2009 New York Film Festival

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tavernier · #1 Post by **tavernier** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 6:22 pm

They should be announcing the slate soon, but here is a teaser from the Film Society:

The festival runs from September 25 to October 11 and is scheduled to include films by Pedro Almodóvar, Lars von Trier, Michael Haneke, Andrzej Wajda, and many other acclaimed directors. The festival’s official sidebar, Lights! Camera! Nation! Creating a National Cinema in China, 1949-1966, will present a fascinating collection of remarkable films from the early years of the People's Republic, works that reflect the lively debates that went on in those years about the form, meaning and purpose of art in a society furiously re-defining itself as a new, socialist society.

Perkins Cobb · #2 Post by **Perkins Cobb** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 4:29 pm

The other sidebar will be a Guru Dutt program.

Phil · #3 Post by **Phil** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 7:55 pm

via indiewire

OPENING NIGHT
Wild Grass / Les herbes folles
Alain Resnais, France, 2009; 113m
The venerable Alan Resnais creates an exquisite human comedy of manners, mystery and romance with some of France’s – and our – favorite actors: Sabine Azéma, André Dussollier, Emmanuelle Devos and Mathieu Almaric. A Sony Pictures Classics release.

CENTERPIECE
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Lee Daniels, USA, 2009; 109m
Precious is sixteen and living a miserable life. But she uses all the emotional energy she possesses to turn her life around. Director Lee Daniel’s audacious tale features unforgettable performances by Mo’Nique, Mariah Carey and newcomer Gabourey Sidibe. A Lionsgate release.

CLOSING NIGHT
Broken Embraces / Los abrazos rotos
Pedro Almodóvar, Spain, 2009; 128m
Almodóvar’s newest masterwork is a candy-colored emotional roller that barrels from comedy to romance to melodrama to the darker haunts of film noir and stars his muse, Penélope Cruz, in a multilayered story of a man who loses his sight and the love of his life. A Sony Pictures Classics release.

36 Views of Saint-Loup Peak / 36 Vues Du Pic Saint Loup
Jacques Rivette, France, 2009, 84m
The legendary Jacques Rivette returns with an elegiac look at the final days of a small-time traveling circus.

Antichrist
Lars von Trier, Denmark, 2009, 109m
Surely to be one of the year’s most discussed films, Lars von Trier’s latest chronicles a couple’s efforts to find their love again after a tragic loss, only to unleash hidden monsters lurking in their souls. An IFC Films release.

The Art of the Steal
Don Argott, USA, 2009, 101m
Bound to be controversial, this intriguing account of the travails of the legendary Barnes collection of art masterworks and the foundation set up to protect it raises vital questions about public vs. private “ownership” of art.

Bluebeard / La Barbe Bleue
Catherine Breillat, France, 2009, 78m
Two sisters reading Charles Perrault’s 17th century tale of perhaps the first “serial killer” becomes a meditation on the enduring fascination with a character who has served as inspiration for countless novels, plays and films.

Crossroads of Youth / Cheongchun’s Sipjaro
An Jong-hwa, Korea, 1934, 73m
The oldest surviving Korean film, this recently-rediscovered masterwork will be presented with live musical accompaniment as well as a benshi (offscreen narrator).

Eccentricities of a Blonde
Manoel de Olivera, Portugal/France, 2009, 64m
One hundred years young, director Manoel de Oliveira returns with another gem: a wry, moving tale of a pure if frustrated love adapted from a novel by Eça de Queiroz.

Everyone Else / Alle Anderen
Maren Ade, Germany, 2009, 119m
The ups and downs, joys and jealousies, frustrations and fulfillments of a young couple on a summer holiday provides the premise for this brilliant meditation on modern coupling.

Ghost Town
Zhao Dayong, China, 2008, 180m
A revealing, one-of-a-kind look at China far away from the glittering urban skylines, this portrait of a contemporary rural community in China offers extraordinary insights into everything from the role of religion to gender relationships to the place of social deviants.

Hadewijch
Bruno Dumont, France, 2009, 105m
A young woman searches for an absolute experience of faith—and in the process grows increasingly distant from the world around her.

Independencia
Raya Martin, Philippines, 2009, 77m
Maverick director Raya Martin offers a kind of alternative history of the Philippines and its struggle for nationhood in this stylized tale of a mother and son hiding in the mountains after the US takeover of the islands.

Inferno / L’Enfer
Serge Bromberg, France, 2009, 100m
A film buff’s delight, Serge Bromberg film resurrects the surviving footage of Clouzot’s aborted, experimental film L’Enfer, revealing a slightly mad but beguiling project that will always remain one of cinema’s great “what ifs.”

