Category Archives: Art Films

Trailblazing Italian Filmmaker Lina Wertmüller’s Dark Comedy “Swept Away”

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swept-awayTrailblazing Italian filmmaker Lina Wertmüller’s dark comedy SWEPT AWAY… BY AN UNUSUAL DESTINY IN THE BLUE SEA OF AUGUST, starring Mariangela Melato and Giancarlo Giannini, will run in a new 4K restoration from Friday, January 31 to Thursday, February 6 at Film Forum.

Set against the backdrop of the beautiful Mediterranean, SWEPT AWAY is Lina Wertmüller’s most famous and controversial film about sex, love and politics. On an elegant yacht cruising off the coast of Sardinia, Raffaella (Melato), a beautiful, haughty bourgeoise, enjoys tormenting Gennarino (Giannini), a Communist sailor. Fate weaves a different scenario and roles become reversed when the two find themselves stranded together on a deserted island.

Raffaella must submit to Gennarino in order to survive, which culminates in a dramatic climax when they are rescued. “A parable in which people’s sexual attitudes are governed by economics and class.” — New York Women in Film and Television`
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A.I. from METROPOLIS to EX MACHINA | 30+ Film Festival Runs January 3-23 at Film Forum

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AI-from-Metropolis-to-Ex-Machina-film-forumA.I. FROM METROPOLIS TO EX MACHINA…, a three-week festival of movies that helped introduce the world to the concept of “artificial intelligence” (a term not coined until the 1950s), will run at Film Forum from Friday, January 3 to Thursday, January 23. The series includes more than 30 films, most of them offering a dystopian view of a society run by A.I., along with profound ethical and existential questions.

Fritz Lang’s 1927 silent masterpiece METROPOLIS (written by his wife Thea von Harbou, who adapted it from her own 1925 novel), broke new ground in science fiction storytelling, with the creation of Maria, a robot designed to look human and control the workers in an underground city. Gort, a massive robot that serves as enforcer for an alien peace mission in Robert Wise’s THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951), provided an early example of a machine with a higher purpose.

Five years later, Robby the Robot of FORBIDDEN PLANET (based on Shakespeare’s The Tempest!) both defined what a “robot” looked like for generations and offered a more benign depiction of what would later be called “artificial intelligence.” Later lovable movie robots include Johnny 5 in SHORT CIRCUIT, R2D2 in the Star Wars movies, and Wall-E in the Pixar movie of that name. The “Emerac” computer in the Tracy-Hepburn comedy DESK SET is also less malevolent, merely threatening to take jobs away from humans – probably the first film to raise that possibility.
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Festival Hit “Birdeater” Sets Release Date

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birdeaterDark Sky Films has set the upcoming release of BIRDEATER, the psychological thriller from Australian directing duo Jack Clark and Jim Weir.

Written by Jack Clark, the film is set for release in theaters and on digital platforms on January 10.

A bride-to-be is invited to join her own fiancé’s bachelor party on a remote property in the Australian outback. But as the festivities spiral into beer-soaked chaos, uncomfortable details about their relationship are exposed, and the celebration soon becomes a feral nightmare.

The Dark Sky Film thriller stars Mackenzie Fearnley, Shabana Azeez, Ben Hunter, Jack Bannister, Clementine Anderson, Alfie Gledhill, Harley Wilson and Caroline McQuade.

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Frank Capra’s “Mr. Deeds Goes To Town” In 35mm at Film Forum

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Mr.-Deeds-Goes-To-TownFrank Capra’s comedy-drama masterpiece “Mr. Deeds Goes To Town” (1936), starring Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur, will be screened in 35mm at Film Forum from Friday, December 27 through Thursday, January 2.

Nominated for five Academy Awards – winning Best Director for Capra – MR. DEEDS is one of eight collaborations between Capra and screenwriter Robert Riskin, who together are often credited with creating both the classic screwball and romantic comedy genres.

