Yaya (Charlbi Dean) and Carl (Harris Dickinson) just want to keep enjoying the good life in Triangle of Sadness
TRIANGLE OF SADNESS (Ruben Östlund, 2022)
New York Film Festival, Film at Lincoln Center
Saturday, October 1, Alice Tully Hall, 9:00
Sunday, October 2, Alice Tully Hall, 2:15
Monday, October 3, Walter Reade Theater, 2:30
Monday, October 3, Museum of the Moving Image, 6:00 www.filmlinc.org
About halfway through Ruben Östlund’s brilliant Palme d’Or–winning satire Triangle of Sadness, I let out a sharp, loud laugh that made the people sitting around me wonder if I was okay. I was fine, and there were many more chuckles, snickers, giggles, guffaws, howls, and snorts to come, and not just from me.
In his previous films, Force Majeure and Palme d’Or winner The Square, the Swedish auteur has shown that he never lacks for subtlety as he skewers the lifestyles of the rich but not necessarily famous, mixing fear with farce, pushing both about as far as they can go without breaking.
In Triangle of Sadness, named for the small frown of worry wrinkles between a person’s eyebrows, Östlund channels Luis Buñuel’s The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie and The Exterminating Angel, Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life (the “Autumn Years” segment with Mr. Creosote), and Lina Wertmüller’s romantic class comedy Swept Away . . . by an Unusual Destiny in the Blue Sea of August, resulting in an outrageously over-the-top condemnation of the privilege born of war and colonialism.
The protagonists are semi-successful male model Carl (Harris Dickinson) and female model and social media influencer Yaya (Charlbi Dean), two extremely beautiful people who are at the center of each of the three parts of the 149-minute film. In the first section, Carl auditions for a runway job and the couple argue over who is going to pick up the check after a fancy dinner. In the second chapter, they mostly enjoy their free luxury cruise aboard a yacht even when all hell breaks loose. And in the finale, they have to figure out how far they will go just to stay alive.
Along the way, they meet a fantastic mélange of characters, including vacuous fashion reporter Lewis (Thobias Thorwid), gluttonous Russian capitalist Dimitry (Zlatko Burić), toilet cleaner Abigail (Dolly de Leon), chief ship steward Paula (Vicki Berlin), ridiculously rich single man Jorma Björkman (Henrik Dorsin), ridiculously rich single woman Vera (Sunnyi Melles), ridiculously rich and demure British couple Clementine (Amanda Walker) and Winston (Oliver Ford Davies), the mysterious Nelson (Jean-Christophe Folly), and alcoholic yacht captain Thomas Smith (Woody Harrelson).
Darius (Arvin Kananian) and Captain Smith (Woody Harrelson) try to keep their balance in Palme d’Or winner
Dickinson (See How They Run,Where the Crawdads Sing) and Dean (Spud,Black Lightning) are magnetic together as flawed glitterati who exist in their own reality, until they don’t. (A star in the making, South African actress and model Dean died tragically this past August at the age of thirty-two.) Burić and Harrelson are a riot as their friendship blossoms amid booze and debates over Karl Marx, capitalism, and socialism. As a bonus, the yacht in the film is the Christina O, which was formerly owned by Aristotle Onassis and Jackie Kennedy. The rest of the large cast plays the dark humor with exquisitely calm, mannered demeanors.
Östlund, who has also written and directed Gitarrmongot,Involuntary, and Play, holds nothing back in Triangle of Sadness; the film could use a bit of trimming here and there, but that’s not his style. He puts it all out there, full steam ahead, damn the torpedoes. (The French title is Sans filtre, or “Without Filter.”) Both Force Majeure and The Square left indelible images in my head, and the same is true with his latest film, which still has me breaking out into laughter when I recall several key moments, such as Dimitry boasting, “I sell shit”; ship steward Alicia (Alicia Eriksson) trying not to say no to a demanding passenger; Captain Smith leaning sideways right before the captain’s dinner, next to his stable second in command, Darius (Arvin Kananian); and Abigail asking fellow survivors who’s in charge. It’s all so much unrelenting madness even as it hits you over the head with its political philosophy.
