FSLC to Host Two Events with Artist TAKASHI MURAKAMI

The Film Society of Lincoln Center announced today two upcoming events with visual artist Takashi Murakami on Sunday, June 1. The New York premiere of Murakami's debut feature, Jellyfish Eyes, will take place at 4PM, followed by a conversation at the Walter Reade Theater (165 West 65th Street). Jellyfish Eyes merchandise will also be sold at the screening, which includes key chains, stuffed animals and the film inspired t-shirt created by Murakami and Pharrell! At 6:30PM on June 1, the renowned Japanese pop artist will also present a collection of his animated works and discuss his signature artistic style for free at the Film Society of Lincoln Center's Amphitheater (144 West 65th Street).

In his feature-film debut, Jellyfish Eyes, renowned visual-artist Takashi Murakami transforms the classic cinematic trope of the new kid on the block into a genre-defying adventure. Having recently lost his father, young Masashi moves with his mother to a small city in the Japanese countryside. But when he discovers that their new apartment is already inhabited by a pint-sized, gravity-defying creature, Masashi begins to pull back the curtain on this sleepy town and finds that very little is what it appears to be. As a connoisseur of Japanese popular culture, from children's manga and anime to classic monster movies, Murakami packs his film with a delirious abundance of ideas and imagery. What other coming-of-age fantasy has romance, battling CGI avatars, nuclear intrigue, rival doppelgängers, and a giant monster? Tickets for the screening are $13 for general public, $9 for Students/Seniors and $8 for Film Society members. Visit Filmlinc.com to purchase, and for more information.

In conjunction with the New York premiere of Jellyfish Eyes, renowned Japanese pop artist Takashi Murakami will also present a collection of his animated works and discuss his signature artistic style. Known for founding the postmodern art movement "Superflat," which blurs the line between the "high" and "low" arts, as well as for his collaborations with Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, and Louis Vuitton via Marc Jacobs, the work of Murakami is deeply rooted in Japanese popular culture and draws inspiration from classic anime and manga. Free tickets to the event will be distributed at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center box office (144 West 65th Street, between Broadway and Amsterdam) on a first-come, first-served basis starting one hour prior to the conversations. Limit one complimentary ticket per person, subject to availability. For those unable to attend in person, video from the event will be available online at FilmLinc.com.

Film Society of Lincoln Center
Founded in 1969 to celebrate American and international cinema, the Film Society of Lincoln Center works to recognize established and emerging filmmakers, support important new work, and to enhance the awareness, accessibility, and understanding of the moving image. The Film Society produces the renowned New York Film Festival, a curated selection of the year's most significant new film work, and presents or collaborates on other annual New York City festivals including Dance on Camera, Film Comment Selects, Human Rights Watch Film Festival, LatinBeat, New Directors/New Films, NewFest, New York African Film Festival, New York Asian Film Festival, New York Jewish Film Festival, Open Roads: New Italian Cinema and Rendez-Vous with French Cinema. In addition to publishing the award-winning Film Comment magazine, The Film Society recognizes an artist's unique achievement in film with the prestigious Chaplin Award. The Film Society's state-of-the-art Walter Reade Theater and the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, located at Lincoln Center, provide a home for year-round programs and the New York City film community.

The Film Society receives generous, year-round support from Royal Bank of Canada, Jaeger-LeCoultre, American Airlines, The New York Times, Stella Artois, the Kobal Collection, Trump International Hotel and Tower, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New York State Council on the Arts.

For more information, visit www.filmlinc.com and follow @filmlinc on Twitter.