NYC's First International Literary Film Festival to Debut at Brooklyn Public Library, Feb 20-25

Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) has announced the launch of LitFilm, a six-day international film festival (February 20-25) that will examine some of the most influential figures of modern literature, looking BEYOND the narratives that defined their lives and careers in the public eye to reveal new perspectives on their work.

Taking place at BPL's historic Central Library at Grand Army Plaza, the free festival will showcase films that explore the human side of legendary writers and playwrights James Baldwin, Joan Didion, Arthur Miller, Susan Sontag, Alice Walker, Diane Di Prima, Václav Havel, and Svetlana Geier; and reflect on the complex lives of literary figures who embodied their nations in the eyes of the world, from Gabriel García Márquez and William S. Burroughs to Yukio Mishimaand Mahmoud Darwish.

LitFilm will also feature director Q&As, panel discussions, and staged readings with filmmakers, critics, and actors, including:

A keynote address by Rebecca Miller, Arthur Miller's daughter and director of the documentary Arthur Miller: Writer, soon to air on HBO

A discussion of Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold, led by Didion's nephew, the actor and director Griffin Dunne

An audience-led discussion of James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket hosted by the film's directors, considering the place of Baldwin's work in the contemporary movement for civil rights

A reading of Mahmoud Darwish's poetry following Write Down, I Am an Arab, a film examining the late poet's role in shaping modern Palestinian literature

The debut edition of LitFilm is part of Brooklyn Public Library's thought-provoking spring season of cultural programming, bringing together the world's most illustrious writers, critics, and artists with the Brooklyn and Greater New York communities to discover new perspectives, draw creative inspiration, and participate in today's most urgent conversations.