Film Society of Lincoln Center Announces Director Lisandro Alonso as 2014 Filmmaker in Residence

The Film Society of Lincoln Center and Jaeger-LeCoultre announced the selection of award-winning Argentine filmmaker Lisandro Alonso as their 2014 Filmmaker in Residence at a dinner in New York co-hosted by Charles Finch, Lesli Klainberg, Bennett Miller, Todd Solondz, and Lisa Cortes. The evening marks the launch of the second annual initiative and partnership between the Film Society of Lincoln Center and Jaeger-LeCoultre. Last year's participant was director Andrea Arnold.

Lesli Klainberg, Executive Director of the Film Society of Lincoln Center said, "We are very happy to announce Lisandro Alonso as the 2014 Filmmaker in Residence during the 52nd New York Film Festival. He is a filmmaker that has already accomplished great work and we are very happy to be able to offer him the space and time to develop his next project. Our partnership with Jaeger-LeCoultre on this cornerstone program fosters excellence in the filmmaking community, and reflects our shared belief in the Universal power of film to inspire and engage the global community."

The celebratory dinner also named select members of the initiative's Advisory Board to include; Lisa Cortes, James Gray, Tom Kalin, Eric Mendelsohn, Bennett Miller, Mira Nair, Ira Sachs, Todd Solondz, Fisher Stevens, Marisa Tomei, and Christine Vachon. Their involvement may include mentoring Alonso, panel participation during the 52nd New York Film Festival and/or attending/hosting events in support of the initiative.

The dinner took place at Indochine and guests included (in alphabetical order) Michael Almereyda, Lisandro Alonso, Michael Barker, Laura Bickford, James Brolin, JC Chandor, Lisa Cortes, Charles Finch, Naomi Foner, Bennett Miller, Alexandre Moors, Mira Nair, Terence Nance, Ry Russo-Young, Bob Shaye, Todd Solondz, Oliver Stone, Julie Taymor, Marisa Tomei, and Christine Vachon.

Lisandro Alonso has been described as a maverick of the New Argentine Cinema, one of the most accomplished and original artists working in Latin American cinema today. Born in Buenos Aires in 1975, Alonso has directed four features prior to this year: La Libertad (2001), Los Muertos (2004), Fantasma (2006), and Liverpool (2008), all of which have premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and have established his reputation as a creator of a minimalist cinema that bends the traditions of both documentary and narrative film.

Among the awards his films have garnered to date include the FIPRESCI (The International Federation of Film Critics) Prize at the 2001 Oslo Films from the South Festival and the FIPRESCI Prize-Special Mention at the 2002 Rotterdam International Film Festival for La Libertad, the Critics Award at the 2004 Lima Latin American Film Festival and the Independent Camera Award at the 2005 Karlovy Vary Internatuonal Flm Festival for Los Muertos, and the Grand Prix Asturias at the 2008 Gijón Internatuonal Film Festival for Liverpool.

Alonso also debuted his most recent work, Jauja, starring Viggo Mortensen, at this year's Cannes Film Festival, where the film won the FIPRESCI Prize and was nominated for the Un Certain Regard Award.

During his residency in New York, Alonso will develop his next project, which looks to explore the Amazonian civilization and population that still lives in the region while searching for gold. The film will examine their evolution of living-from the old days to modern times, while eluding any spatiotemporal notion.

The Filmmaker in Residence program was launched last year as an annual initiative created by Jaeger-LeCoultre and the Film Society of Lincoln Center designed to support a filmmaker at an early stage in the creative process against the backdrop of New York City and the New York Film Festival (NYFF).

Last year's Filmmaker in Residence, Andrea Arnold (Wuthering Heights, Fish Tank), utilized her residency to develop the script and work on pre-production details for her next film, American Honey, which is expected to be her first feature project to be shot in the United States. During the residency, she met and discussed her project with filmmakers on the Advisory Board, participated in a panel at NYFF on screenwriting, attended NYFF screenings and events, and visited local high schools to discuss film and filmmaking with the students there.

Jaeger-LeCoultre and Cinema
Having celebrated last year its 180th anniversary, Jaeger-LeCoultre has remained dedicated to the legacy of watchmaking traditions while maintaining its expertise for invention in creating authentic fine watchmaking legends. Committed to a constant quest for excellence and supported by a unique inventive spirit, Jaeger-LeCoultre has a longstanding engagement in supporting the appreciation and preservation of film.
For a decade, Jaeger-LeCoultre has been closely associated with the best artistic film festivals around the world including Venice, Shanghai, Abu Dhabi, San Sebastian, Los Angeles, Toronto and New York, and in turn pays tribute to the creative ingenuity of filmmakers by annually awarding the Glory to the Filmmaker Award. Through the close affinity with the world of film, Jaeger-LeCoultre has found shared values and a common mission: each second Bears the imprint of a moment of eternity.

In addition to the annual Filmmaker in Residence initiative with the Film Society of Lincoln Center, the multi-year partnership also extends to two of the Film Society of Lincoln Center's most prestigious annual events; the Annual Chaplin Award Gala and the New York Film Festival, a 17-day celebration showcasing the best and most significant films of the year from around the world.

For more information, visit http://bit.ly/JLCCinema and follow @jaegerlecoultre on Twitter.

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.

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