NYC's MoMA and LA's Hammer Museum Partner for THE CONTENDERS 2014, Beginning Today

The Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, announce a bicoastal collaboration with The Contenders, MoMA's annual end-of-the-year series that offers filmgoers the opportunity to see recently released films that are bound for awards glory or destined to become a cult classic, often accompanied by post-screening discussions with directors and actors.

Opening the series at MoMA today, November 13 is the New York premiere of J. C. Chandor's third feature film, A Most Violent Year (2014), which stars Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain as residents of New York City during 1981, when the scourge of crime was a daily reality. Opening the series at the Hammer Museum on December 8 is Snowpiercer (2014), directed by Bong Joon- ho and starring Chris Evans, Tilda Swinton, and Ed Harris. Both J. C. Chandor and Bong Joon-ho will participate in post-screening discussions immediately following their respective films.

Highlights of The Contenders at MoMA (November 13, 2014-January 15, 2015):

- Boyhood (2014); with appearances by director Richard Linklater and actor Ethan Hawke

- Foxcatcher (2014); with appearance by director Bennett Miller

- Ida (2014); with appearance by director Pawel Pawlikowski

- The Imitation Game (2014); with appearances by screenwriter Graham Moore and actors Matthew Goode and Alan Leech

- Obvious Child (2014); with appearance by director Gillian Robespierre

- Queen and Country (2014); with appearance by director John Boorman

- Snowpiercer (2014); with appearance by actress Tilda Swinton

- Over 20 additional screenings to be added

Highlights of The Contenders at Hammer Museum (December 8, 2014-January 13, 2015):

- A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014); with appearance by director Ana Lily Amirpour

- Boyhood (2014); with appearance by director Richard Linklater

- Mommy (2014); with appearance by director Xavier Dolan

- Snowpiercer (2014); with appearance by director Joon-ho Bong

- Additional screenings to be added

More screenings for #MoMAContenders will be announced on MoMA's Facebook, Twitter (@MuseumModernArt), and Instagram (@themuseumofmodernart) accounts. Tickets for the MoMA screenings go on sale one week prior to each screening at 9:30 a.m. at The Museum of Modern Art and online at MoMA.org.

Screenings for the Hammer Museum will be announced on the Hammer's Facebook, Twitter (@hammer_museum), and Instagram (@hammer_museum) accounts. Tickets for the Hammer screenings will be available on site at the Hammer Museum's Billy Wilder Theater Box Office and online at hammer.ucla.edu.

About THE CONTENDERS: Selected from major studio releases and top film festivals by curators in MoMA's Department of Film, selections shown in The Contenders represent the best of mainstream movies, independents, foreign-language films, documentaries, and art-house sensations. Now in its seventh year, the series highlights films that are contenders for lasting historical significance, often with special appearances by directors and actors. Previous guests have included directors Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity, 2014), Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty, 2012), and David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook, 2012) and actors Jake Gyllenhaal (Prisoners, 2013), Jonah Hill (The Wolf of Wall Street, 2013) and Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids, 2011). The exhibition is organized by Rajendra Roy, The Celeste Bartos Chief Curator, and Sean Egan, Producer, Department of Film, The Museum of Modern Art.