MoMA's 39th Annual New Directors/New Films Line-Up Announced

The 39th annual edition of New Directors/New Films, the longstanding collaboration between The Film Society of Lincoln Center and The Museum of Modern Art dedicated to the discovery of new work by emerging filmmakers, will screen 38 films, at both venues, from March 24 through April 4, 2010. The 2010 slate includes a wide variety of films from 20 countries, including 27 feature films and 11 shorts, with numerous appearances and introductions by filmmakers.

The opening night feature of this year's New Directors/New Films is the world premiere of Bill Cunningham New York (USA, 2010) on Wednesday, March 24, at 7:00 p.m. at MoMA. Director Richard Press' documentary is a heartfelt and honest film about the inimitable New York Times photographer, who has for decades lovingly captured the unexpected trends, events, and people of Manhattan for the Styles section of the newspaper. The film shows Cunningham, an octogenarian, riding his Schwinn bicycle to cover benefits, galas, and fashion shows around Manhattan, and illustrates how his camera has captured the looks that have defined generations.

The closing night feature on Sunday, April 4, at 7:00 p.m. at MoMA, will be the New York premiere of the drama I Killed My Mother (J'ai tué ma mère) (Canada, 2009) by acclaimed Canadian writer and director Xavier Dolan, whose cri de coeur bracingly exposes the limits of love. Dolan himself plays the title character Hubert, a creature full of lust and venom, in this emotional film. Hubert's burgeoning homosexuality is at odds with his aggravatingly conventional mother (Anne Dorval), in a relationship that is situated within an exquisite filmic structure, allowing the humor and the pathos of his tale to emerge.

Among the 27 standout features is How I Ended This Summer (Russia, 2010) by Alexei Popogrebsky, a film about man's extraordinary ability to cope with harsh nature and extreme isolation, set in a remote research station in the frozen wilds of the Russian Arctic, which won three awards at the 2010 Berlin International Film Festival. The Father of My Children (France/Germany, 2009), by Mia Hansen-Løve, which won the Jury Special Prize in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, is inspired by the life and death of the late, legendary French film producer Humbert Balsam. The documentary Last Train Home (Canada/China, 2009) by Lixin Fan, follows the largest migration of people in human history, which happens over New Year's in China when city workers leave en masse for their homes in the countryside, often traveling for days by train. Visual artist Shirin Neshat's Women Without Men (Germany/Austria/France, 2009) is her feature debut, a departure from her gallery-based work that tells the story of four women in early 1950s Iran, and which garnered the Silver Lion for best director at the 2009 Venice Film Festival. Also screening at this year's New Directors/New Films is director Warwick Thornton's Samson and Delilah (Australia, 2009), set in the aboriginal communities of Australia, where traditions both nourish and entrap the boy and girl at the center of the story, and which won the Caméra d'Or for best debut feature at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.

Eleven short films will be screened this year, including the current Academy Award- nominated animated short Logorama (France, 2009); the comedic short Rob and Valentyna In Scotland (USA/UK, 2009), which received a 2010 Sundance Film Festival Short Filmmaking Honorable Mention; and the documentary short Quadrangle (USA, 2010), an inside look at two -conventional? couples that swapped partners and lived in a group marriage in the early 1970s.
NEW DIRECTORS/NEW FILMS CLASSICS-IN THE FRENCH STYLE: For the fifth consecutive year, New Directors/New Films presents a matinee series of past festival highlights, from March 29 through April 2, 2010. This year's focus is on France, a country whose emerging filmmakers have been an integral part of the New Directors/New Films program since its inception, including such masters of world cinema as André Téchiné, François Ozon, and Laurent Cantet. The following five (re)discoveries from the past two decades-none of them currently available on DVD in the U.S.-are no exception. They are: Jean-Claude Brisseau's Sound and Fury (De bruit et de fureur) (1989), Cedric Klapisch's When the Cat's Away (Chacun cherche son chat) (1997), Sandrine Veysset's Victor (Victor...pendant qu'il est trop tard) (1999), Stéphane Brizé's Hometown Blues (Le Bleu des villes) (2000), and Abdel Kechiche's It's Voltaire's Fault (La Faute à Voltaire) (2001). For screening times and ticket information please visit: www.newdirectors.org.

NEW DIRECTORS/NEW FILMS WEBSITE: New Directors/New Films is proud to announce the launch of the Festival's new website: www.newdirectors.org. Here you can find additional details on the Festival, including a complete list of the films screening at New Directors/New Films, 2010, trailers, theater locations, ticket prices, and purchase information.

TICKETS: Tickets go on sale to the general public on Sunday, March 14, 2010.
New Directors/New Films tickets can be purchased online at www.newdirectors.org, or at the box offices at The Film Society of Lincoln Center (Walter Reade Theater, 165 W. 65th St., near Amsterdam Avenue) and The Museum of Modern Art (11 W. 53rd Street).

There are two advance ticketing opportunities:
Film Society Patrons and MoMA FilmPlus Members may purchase tickets starting Tuesday, March 2.

Film Society and MoMA Members may purchase tickets starting Tuesday, March 9. To become a Member of the Film Society and MoMA please visit: www.filmlinc.com and www.moma.org
The New Directors/New Films Series Pass allows a moviegoer access to any five screenings (excluding Opening and Closing Night Films) for $60; $40 for Film Society and MoMA members; $40 for students; and $50 for seniors.

Tickets to the New Directors/New Films Opening and Closing Night Films are $20 for the general public; $15 for Film Society and MoMA members; $15 for affiliates; $20 for students; and $20 for seniors (no rush tickets available). Single screening tickets for New Directors/New Films are $14; $10 for Film Society and MoMA members; $10 for students; $12 for seniors; and $7.50 day-of rush (available at venue box office only and subject to availability).

SPONSORSHIP:
New Directors/New Films is presented by The Film Society of Lincoln Center and The Museum of Modern Art and is supported by Kenneth Kuchin, The Junior Associates of The Museum of Modern Art, The Film Society of Lincoln Center's NEW WAVE group, and Eastman Kodak Company.
The Film Society of Lincoln Center receives major, year-round support from: 42BELOW; American Airlines; GRAFF; Stella Artois; The New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency; and the National Endowment for the Arts.

ABOUT NEW DIRECTORS/NEW FILMS: Dedicated to the discovery and support of emerging artists, New Directors/New Films has earned an international reputation as the premier festival for works that break or re-cast the cinematic mold. The New Directors/New Films selection committee is made up of members from both presenting organizations: from The Film Society of Lincoln Center, Marian Masone, Richard Peña, and, the newest committee member, Gavin Smith; and from The Museum of Modern Art, Jytte Jensen, Laurence Kardish, and Rajendra Roy.