Cooper’s “pixilated” tuba-playing, greeting card versifying Vermonter Longfellow Deeds inherits $20 million — and then he’s whisked from Mandrake Falls to Park Avenue, as wisecracking reporter Jean Arthur dubs him the “Cinderella Man.” “Capra and Riskin’s crowning achievement… If I were to choose one film to be both the best and most representative of the decade, this would be it.” – David Shipman

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“The Girl With The Needle” From Director Magnus von Horn Sets Release

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girl-with-the-needleMUBI is set to release THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE, an unflinching portrait of a desperate young woman in the aftermath of WWI struggling to find love and a sense of morality. THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE made its World Premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and was an official selection at the Toronto International Film Festival.

The film most recently won European Film Awards for best production design for Jagna Dobesz and best original score for Frederikke Hoffmeier (Puce Mary), with cinematography by Michael Dymek (A Real Pain, EO). The film was written by Magnus von Horn and Line Langebeck, who also produced.

Inspired by a true story and directed by Magnus von Horn, Variety’s 2025 ‘Director to Watch’ (The Here After, Sweat) THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE follows Karoline (Vic Carmen Sonne – Hlynur Pálmason’s Godland and Isabella Eklöf’s Holiday), a young factory worker, as she is struggling to survive in post WW1 Copenhagen. When she finds herself unemployed, abandoned and pregnant, she meets Dagmar (Trine Dyrholm), a charismatic woman running an underground adoption agency, helping mothers to find foster homes for their unwanted children. With nowhere else to turn, Karoline takes on the role of a wet-nurse. A strong connection is formed between the two women, but Karoline’s world shatters when she stumbles upon the shocking truth behind her work.

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BRANDO 100, Commemorating the Iconic Actor’s Centennial Year

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marlon-brando-100BRANDO 100, a two-week festival of classics starring Marlon Brando, with many films screening in 35mm, will run at Film Forum from Friday, December 13 to Thursday, December 26, in commemoration of the actor’s centennial year in 2024.

The series features performances by Brando (1924-2004), the rebellious iconoclast in his most iconic and lesser seen roles. From his rarely-screened feature debut as a paralyzed, depressed ex-GI in Fred Zinnemann’s THE MEN (1950); to his definitive Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams’ A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (adapted to film in 1951 by Elia Kazan); to his Oscar-winning performance as dockworker Terry Malloy in Kazan’s ON THE WATERFRONT (1954), and his turn as the suave, wisecracking Sky Masterson in the 1955 musical GUYS AND DOLLS. Brando’s return to form as Mafia patriarch Don Vito Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola’s THE GODFATHER (1972) reminded Hollywood of his brilliance and earned Brando his second Oscar (which he refused in protest of Hollywood’s treatment of Native Americans). The following triumph, Bernardo Bertolucci’s X-rated sensation LAST TANGO IN PARIS (1972) would go on to spark debate about the ethics of consent in filmmaking, and APOCALYPSE NOW (1979), his second collaboration with Coppola, in which he plays a rogue Army officer who descends into madness, is remembered as one of Brando’s most enigmatic performances.
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Werner Herzog’s THEATER OF THOUGHT, A Bracing Exploration of the Brain | Opens December 13 at Film Forum

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Herzog-THEATER-OF-THOUGHTFilm Forum is set to present the US theatrical premiere of Werner Herzog’s THEATER OF THOUGHT opening Friday, December 13.

After 50+ years exploring the far corners of the world, Werner Herzog focuses inward — on the human brain, via the cutting-edge field of neuroscience, with its attendant ethical quandaries. Joined by Columbia professor Rafael Yuste (the film’s science advisor), the two cross the country querying innovators in cerebral research and bioethics: Can computers help people communicate telepathically? How can the brain be stimulated to curb depression, pain, or the effects of Parkinson’s? Is thought control possible? Can fear be located in the brain? And — as only the beguiling Herzog could inquire — will a scientist be able to read his mind and see his film before he’s made it? Herzog’s curiosity is at its peak in this romp through technological advances once only the stuff of science fiction.