Triangle of Sadness screens October 1-3 at the New York Film Festival, with Östlund, de Leon, and Burić participating in Q&As following the shows on the first two days at Alice Tully Hall. The film opens in theaters October 7.
Who: Wendell Pierce, Sharon D. Clarke, André De Shields, Miranda Cromwell, Salamishah Tillet What:Panel discussion on new Death of a Salesman revival Where:Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (NYPL), 515 Malcolm X Blvd., and online When: Monday, October 3, free with RSVP, 7:00 Why: Lee J. Cobb, George C. Scott, Dustin Hoffman, Brian Dennehy, and Philip Seymour Hoffman have all starred as Willy Loman in Broadway productions of Arthur Miller’s Pulitzer Prize–winning 1949 American classic, Death of a Salesman. You can now add to that prestigious list Wendell Pierce, in the latest Broadway revival, now in previews for an October 9 opening at the Hudson Theatre. The cast features Pierce and Sharon D. Clarke as Willy’s wife, Linda — both won Oliviers for their performances in the West End production — along with André De Shields as Ben, Khris Davis as Biff, and McKinley Belcher III as Happy, the first all-Black Loman family on the Great White Way.
On October 3 at 7:00, Pierce (The Wire,The Piano Lesson), Clarke (Holby City,Caroline, or Change), and Tony and Emmy winner De Shields (Hadestown,The Full Monty) will be joined by director Miranda Cromwell (Magic Elves,Pigeon English) and moderator and Pulitzer Prize winner Salamishah Tillet for a discussion at the NYPL’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture; presented in conjunction with the 92nd St. Y’s Unterberg Poetry Center, the free event is being held in person and online, and advance registration is required. “So many of the elements of the play are fundamentally questioning of the American dream, and when you put that through the perspective of the Black experience, that enriches it,” Cromwell said in a statement. “The obstacles are harder, the stakes become higher.”
Lundahl & Seitl, Symphony — Tunnel Vision, performed in 2015 at Momentum 8 (photo courtesy of the artists)
Who:Lundahl & Seitl,Barbara London What:Performance and discussion Where:Scandinavia House, 58 Park Ave. at 38th St. When: Sunday, October 2, free with advance RSVP, performances 11:30 am – 1:30 pm and 4:00 – 5:30, discussion at 1:30 Why: “In times of challenge, how to find a good balance between resilience and resistance when adapting to a changing environment? How can we stay sensible for subtle yet powerful shifts in our being together? What is an acceptable level of reality, and for who/what do we make the sacrifice?” So ask immersive art duo Lundahl & Seitl in regard to their 2009 piece, Symphony of a Missing Room, which they reimagined as an app during the pandemic. On Sunday, October 2, Christer Lundahl and Martina Seitl will be at Scandinavia House to perform the work, in half-hour increments between 11:30 and 1:30 and 4:00 to 5:30; in addition, there will be a discussion at 1:30 moderated by curator and writer Barbara London, host of the Barbara London Calling podcast.
The free event is being held in partnership with the Consulate General of Sweden in New York; Lundahl & Seitl have previously performed Symphony of a Missing Room at the Swedish National Museum in Stockholm, the Akropolis Museum in Greece, the Kochi-Muziris Biennale in India, and the Temple of Alternative Histories at Staatstheater Kassel in Germany, among other venues. The ever-evolving work involves white goggles as participants must reconsider their inner and outer relationships with the environment and the space they are in. Admission is free with advance RSVP.
Mark Morris Dance Group will perform Water and more at Brooklyn Bridge Park on October 1 (photo by John Eng)
Who:Mark Morris Dance Group What:Free outdoor performances Where:Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 1, Harbor View Lawn When: Saturday, October 1, free, 2:00 & 4:00, workshop at 3:00 {ed. note: This event is now canceled because of the weather] Why: Brooklyn-based favorites Mark Morris Dance Group will be in Brooklyn Bridge Park on Saturday, October 1, to present a pair of free programs on the Harbor View Lawn at Pier 1, at 2:00 and 4:00, with an all-ages workshop at 3:00. The troupe, founded in 1980 by Morris, will perform Water, a nine-minute 2021 piece for fourteen dancers set to music by George Frideric Handel; Greek to Me, a five-minute solo from 1998 set to Harry Partch’s “Two Studies on Ancient Greek Scales” from “Eleven Intrusions”; the twenty-two-minute 2007 Suite from Orfeo ed Euridice set to the score by Christoph Willibald Gluck; and the eighteen-minute 1998 work Dancing Honeymoon, featuring seven dancers in yellow and music by Ethan Iverson.
Paul Schrader will discuss his latest film, Master Gardener, in free talk at NYFF60
NYFF60: FREE TALKS
New York Film Festival 60
Elinor Bunin Munroe Amphitheater, 144 West 65th St. between Broadway & Amsterdam Ave.
October 1-15, free tickets available one hour before showtime
212-875-5601 www.filmlinc.org/nyff2022
If you don’t act immediately, it is often difficult to get tickets to the New York Film Festival’s most hotly anticipated events, appearances by superstars and internationally renowned directors at New York, US, North American, and world premieres. But there are more than a dozen free talks, lectures, panel discussions, and game-playing events that are first-come, first-served, at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Amphitheater at Lincoln Center; free tickets are distributed an hour prior to the talk, one per person. This year’s lineup includes Noah Baumbach, Nan Goldin, Paul Schrader, Cauleen Smith, Alice Diop, Frederick Wiseman, Nancy Savoca, Laura Poitras, Elvis Mitchell, Mia Hansen-Løve, Kelly Reichardt, and Molly Haskell, which is not too shabby. Below is the full schedule; you can also catch these events on YouTube later.
Saturday, October 1
Deep Focus: Noah Baumbach, White Noise, 6:00
Special Events — Cinephile Game Night: NYFF60 Edition, 8:00
Sunday, October 2
Deep Focus: Paul Schrader, Master Gardener, 2:00
The 2022 Amos Vogel Lecture, with Cauleen Smith, followed by a Q&A with Jacqueline Stewart, 6:00
Monday, October 3
Roundtables: “Politics of Desire,” with Joao Pedro Rodrigues (Will-o’-the-Wisp), Ruth Beckermann (Mutzenbacher), Elisabeth Subrin, and Isabel Sandoval (Maria Schneider, 1983), 4:00
Crosscuts: Alice Diop & Frederick Wiseman, 6:00
Special Events — IndieWire Presents: Screen Talk Live, with Eric Kohn and special guests, 6:30
Special Events — Cinephile Game Night: NYFF60 Edition, 8:00
Cauleen Smith, whose Drylongso (above) screened an the 1998 New York Film Festival, will deliver the 2022 Amos Vogel Lecture
Thursday, October 6
Roundtables: “Missing Movies,” presentation and workshop with Amy Heller, Dennis Doros, Nancy Savoca, Rich Guay, Ira Deutchman, and Maya Cade, 6:00
Saturday, October 8
Roundtables — “Film Comment Live: On the Critical Attitude,” with hosts Devika Girish and Clinton Krute and guest Laura Poitras (All the Beauty and the Bloodshed), Elvis Mitchell (Is That Black Enough for You?!?), Tiffany Sia (What Rules the Invisible), and Alain Gomis (Rewind & Play), 1:00
Crosscuts: Mia Hansen-Løve (One Fine Morning) & Charlotte Wells (Aftersun), 4:00
Deep Focus: Nan Goldin, 7:00
Sunday, October 9
Crosscuts: Joanna Hogg (The Eternal Daughter) & Kelly Reichardt (Showing Up), 6:00
Special Events — Cinephile Game Night: NYFF60 Edition, 8:00
Tuesday, October 11
Deep Focus: Annie Ernaux, 6:00
Thursday, October 13
Special Events: “Inclusive Visions,” with a wine-tasting presentation by Dr. Hoby Wedler, hosted by Michele Spitz, 6:00
Saturday, October 15
Roundtables — “Film Comment Live“: Festival Report, with Devika Girish, Clinton Krute, Kelli Weston, Phoebe Chen, Molly Haskell, and others, 6:00
Noah Baumbach’s White Noise opens NYFF60 on September 30
NYFF60
Alice Tully Hall, 1941 Broadway at 65th St.
Walter Reade Theater, 165 West 65th St. at Amsterdam Ave.
Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center: Francesca Beale Theater, Howard Gilman Theater, Amphitheater, 144 West 65th St. between Broadway & Amsterdam Ave.
September 30 – October 16
212-875-5601 www.filmlinc.org/nyff2022
Martin Scorsese, Tilda Swinton, Noah Baumbach, Carey Mulligan, Zoe Kazan, Paul Schrader, Sigourney Weaver, Joel Edgerton, Frederick Wiseman, Whoopi Goldberg, John Douglas Thompson, Claire Denis, Cate Blanchett, Nina Hoss, Kelly Reichardt, Luca Guadagnino, Chloë Sevigny, Mia Hansen-Løve, Léa Seydoux, Laura Poitras, James Ivory, Park Chan-wook, Jerzy Skolimowski, Elvis Mitchell, Gabrielle Union, Robert Downey Jr., Sarah Polley, Jeremy Pope, Claire Foy, Rooney Mara, Judith Ivey, Jeremy Strong, Anne Hathaway — those are only some of the directors and actors who will be participating in Q&As and introductions at the sixtieth New York Film Festival, taking place at Lincoln Center from September 30 through October 16. Below is the full list of special guests, which feature award winners from around the world as well as up-and-coming filmmakers.
Friday, September 30
Main Slate Opening Night North American Premiere: White Noise (Noah Baumbach, 2022), Q&A with Noah Baumbach & cast, Alice Tully Hall, 6:00
Main Slate Opening Night North American Premiere: White Noise (Noah Baumbach, 2022), introduced by Noah Baumbach, Walter Reade Theater, 6:15
Main Slate Opening Night North American Premiere: White Noise (Noah Baumbach, 2022), introduced by Noah Baumbach, Alice Tully Hall, 9:30
Main Slate Opening Night North American Premiere: White Noise (Noah Baumbach, 2022), introduced by Noah Baumbach, Walter Reade Theater, 9:45
Saturday, October 1
Main Slate U.S. Premiere: Corsage (Marie Kreutzer, 2022), Q&A with Marie Kreutzer and Vicky Krieps, 12:00
Currents U.S. Premiere: The Unstable Object II (Daniel Eisenberg, 2022), Q&A with Daniel Eisenberg, 12:15
Currents U.S. Premiere: Queens of the Qing Dynasty (Ashley McKenzie, 2022), Q&A with Ashley McKenzie, 12:30
Main Slate: Descendant (Margaret Brown, 2022), Q&A with Margaret Brown, 1:30
Main Slate North American Premiere: Master Gardener (Paul Schrader, 2022), Q&A with Paul Schrader, Sigourney Weaver, and Joel Edgerton, 3:00
Currents North American Premiere: The Dam (Ali Cherri, 2022), Q&A with Ali Cherri, 3:30
Main Slate North American Premiere: A Couple (Frederick Wiseman, 2022), Q&A with Frederick Wiseman, 4:30
Spotlight World Premiere: Till (Chinonye Chukwu, 2022), Q&A with Chinonye Chukwu, Danielle Deadwyler, and Whoopi Goldberg, 5:45
Revivals: Le Damier (Balufu Bakupa-Kanyinda, 1996), new restoration, Q&A with Balufu Bakupa-Kanyinda, 6:00
Revivals: Black God, White Devil (Glauber Rocha, 1964), new 4K restoration, introduced by Luiz Oliveira, 7:30
Main Slate: Triangle of Sadness (Ruben Östlund, 2022), Q&A with Ruben Östlund and Dolly de Leon, 9:00
