46th New York Film Festival Announces Special Events

The New York Film Festival is quickly approaching, and the Film Society of Lincoln Center has sent me their announcement on all the various HBO Films Dialogues, panel discussions and other special screening events for its 46th annual festival. Last year, the NYFF made it into The Film Panel Notetaker's top 10 panels of 2007. Seems like they have a lot of great talks planned this year, so hopefully they'll be back on the list for 2008. Here's their announcement:

NEW YORK, Sept. 3, 2008––The Film Society of Lincoln Center’s 46th New York Film Festival will host a variety of dialogues, panels, anniversary and special event screenings, and an inventive photographic exhibition during this year’s decisive look at contemporary cinema, Sept. 26 to Oct. 12. Events include festival filmmakers Jia Zhangke, Darren Aronofsky and Arnaud Desplechin at the annual HBO Films Dialogues, in-depth conversations with festival curators and audience members on the careers and current output of some of cinema’s most dynamic talents; Martin Scorsese introducing and discussing the Technicolor presentation of Albert Lewin’s simmering romance, “Pandora and the Flying Dutchman;” and Alloy Orchestra presenting the New York premiere of their newest score in accompaniment to a new print of the silent film classic, “The Last Command.” Additionally, prominent film critics from around the world will discuss both the current state and the future of film criticism, while a panel debating the nature and significance of the freedom of the press will follow a screening of the new documentary, “It’s Hard Being Loved by Jerks.”

The popular HBO Films Dialogues return to the New York Film Festival to bring celebrated artists together with their audiences to discuss both their the stylistic and career distinctions and the issues raised by their new films. “24 City” director Jia Zhangke will join LA Weekly film critic and festival selection committee member Scott Foundas to talk about his influences at home and abroad and the changing face of China, his native country, fresh off hosting its first Olympic games, Sunday, Sept. 28, at 4:00 p.m. Festival favorite Wong Kar-wai will discuss his working methods and the evolution of the themes that run through his work with Village Voice film critic and festival selection committee member J. Hoberman, Sunday, Oct. 5, at 4:00 p.m. Brooklyn-native Darren Aronofsky is honored as this year’s Closing Night director for his film “The Wrestler.” He will be onstage with Film Society program director and festival selection committee chair Richard Peña, Saturday, Oct. 11, at 1:30 p.m. “A Christmas Tale” director Arnaud Desplechin will talk about the themes and creative partnerships that continue to motivate him with Film Comment editor-at-large and festival selection committee member Kent Jones, Saturday, Oct. 11, at 4:30 p.m.

All HBO Films Dialogues will be held at the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse, on the 10th floor of Lincoln Center’s Samuel B. & David Rose Building, adjacent to the Walter Reade Theater.

The first special event at the Walter Reade Theater will be Film Criticism in Crisis?, a discussion hosted by Film Comment magazine, Saturday, Sept. 27, at 1:00 p.m. The panel brings together critics from around the world and close to home to discuss the current state and future of film criticism. Participants include critic Jonathan Rosenbaum, Cahiers du cinéma editor Emmanuel Burdeau, Film Comment editor-at-large Kent Jones, GreenCine Daily blog editor David Hudson, Argentine film critic Pablo Suarez, among others. A reception will follow the event. Film Criticism in Crisis? is sponsored by Sardinia Region Tourism.

The annual festival showcase Views from the Avant-Garde will host a 30th anniversary screening of Guy Debord’s “In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni” (France, 1978; 100m) on Friday, Oct. 3, at 6:30 p.m. With a palindrome title roughly translated as “we spin around the night consumed by fire,” the film “is not so much difficult as a pure act of negation from the founder of the Situationist International,” says Kent Jones, associate director of programming at the Film Society and a member of the New York Film Festival selection committee. The film uses images from magazines, comics and popular films to critique a media-dominated society, a process defined by Debord as “détournement.” Yet, says Jones, the work also affirms “our ability to build on the best rather than the worst in mankind, to create a true Utopia rather than a paltry counterfeit. Without exaggeration, this is one of the most provocative experiences you’ll ever have at the movies.”

On Monday, Oct. 6, at 6:00 and 8:30 p.m., the New York Film Festival offers music fans, silent film aficionados and movie lovers a unique treat: two chances to see a new 35mm print of Josef von Sternberg’s 1928 classic “The Last Command” (USA, 1928; 88m), accompanied by the New York premiere of Alloy Orchestra’s newest score. Emil Jannings stars in the film alongside Evelyn Brent and William Powell as a once-decorated Russian general who must relive the revolution that deposed him as an extra in a Hollywood film directed by a one-time opponent. Jannings’s performance contributed to his earning the first-ever Oscar for Best Actor, while the film was added to the National Film Registry in 2006. Alloy Orchestra works with untraditional objects to create unique and soulful music for silent film scores. The ensemble has performed live at celebrated arts venues throughout the world. These screenings are made possible through the generosity of the Ira M. Resnick Foundation. Tickets are $20.