Kanikosen
Sabu, Japan, 2009, 109m
Kaniskosen is a highly stylized, stirring, manga-flavored update of a classic Japanese political novel, with labor unrest aboard a crab canning ship evolving into a cry of a younger generation aching to break the bonds of conformity.

Lebanon
Samuel Maoz, Israel, 2009, 92m
Debut director Samuel Maoz takes us inside an Israeli tank and the emotions of its crew during the 1982 invasion of Lebanon.

Life During Wartime
Todd Solondz, USA, 2009, 96m
Preparing for his bar-mitzvah, a young man must deal with his divorced mother’s prospective fiancé as well as rumors that his own father is not really dead.

Min Yé
Souleymane Cissé, Mali/France, 2009, 135m
A work of startling originality, Souleymane Cisse’s first film in over a decade insightfully and incisively chronicles the dissolution of an upper-middle class African marriage.

Mother/ Maedo
Bong Joon-ho, South Korea, 2009, 128m
Convinced that her son has been wrongly accused of murder, a widow throws herself body and soul into proving his innocence. Kim Hye-ja in the title role gives perhaps the performance of the year.

Ne Change Rien
Pedro Costa, France/Portugal, 2009, 103m
A shimmering valentine, Costa’s latest is less a portrait than a kind of visual homage, to the artistry of actor and singer Jeanne Balibar.

Police Adjective / Politist, adj.
Corneliu Porumboiu, Romania, 2009, 115m
Discovering a teenager with hashish, a young policeman hesitates about turning him in. But his supervisor has other ideas in this beautifully acted, provocative modern morality play. An IFC Films release.

Room and a Half / Poltory Komnaty Ili Sentimentalnoe Puteshtvie Na Rodinu
Andrey Khrzhanovsky, Russia, 2009, 131m
Former animator Andrey Khrzhanovsky combines scripted scenes, archival footage, several types of animation, and surrealist flights of fancy to create this stirring portrait of poet Josef Brodsky and the postwar Soviet cultural scene. A Seagull Films release.

Sweetgrass
Ilisa Barish, Lucien Castaing-Taylor, USA, 2009, 105m
This breathtaking chronicle follows an ever-surprising group of modern-day cowboys as they lead an enormous herd of sheep up and then down the slopes of the Beartooth Mountains in Montana on their way to market.

Sweet Rush / Tatarak
Andrzej Wajda, Poland/France, 2009, 85m
Celebrated master Andrzej Wajda returns with a bold, experimental work that juxtaposes a story about a terminally doctor’s wife rediscovering romance thanks with a heart-rending monologue written and performed by actress Krystyna Janda about the death of her husband.

To Die Like a Man / Morrer Como Um Homen
Joao Pedro Rodrigues, Portugal, 2009,138m
This touching, finely-etched portrait follows Tonia, a veteran drag performer confronting younger competition and her boyfriend’s demands that she undergo a sex change.

Vincere
Marco Bellocchio, Italy, 2009, 129m
Mussolini’s “secret” marriage to Ida Dalser, afterwards completely denied by Il Duce, along with the son born from the relationship, becomes the springboard for this visually ravishing meditation on the fascist manipulation of history. An IFC Films release.

White Material
Claire Denis, France, 2009, 100m
A handful of Europeans try to make sense of—and survive—the chaos happening all around them in an African country torn apart by civil war.

The White Ribbon / Das weisse band
Michael Haneke, Austria/France, 2009, 144m
The Palme d’Or winner at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, this is a starkly beautiful meditation on the consequences of violence—physical, emotional, spiritual—in a northern German town on the eve of World War I. A Sony Pictures Classics release.

The Wizard of Oz
Victor Fleming, 1939, USA, 103m
The 70th Anniversary of the timeless classic, presented in a spectacular newly-restored edition makes the film a new experience even for those who practically have it memorized. A Warner Bros. release.

#4 Post by **domino harvey** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:18 pm

Phil wrote: 36 Views of Saint-Loup Peak / 36 Vues Du Pic Saint Loup
Jacques Rivette, France, 2009, 84m
The legendary Jacques Rivette returns with an elegiac look at the final days of a small-time traveling circus.

Is there a number missing?

Phil · #5 Post by **Phil** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:27 pm

Yeah, I remember being shocked by that when I looked at the Venice line-up. Pretty excited to see how Rivette pulls off a movie that's half as long as what he's normally working with.

ptmd · #6 Post by **ptmd** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 12:05 am

This is the best-looking, most auteur-friendly NYFF in years, which is a big surprise given all the upheaval there over the past few months. My only disappointment is that the new Tsai Ming-liang film wasn't included, since I don't know when that will ever get distribution here.

