The Film Society of Lincoln Center announced today the complete lineup for the Spotlight on Documentary section for the 53rd New York Film Festival, September 25 - October 11. Documentaries come in all shapes and sizes and tones: compressed and expansive, eclectic portraits and vérité canvases, objective examinations and works of passionate advocacy. This year's Spotlight on Documentary represents the entire spectrum of nonfiction cinema. Tickets for the festival go on sale to the General Public on Sunday, September 13. Visit filmlinc.org for more information.
"Taken together, the 12 selections in this year's Spotlight on Documentary represent the range and depth of nonfiction in our midst," said NYFF Director Kent Jones. "I love seeing Pam Yates and Michael Camerini and Shari Robertson side by side with Fred Wiseman, now 85 and doing some of his greatest work, and Abbas Fahdel, whose film provides us with a precious glimpse of everyday life in Iraq right before and after we invaded. I love seeing New York movies as vastly different as Fred's In Jackson Heights, Jacob Bernstein's film about his mom Nora Ephron, James Solomon's devastating movie about Kitty Genovese, and Troublemakers: The Story of Land Art, kind of a New-Yorkers-go-West movie, grouped together. Or Pam and her subject, Haskell Wexler, crossing paths with Carmen Castillo, looking at the very nature of political commitment and change-and then you have Laura Poitras looking at the same question from a vastly different angle. Or Joaquim Pinto's beautifully crafted meditation and two beautifully crafted portraits by Stig Björkman and Walter Salles... there's such breadth of vision in these films."
The Spotlight on Documentary section will launch on Sunday, September 27, with a program highlighting episodic, short-form nonfiction, which will include a preview of new work by Laura Poitras, who follows up her Oscar-winning
CITIZENFOUR (which had its World Premiere at NYFF last year) with the series Asylum, an intimate look at one of the most revolutionary and controversial thinkers of the digital age, unfolding in episodes. A behind-the-scenes drama, Asylum follows Julian Assange as he publishes classified U.S. State Department cables and eventually seeks political asylum inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London. The evening will include a preview of episodes from the series, as well as the premiere of new, multi-part work from other acclaimed filmmakers, which will be announced at a later date.
This year's lineup also includes three films centered on iconic figures within the arts: Nora Ephron, Ingrid Bergman, and Jia Zhangke. Everything Is Copy director Jacob Bernstein delivers a vibrant portrait of his mother Nora Ephron, through her own words and the memories of her sisters, colleagues, former spouses, friends, and scenes from her movies. Stig Björkman's focus in Ingrid Bergman in Her Own Words is not on Bergman the star but on Bergman the woman and mother, using excerpts from her letters and diaries (extracts of which are read by Alicia Vikander); memories shared from her children (Pia Lindström and Isabella, Ingrid, and Roberto Rossellini); and clips from Super-8 and 16mm home movies shot by Bergman herself. Jia Zhangke, A Guy from Fenyang is the latest film from Brazilian director Walter Salles, who accompanies the director (whose latest, Mountains May Depart, is screening in this year's NYFF Main Slate) on a visit to his hometown and other locations he has returned to in his vast body of work.
NYFF welcomes back director Frederick Wiseman with his 40th feature documentary, In Jackson Heights, which centers around one of New York City's liveliest and most culturally diverse neighborhoods caught in the crunch of economic "development," like so many other neighborhoods in the city and around the country. Joaquim Pinto returns to the festival, following his 2013 film What Now? Remind Me (NYFF51), with Fish Tail, co-directed with his husband Nuno Leonel, set in the Azorean island of Rabo de Peixe, where small-scale fishermen introduce the filmmakers to the rhythms of their labor-intensive routines-artisanal traditions that face extinction in the global economy.
Politics play a role in several of the selections in the lineup. Michael Camerini and Shari Robertson, who premiered a series of immigration films How Democracy Works at NYFF51, return with their final film on the subject, Immigration Battle. The duo have continued to chronicle the struggle for American immigration reform over the past 16 years, crossing the country numerous times to film politicians and activists on both sides of the issue. The North American Premiere of We Are Alive from Chilean filmmaker Carmen Castillo (her Calle Santa Fe was a selection of the 2007 NYFF) is a documentary essay asking the questions: What comprises political engagement in 2015? Is it still possible to influence the course of events in this world? She structures her film in dialogue with the writings of her late friend Daniel Bensaïd, organizer of the Paris student revolts in May '68 and France's leading Trotskyite philosopher.
The 17-day New York Film Festival highlights the best in world cinema, featuring top films from
CELEBRATED filmmakers as well as fresh new talent. The selection committee, chaired by Jones, also includes Dennis Lim, FSLC Director of Programming; Marian Masone, FSLC Senior Programming Advisor; Gavin Smith, Editor-in-Chief, Film Comment; and Amy Taubin, Contributing Editor, Film Comment and Sight & Sound.
Tickets for the 53rd New York Film Festival will go on sale to Film Society patrons at the end of August, ahead of the General Public. Learn more about the patron program at filmlinc.org/patrons. Becoming a Film Society Member offers the exclusive member ticket discount to the New York Film Festival and Film Society programming year-round plus other great benefits. Current members at the Film Buff Level or above enjoy early ticket access to NYFF screenings and events ahead of the general public. Learn more at filmlinc.org/membership.
For even more access, VIP Passes offer buyers the earliest opportunity to purchase tickets and secure seats at the festival's biggest events including Opening, Centerpiece, and Closing Nights. VIP passes also provide access to many exciting events including the invitation-only Opening Night party, " An Evening With..." Dinner, Filmmaker Brunch, and VIP Lounge. Benefits vary based on the pass type. For more information about purchasing VIP Passes, go to filmlinc.org/NYFF or contact patrons@filmlinc.org.
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