Filmmaker Martin Scorsese will be onstage to introduce and discuss the festival’s In Glorious Technicolor screening of “Pandora and the Flying Dutchman” (Albert Lewin, UK, 1951; 122m) at the Walter Reade Theater, Friday, Oct. 10, at 6:15 p.m.The film, a reworking of the tale of the Flying Dutchman set on the Spanish coast, stars one of cinema’s most explosive onscreen couples, James Mason as Hendrik the Dutchman and Ava Gardner as Pandora. Directed by one of cinema’s most unusual talents, designed by director-to-be Clive Donner and shot by the great cinematographer Jack Cardiff, it has been painstakingly restored to its original Technicolor glory by George Eastman House in cooperation with The Douris Corporation, with funding provided by The Film Foundation and the Franco-American Cultural Fund. This screening is made possible by The Film Foundation and American Express Preservation Screening Program.

The festival’s second anniversary screening remembers one of cinema history’s forgotten masterworks, “The Day Shall Dawn” (A.J. Kardar, Pakistan, 1959; 87m), on Saturday, Oct. 11, at 6:30 p.m. Fifty years ago, a group of film enthusiasts inspired by the example of Satyajit Ray in India banded together to make Pakistan’s first experiment with realist cinema. Walter Lassally, a key figure in Britain’s Free Cinema movement, handled the camera for director and screenwriter A.J. Kardar’s story of a family of fishermen working along the Padma River that attempts to break out of a vicious cycle of exploitation by acquiring a boat. The film was awarded a gold medal at the Moscow Film Festival and received several glowing reviews by international critics. Yet it was soon almost completely forgotten, as Pakistani cinema headed into another, very different direction. The Film Society thanks Anjum Taseer for making this screening possible.

On the festival’s final day, the Film Society hosts an expert panel following Daniel Leconte’s new documentary “It’s Hard Being Loved by Jerks” (“C’est dur d’etre aimé par des cons,” France, 2008; 119m), investigating “the first major legal battle of the 21st century” and an issue all democratic societies will continue to face, at the Walter Reade Theater, Sunday, Oct. 12, at 1:00 p.m. In 2006, the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo published 12 cartoons satirizing Islamic fundamentalism, including a rendering of a distraught Muhammad with a thought balloon lamenting, “It’s hard being loved by jerks.” Several Islamic organizations sued editor Philippe Val for slander. Leconte documents the trial, chronicling the various legal strategies and capturing an array of social commentators to remark on the event’s impact and long-term effects. After the screening, the filmmaker will join Carol Becker, writer, culture critic and dean of the School of the Arts, Columbia University; Marshall Cohen, professor of philosophy and provost emeritus of philosophy and law, University of Southern California; and others on stage to discuss the concerns raised by the film.

Finally, from Sept. 15 to Oct. 12, the Film Society’s Frieda and Roy Furman Gallery will host the photographic exhibitions Brief Histories Of… and Correspondence Course(s) by filmmaker, author and visual artist Mark Rappaport. Both photomontage essays gather frames from popular movies and re-assemble them in new juxtapositions. The stills refer to the old narrative from which the images were taken, but the viewer is invited to read them and the story they create with fresh eyes. As Mark Rappaport puts it, “It’s a leapfrogging, zigzagging, hopscotching, time-traveling, three-dimensional chess game through film history.” The Frieda and Roy Furman Gallery is adjacent to the Walter Reade Theater. It is free to the public, and open daily 1:30 to 6:00 p.m.

Except where noted, tickets for the HBO Films Dialogues and Walter Reade Theater special events are $16. They can be purchased online at filmlinc.com, at the Walter Reade Theater box office, at the Avery Fisher Hall box office, and over the phone via Centercharge (212.721.6500).

Presented by the Film Society, the annual New York Film Festival showcases new works by both emerging talents and internationally recognized artists, including numerous New York, U.S., and world premieres. The majority of the festival screenings will be held at the Ziegfeld Theatre, 141 West 54th St. (Please note: the Ziegfeld Theatre is not wheelchair accessible. For further information please call 212-875-5610). Opening and Closing Night screenings will be held at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall, on the corner of Columbus Avenue and 65th St. Additional screenings and events will take place at the Film Society’s Walter Reade Theater, 165 West 65th St. close to Amsterdam Ave. More information is available at filmlinc.com.

The Film Society of Lincoln Center was founded in 1969 to celebrate American and international cinema, to recognize and support new directors, and to enhance the awareness, accessibility and understanding of film. Advancing this mandate today, the Film Society hosts two distinguished festivals. The New York Film Festival annually premieres films from around the world and has introduced the likes of François Truffaut, R.W. Fassbinder, Jean-Luc Godard, Pedro Almodóvar, Martin Scorsese, and Wong Kar-Wai to the United States. New Directors/New Films, co-presented by the Museum of Modern Art, focuses on emerging film talents. Since 1972, when the Film Society honored Charles Chaplin, the annual Gala Tribute celebrates an actor or filmmaker who has helped distinguish cinema as an art form. Additionally, the Film Society presents a year-round calendar of programming at its Walter Reade Theater and offers insightful film writing to a worldwide audience through Film Comment magazine.
Please note: Due to construction work taking place around Lincoln Center, access to the Walter Reade Theater is at 165 West 65th Street close to Amsterdam Avenue. Once there, take the escalator, elevator or stairs to the upper leve