FerdinandGriffon · #7 Post by **FerdinandGriffon** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 2:22 am

I've never made the festival, but intend to this year. Can someone with past experience tell me how ticketing works?

colinr0380 · #8 Post by **colinr0380** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 10:37 am

Phil wrote:Yeah, I remember being shocked by that when I looked at the Venice line-up. Pretty excited to see how Rivette pulls off a movie that's half as long as what he's normally working with.

Just so you don't have to trawl through The Auteurs, here's David Ehrenstein's post on it:

David Ehrenstein wrote:It premieres at the Venice Film Festival. It’s based on an incident in the life of Raymond Roussel. It’s shorter than an episode of “Out 1.” The average length for a Rivette film is 2 hours and 45 minutes.

Obviously this mean a completely reclaibrated mise en scene.

I can’t wait

That really is an amazing line up: Resnais and Rivette, de Olivera, Cissé, Dumont, Denis, Wajda, Bellochio,Breillat...

tavernier · #9 Post by **tavernier** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 3:23 pm

I can't believe a movie with Mariah Carey is the Festival Centerpiece.

ptmd · #10 Post by **ptmd** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 4:01 pm

The Centerpiece is always a joke, you can pay $40 or more to get a ticket to a film that's going to get relatively wide distribution anyways (often it opens the following week). I always view it as a way of subsidizing the handful of first-rate films that will never get distribution, like Omirbaev's Chouga last year.

Antoine Doinel · #11 Post by **Antoine Doinel** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 4:08 pm

tavernier wrote:I can't believe a movie with Mariah Carey and Mo'Nique is the Festival Centerpiece.

Corrected.

#12 Post by **domino harvey** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 4:20 pm

Antoine Doinel wrote:
tavernier wrote:I can't believe a movie with Mariah Carey and Mo'Nique is the Festival Centerpiece.
Corrected.

Wait 'til Mo'Nique gets her Oscar nom and probable win

#13 Post by **swo17** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 4:30 pm

Hate on her all you want. It just leaves mo' Mo'Nique for the rest of us.

#14 Post by **Matt** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 5:01 pm

I won't stand for any Mo'Nique bashing on this forum. Just because she was in Soul Plane and Beerfest and hosted "Charm School" doesn't mean she can't win an Oscar. A girl's gotta work, right?

Seriously though, she was on fire in Domino and is apparently very good in a small role in Shadowboxer.

ptmd · #15 Post by **ptmd** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 5:59 pm

Does anyone know anything about this "new," supposedly more transparent ticketing system Mara Manus keeps touting?

#16 Post by **domino harvey** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 6:43 pm

No, but like FerdinandGriffon, I'd like to know how to get tickets as well

ptmd · #17 Post by **ptmd** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 6:48 pm

Normally, an advance mailing is sent out to members in late August that lets members purchase individual tickets to specific films and then tickets go on sale to the public online and at the Alice Tully box office after Labor Day. All of this stuff about the films being inaccessible and tickets being hard to get hold of is nonsense, I've never had trouble getting tickets to any film I actually wanted to see. The new Rivette and Denis films, for example, definitely won't sell out, although I'm pretty sure there is a lot of competition for the overpriced opening night, centerpiece, and closing night films.

tavernier · #18 Post by **tavernier** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 7:13 pm

ptmd wrote:although I'm pretty sure there is a lot of competition for the overpriced opening night, centerpiece, and closing night films.

All of which have distributors and will be released after the festival, when you can see them any time you want for $8-12, instead of $40.

#19 Post by **domino harvey** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 8:25 pm

ptmd wrote:Normally, an advance mailing is sent out to members in late August that lets members purchase individual tickets to specific films and then tickets go on sale to the public online and at the Alice Tully box office after Labor Day. All of this stuff about the films being inaccessible and tickets being hard to get hold of is nonsense, I've never had trouble getting tickets to any film I actually wanted to see. The new Rivette and Denis films, for example, definitely won't sell out, although I'm pretty sure there is a lot of competition for the overpriced opening night, centerpiece, and closing night films.

Thanks for the details. I definitely want to come up for the Rivette film, so that's good news if true

puxzkkx · #20 Post by **puxzkkx** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 8:45 pm

This looks like an insanely good lineup. Wish I was there...

Phil · #21 Post by **Phil** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 9:35 pm

ptmd wrote:although I'm pretty sure there is a lot of competition for the overpriced opening night, centerpiece, and closing night films.

