announced its 2026 participants. Film at Lincoln Center also announced Fall/Winter 2026 programming, running from September through December.

Where The Debut sits in the Spotlight

The festival’s listing places The Debut in the Spotlight section, labelled a New York Premiere, and describes it as an A24 release. The Playlist, which covered the lineup on Aug. 11, uses the heading Spotlight.

The Playlist lists other titles in that section, including Godzilla Minus Zero, Fjord, Joy of Joys, Making Marie Antoinette, One More Time and A Statement. It also lists Spotlight shorts, including Masao Adachi Takes a Passport Photo, A Stolen Movie, Torino Shadow and Screening Room. The festival’s announcements describe the Spotlight as a curated, eclectic survey of the year’s most eagerly anticipated films.

Two other titles also name their guests. Luca Guadagnino’s Artificial has its world premiere on Oct. 5, with Guadagnino and cast members attending. Paul Thomas Anderson’s Cameron Winter at Carnegie Hall premieres on Oct. 1, on 35mm, with Anderson and Cameron Winter attending.

Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s You Can See Everything, also in the Spotlight, has its New York premiere on Sept. 30, with both attending.

No guests are listed for The Debut. The film runs 105 minutes, and audio description is available at one screening at the Walter Reade Theater.

Who made the film and who appears in it

BroadwayWorld, citing The Hollywood Reporter, says Eisenberg wrote, directed and stars in the film and wrote its original songs. The producers are Eisenberg, Stone, McCary and Herting. The festival’s listing and The Playlist both say Eisenberg also wrote the music and lyrics for the show within the film.

W says Stone is a producer through her production company, Fruit Tree, which she founded in 2020 with McCary.

Julianne Moore plays Mona, a middle-aged New Jersey housewife who lands a role in a local musical despite having no stage experience. Paul Giamatti plays Jerry, the demanding director of the show, according to The Playlist.

The festival’s listing says the theater world proves transformative for Mona and, as she digs into her character, excitingly dangerous. Film at Lincoln Center describes the film as a comedy that balances musical theater satire with a character study. The listing gives the country as the U.S.

BroadwayWorld also lists Bernadette Peters, Halle Bailey, Cara Buono, Craig Bierko, Eldar Isgandarov, K. Todd Freeman, Havana Rose Liu, Bonnie Milligan, Colton Ryan, Lilli Cooper and Maulik Pancholy in the cast. Steven Gizicki is music supervisor, and Andy Blankenbuehler is choreographer.

The festival’s listing places The Debut in the Spotlight section, labelled a New York Premiere, and describes it as an A24 release.

Release plans and the London premiere

A24 is the distributor. BroadwayWorld reports a limited theatrical run beginning Dec. 11, followed by a wide release on Christmas Day.

BroadwayWorld also says the film is expected to hold its world premiere at a film festival this fall, ahead of its opening.

The UK premiere is the closing-night gala of the 70th BFI London Film Festival on Oct. 18, according to BroadwayWorld, which cites The Hollywood Reporter as the original report. Eisenberg is expected to attend with cast members. The gala falls 11 days after the New York premiere.

The limited run begins 54 days after the London gala. In remarks reported by BroadwayWorld, Eisenberg said he was honoured to bring the film to the festival and joked about the difference between British and American spelling. He called closing the festival a thrill and said he looked forward to sharing the cast’s performances with London audiences.

What has not been announced

W reports that the film is already being floated as a major Oscar contender, and that Julianne Moore is considered an early favorite in the Best Actress race.

The reported positioning so far is a Spotlight placement at the 64th festival, a limited December run, a wide Christmas release and a London closing-night gala. BroadwayWorld confirms Stone’s producer credit, and W reports her attendance at the Oct. 7 premiere.

Photo: Harald Krichel · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons