Craig Viveiros’s LOST IN ITALY is the closing-night selection of the first annual New York Hell’s Kitchen Film Festival
The Producers’ Club
358 West 44th St. between Eighth & Ninth Aves.
September 1-11, $12-$20
212-315-4743
www.newyorkhellskitchenfilmfestival.com
When we were growing up, Hell’s Kitchen was the place to go when in need of cheap booze or an even cheaper crack whore. But times have changed, and Hell’s Kitchen has transformed into a more desirable location to live, eat, and just hang out. Increasing the neighborhood’s visibility and growing connection to the arts world, the first annual Hell’s Kitchen Film Festival begins today and runs through September 11, featuring new digital works that have not had a theatrical release or been aired on television or online before. Approximately three dozen feature-length films and about one hundred shorts from around the world will be screened at the Producers’ Club on West 44th St., as well as student films, music videos, and works-in-progress. Tonight’s opening gala includes Jay Duplass’s Kevin, about Austin musician Kevin Gant, Luke Matheny’s Oscar-winning God of Love, a live performance by Gant, and a Q&A with Duplass. On Friday night, NYHKK pays tribute to legendary photographer and filmmaker Larry Clark with a special tenth anniversary retrospective gala screening of his 2002 film, Ken Park, with the director and star Tiffany Limos, who played Peaches, in attendance. The centerpiece selection (September 4) is Josh Hyde’s Peruvian drama Postales, followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker. The closing-night selection is the world premiere of Craig Viveiros’s Lost in Italy, starring Ray Winstone. And on September 4 at 7:00, the city battles it out with Hollywood as Team NYC (the AV Club’s Alison Willmore and Fangoria’s Samuel Zimmerman) goes five rounds with Team LA (Allison Loring and Film School Rejects’ Kate Erbland) to determine which city is the best when it comes to making, writing about, and appreciating film.