Currents Opening Night U.S. Premiere: Will-o’-the-Wisp (João Pedro Rodrigues, 2022), Q&A with João Pedro Rodrigues, 9:15
Sunday, October 2
Spotlight World Premiere: Till (Chinonye Chukwu, 2022), Q&A with Chinonye Chukwu, Danielle Deadwyler, Jalyn Hall, John Douglas Thompson, Jayme Lawson, Tosin Cole, Keith Beauchamp, and Deborah Watts, 11:00 am
Revivals World Premiere: Drylongso (Cauleen Smith, 1998), 4K restoration, Q&A with Cauleen Smith, 12:45
Main Slate North American Premiere: A Couple (Frederick Wiseman, 2022), Q&A with Frederick Wiseman, 1:00
Main Slate: Triangle of Sadness (Ruben Östlund, 2022), Q&A with Ruben Östlund and Dolly de Leon, 2:15
Currents North American Premiere: Mutzenbacher (Ruth Beckermann, 2022), Q&A with Ruth Beckermann, 3:00
Main Slate North American Premiere: Stars at Noon (Claire Denis, 2022), Q&A with Claire Denis and Joe Alwyn, 5:45
Currents Opening Night U.S. Premiere: Will-o’-the-Wisp (João Pedro Rodrigues, 2022), Q&A with João Pedro Rodrigues, 5:45
Main Slate U.S. Premiere: Corsage (Marie Kreutzer, 2022), Q&A with Marie Kreutzer and Vicky Krieps, 6:00
Currents U.S. Premiere: Queens of the Qing Dynasty (Ashley McKenzie, 2022), Q&A with Ashley McKenzie, 6:15
Main Slate: Descendant (Margaret Brown, 2022), Q&A with Margaret Brown, 8:30
Main Slate U.S. Premiere: De Humani Corporis Fabrica (Véréna Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor, 2022), Q&A with Véréna Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor, 9:00
Currents North American Premiere: The Dam (Ali Cherri, 2022), Q&A with Ali Cherri, 9:15
Monday, October 3
Main Slate: TÁR (Todd Field, 2022), Q&A with Todd Field, Cate Blanchett, Nina Hoss, Mark Strong, Sophie Kauer, and Hildur Guonadóttir, 5:30
Main Slate U.S. Premiere: De Humani Corporis Fabrica (Véréna Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor, 2022), Q&A with Véréna Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor, 6:15
Main Slate U.S. Premiere: Saint Omer (Alice Diop, 2022), Q&A with Alice Diop, 8:30
Main Slate North American Premiere: Stars at Noon (Claire Denis, 2022), Q&A with Claire Denis and Joe Alwyn, 9:00
Tuesday, October 4
Main Slate North American Premiere: Scarlet (Pietro Marcello, 2022), Q&A with Pietro Marcello, 5:45
Main Slate North American Premiere: Stars at Noon (Claire Denis, 2022), introduced by Claire Denis, 6:00
Main Slate U.S. Premiere: Saint Omer (Alice Diop, 2022), Q&A with Alice Diop, 6:15
Main Slate: TÁR (Todd Field, 2022), introduced by Todd Field, 8:30
Currents North American Premiere: Mutzenbacher (Ruth Beckermann, 2022), Q&A with Ruth Beckermann, 9:00
Revivals: No Fear No Die (Claire Denis, 1990), world premiere of 4K restoration, introduced by Claire Denis and Isaach De Bankole, 9:15
Wednesday, October 5
Main Slate U.S. Premiere: Pacifiction (Albert Serra, 2022), Q&A with Albert Serra, 5:30
Spotlight U.S. Premiere: Exterior Night (Marco Bellocchio, 2022), introduced by Fabrizio Gifuni and Fausto Russo Alesi, 5:45
