NYFF Preview Part 1

The 47th Annual New York Film Festival September 25 - October 11, 2009 Please stay tuned for complete coverage of the New York Film Festival including director panels. We interview Jack Angstreich on the background on the following directors: ( The rest of the directors/film will be posted the following week.) OPENING NIGHT Wild Grass / Les herbes folles Alain Resnais, 2009, France, 113m As avant-garde as ever fifty years after making his debut with the landmark Hiroshima Mon Amour, the venerable Alain Resnais delivers a career-crowning masterpiece. 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. Fri. Sept. 25: 6pm CENTERPIECE Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire Lee Daniels, 2009, USA, 109m In this astonishing adaptation of Sapphire’s 1996 novel, second-time director Lee Daniels unsparingly recounts the horrific story of 16-year-old Clareece “Precious” Jones who uses all the emotional energy she possesses to attempt to turn her life around. Daniels’ audacious tale features unforgettable performances by Mo’Nique, Mariah Carey and newcomer Gabourey Sidibe. A Lionsgate release. Sat. Oct. 3: 7pm and 10pm CLOSING NIGHT Broken Embraces / Los abrazos rotos Pedro Almodóvar, 2009, Spain, 128m Almodóvar’s newest masterwork barrels from comedy to romance to melodrama to the darker haunts of film noir. A blind screenwriter learns of the death of an industrialist, triggering a flood of memories that encompass a tale of naked ambition, forbidden love and devastating loss. Penelope Cruz, the screenwriter’s muse (and Almodóvar’s), has never been more ravishing. A Sony Pictures Classics release. Sun. Oct. 11: 5pm and 8pm Antichrist Lars von Trier, 2009, Denmark, 109m Sure 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—a process that winds up unleashing the hidden monsters lurking in their souls. An unforgettable domestic horror movie, a ghost story, and a cry of anguish. An IFC Films release. Fri. Oct. 2: 9pm Sat. Oct. 3: 1pm Around a Small Mountain / 36 vues du Pic Saint-Loup Jacques Rivette, 2009, France, 85m The legendary 81-year-old French New Wave veteran Jacques Rivette returns with an elegiac look at the final days of a small-time traveling circus, mixing theater and life and the gray areas in between. Wed. Oct. 7: 9:30pm Fri. Oct. 9: 3pm The Art of the Steal Don Argott, 2009, USA, 101m Bound to be controversial, this thought-provoking documentary explores 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. Tue. Sept. 29: 9:15pm Bluebeard / La barbe-bleue Catherine Breillat, 2009, France, 78m A fearless explorer of edgy sexuality, Catherine Breillat follows two young sisters reading Charles Perrault’s 17th century tale of perhaps the first “serial killer,” reflecting on the enduring fascination with Bluebeard, who has served as inspiration for countless novels, plays and films. Sun. Oct. 11: 2pm Crossroads of Youth / Cheongchun’s Sipjaro An Jong-hwa, 1934, Korea, 74m The oldest surviving Korean film is a visually dynamic tale of a brother and sister from the country discovering the pleasures and dangers of city life. This recently-rediscovered masterwork will be presented with live musical accompaniment as well as a pyonsa (live offscreen narrator). Sat. Oct. 3: 11am