Think of it as a festival within the festival: every year, the annual Projections program brings the latest and greatest of experimental film to the New York Film Festival. Projections is a crucial and consistently popular snapshot of the boundary pushing part of cinema that is embedded in the DNA of the New York Film Festival, by way of co-founder Amos Vogel. To navigate this year’s rich offerings, I brought together two leading critics in the field: Ed Halter, a critic in residence at Bard and co-director of Light Industry, and Film Comment contributing editor Nellie Killian, who teaches at Pratt. The conversation starts with a broad look at today’s experimental scene before spotlighting favorites from this year’s Projections.

Tune in for more Film Comment fun at the New York Film Festival with our Filmmakers Chat director showcase on Saturday, October 5th, and our critics wrap-up on Wednesday, October 9, both free events at Film at Lincoln Center.