I went for the first time last year, and didn't have any trouble in the least getting a $7 student ticket to The Wrestler. The online system was a royal pain-in-the-ass though, I ended up getting just about all of my tickets day of show at the box office.

gokinsmen · #22 Post by **gokinsmen** » Thu Aug 13, 2009 12:21 am

It's sort of pathetic that the NEW YORK Film Festival is basically a Cliffs' Notes of previous festival players with no world premieres (okay, maybe there's one a year). America's biggest, most storied city (and its cultural capitol) doesn't even have a real film fest. At least its avant-garde section is slightly less ghettoized than most.

James · #23 Post by **James** » Thu Aug 13, 2009 12:27 am

gokinsmen wrote:It's sort of pathetic that the NEW YORK Film Festival is basically a Cliffs' Notes of previous festival players with no world premieres (okay, maybe there's one a year). America's biggest, most storied city (and its cultural capitol) doesn't even have a real film fest. At least its avant-garde section is slightly less ghettoized than most.

At least New York gets something. Los Angeles has basically nothing (LAFF has very little and AFI Fest is going to be free).

Cheerupemokid · #24 Post by **Cheerupemokid** » Fri Aug 14, 2009 5:50 pm

ptmd wrote:Normally, an advance mailing is sent out to members in late August that lets members purchase individual tickets to specific films and then tickets go on sale to the public online and at the Alice Tully box office after Labor Day. All of this stuff about the films being inaccessible and tickets being hard to get hold of is nonsense, I've never had trouble getting tickets to any film I actually wanted to see. The new Rivette and Denis films, for example, definitely won't sell out, although I'm pretty sure there is a lot of competition for the overpriced opening night, centerpiece, and closing night films.

I've been to the Festival four times now, from 2005 on, and I kind of see where they get the "inaccessible" idea from. The first two years my girlfriend and I went we weren't members of the Film Society of Lincoln Center and had to do the wait-in-line thing uptown and while we did get a lot of the movies we wanted, there were also always a few movies that we were locked out of. Mainly the opening, closing, and centerpiece movies, like you said. The last two years we have been members, and getting tickets to everything we want has been a breeze. Only the opening night film has still been out of our reach, but getting tickets to the centerpiece and closing night films has been a breeze.

I am looking forward to seeing what the new ticketing system will be like for members. Not having to fax them over an order form with a credit card number on it, or send them a blank check with an amount they are allowed to cash it up to would be a nice change of pace. The "rush tickets" thing sounds like something out of Sundance and Tribeca (and probably every other festival), but hey I'd had luck with that at Sundance so hopefully it works for others during this.

Oh and I'm actually kind of excited "Precious" is playing as the Centerpiece. Yes it will be released soon for all to see anyway, and personally speaking I already saw it at Sundance (back when it had a better title) so it being in the festival doesn't do much for me per se, but I love the movie and love that it is getting this kind of exposure.

lady wakasa · #25 Post by **lady wakasa** » Sat Aug 15, 2009 9:14 pm

Cheerupemokid wrote:I've been to the Festival four times now, from 2005 on, and I kind of see where they get the "inaccessible" idea from. The first two years my girlfriend and I went we weren't members of the Film Society of Lincoln Center and had to do the wait-in-line thing uptown and while we did get a lot of the movies we wanted, there were also always a few movies that we were locked out of. Mainly the opening, closing, and centerpiece movies, like you said. The last two years we have been members, and getting tickets to everything we want has been a breeze. Only the opening night film has still been out of our reach, but getting tickets to the centerpiece and closing night films has been a breeze.

This is exactly why I got a membership after the first few years (I started going about 1998). Even with that, it wasn't until they started accepting faxed forms that I was sure I could get *all* the tickets I asked for (I live outside of NYC, so the mail takes a couple days more). And this is with pretty much avoiding the Big Three.

gokinsmen wrote:It's sort of pathetic that the NEW YORK Film Festival is basically a Cliffs' Notes of previous festival players with no world premieres (okay, maybe there's one a year). America's biggest, most storied city (and its cultural capitol) doesn't even have a real film fest. At least its avant-garde section is slightly less ghettoized than most.

But isn't this a combination of time of year and interest of the average American moviegoer? Most people who go to the movies in the US are overwhelmingly just going to see Hollywood product (not a choice I would make, although I'm not going to stop them from making it). I saw a statistic a few days ago pointing out how much foreign film viewership has dropped since the 50s. If I were a foreign film maker, it would make a lot more sense to premier in a place where the most people will appreciate it.

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