The film had its world premiere at the 2022 Telluride Film Festival and went on to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival, as well as DOC NYC, where Herzog was awarded the festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

THEATER OF THOUGHT will be the 17th of Herzog’s films to debut at Film Forum, making him the second most-premiered filmmaker in the theater’s 54-year history.

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2024 Sundance Institute Latine Fellowship & Collab Scholarship Artists Selected

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sundance-latine-fellowshipThe nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the storytellers selected for the 2024 Latine Fellowship and Collab Scholarship. Now in its third year, the program aims to expand Latine representation in independent media meaningfully by providing artist development through fellowships and mentorships to10 early career Latine artists. This year’s cohort will receive an intentional immersion in a community of like-minded creatives where both professional and creative growth is nurtured through professional and creative development support, networking opportunities, access to Sundance Collab and ELEVATE.

“This year’s Latine Fellowship and Scholarship recipients come from diverse disciplines, all united by their shared goals of growth and increasing representation for a wide range of Latine voices,” said Hajnal Molnar-Szakacs, Director of Sundance Institute’s Artist Accelerator and Women at Sundance. “We are thrilled to welcome them into this Program and look forward to seeing how creative and financial support will help them advance these goals.”

The Sundance Institute Latine Fellowship will uplift five early career Latine artists working in film or television with a yearlong fellowship experience. Each fellow will receive a $10,000 unrestricted grant, bespoke artist development support, creative and tactical support on their projects, and regular opportunities for community engagement and networking. The fellows were chosen from Sundance Institute artist support programs across fiction and nonfiction.
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Michelangelo Antonioni’s First Masterpiece, IL GRIDO

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IL-GRIDOIL GRIDO (1957), the widely underseen early masterwork by Italian auteur Michelangelo Antonioni, will run at Film Forum in a new 4K restoration from Friday, November 8 through Thursday, November 14.

Deserted by the mother of his child, Aldo, a factory worker (played by Hollywood tough guy Steve Cochran) wanders through the Po Valley in search of solace and connection. His romantic prospects—including a gas-station owner (Dorian Gray), a sex worker (Lyn Shaw), and an old girlfriend (Betsy Blair, Oscar nominee for the prior year’s Marty and Mrs. Gene Kelly)—fizzle out into alienation and despair.

Made three years before his international breakthrough L’avventura, this rare departure from exploring affluent society is among Antonioni’s most politically trenchant films and a raw expression of anguish that remains one of Italian cinema’s great underappreciated gems. Strikingly composed with atmospheric photography by the great Gianni Di Venanzo, IL GRIDO reveals a director in the process of discovering his artistic signature.

Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, from the screenplay by Michelangelo Antonioni, Elio Bartolini and Ennio De Concini, the film stars Steve Cochran, Alida Valli, Betsy Blair, and Dorian Gray.

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“Lets Get Lost”, Documentary Portrait of Jazz Legend Chet Baker, Opens November 1 at Film Forum

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Photo by William Claxton

“Lets Get Lost” (1988), Bruce Weber’s Academy Award-nominated documentary portrait of the elusive jazz icon Chet Baker, will run at Film Forum in a new 4K restoration from Friday, November 1 through Thursday, November 7.

A James Dean look alike pretty boy whose jazz trumpeting and melancholy epitomized 50s cool, Chet Baker had become, when famed photographer Bruce Weber finally caught up with him after three decades of fandom, an alcoholic and a junkie, whose petulantly angelic looks peeping out from behind a gaunt, valleyed and crevassed face could have starred for Sam Peckinpah.

Two visually stunning and musically moving hours with the iconic jazz trumpeter in the most romantically erotic jazz documentary ever made, shot by D.P. Jeff Preiss in stark, brooding film noir black & white.

Shifting back and forth from past to present, from Baker’s breakout performance and his controversial “doomed youth” years, to his poignant late-career decline and struggles with addiction, LET’S GET LOST forms a dreamy, improvisational quality offering a rare, behind-the-scenes glimpse into the decadent life of jazz music’s original bad-boy.

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