Revivals North American Premiere: The Mother and the Whore (Jean Eustache, 1973), new 4K restoration, Q&A with Françoise Lebrun and Charles Gillibert, 6:15
Main Slate North American Premiere: Showing Up (Kelly Reichardt, 2022), Q&A with Kelly Reichardt and Hong Chau, 9:15
Thursday, October 6
Main Slate North American Premiere: Alcarràs (Carla Simón, 2022), Q&A with Carla Simón, 6:00
Main Slate North American Premiere: Scarlet (Pietro Marcello, 2022), Q&A with Pietro Marcello, 6:15
Main Slate North American Premiere: Showing Up (Kelly Reichardt, 2022), Q&A with Kelly Reichardt and Hong Chau, 6:15
Revivals North American Premiere: The Mother and the Whore (Jean Eustache, 1973), new 4K restoration, introduced by Françoise Lebrun and Charles Gillibert, 6:30
Spotlight: Bones and All (Luca Guadagnino, 2022), Q&A with Luca Guadagnino, Taylor Russell, and Chloë Sevigny, 9:00
Main Slate U.S. Premiere: Pacifiction (Albert Serra, 2022), Q&A with Albert Serra, 9:00
Friday, October 7
Currents Program 1: Field Trips, Q&As with Nicolás Pereda, Natalia Escobar, Simon(e) Jaikiriuma Paetau, and Simon Velez, 1:15
Currents Program 2: Fault Lines, Q&As with Ellie Ga, 1:30
Currents Program 3: Action Figures, Q&As with Sara Cwynar, Diane Severin Nguyen, Fox Maxy, and Riccardo Giacconi, 3:45
Currents Program 4: Vital Signs, Q&As with Mary Helena Clark, Joshua Solondz, and Jordan Strafer, 4:00
Main Slate Centerpiece Selection: All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (Laura Poitras, 2022), Q&A with Laura Poitras, 6:00 & 9:15
Currents Program 5: After Utopia, Q&As with Meriem Bennani and Josh Kline, 6:15
Spotlight World Premiere: A Cooler Climate (James Ivory & Giles Gardner, 2022), Q&A with James Ivory and Giles Gardner, 6:30
Main Slate North American Premiere: Alcarràs (Carla Simón, 2022), Q&A with Carla Simón, 8:45
Léa Seydoux stars in Mia Hansen-Løve’s One Fine Morning
Saturday, October 8
Main Slate: Aftersun (Charlotte Wells, 2022), Q&A with Charlotte Wells, Paul Mescal, and Frankio Corio, 12:00
Currents Program 6: Inside Voices, Q&As with Kim Salac, Mackie Mallison, Thuy-Han Nguyen-Chi, Courtney Stephens, Sheilah ReStack, and Angelo Madsen Minax, 12:00
Currents Program 1: Field Trips, Q&As with Nicolás Pereda, Natalia Escobar, Simon(e) Jaikiriuma Paetau, and Simon Velez, 2:15
Currents Program 7: Ordinary Devotion, Q&As with Simon Liu, Alexandra Cuesta, and Pablo Mazzolo, 2:45
Currents Program 2: Fault Lines, Q&As with Ellie Ga, 4:30
Main Slate: One Fine Morning (Mia Hansen-Løve, 2022), Q&A with Mia Hansen-Løve and Léa Seydoux, 6:15
Main Slate U.S. Premiere: Enys Men (Mark Jenkin, 2022), Q&A with Mark Jenkin and Mary Woodvine, 6:30
Currents Program 8: Time Out of Mind, Q&A with Tiffany Sia, 7:00
Currents World Premiere: Slaughterhouses of Modernity (Heinz Emigholz, 2022), Q&A with Heinz Emigholz, 8:15
Currents: Rewind & Play (Alain Gomis, 2022), Q&A with Elisabeth Subrin and Alain Gomis, 9:00
Main Slate: Decision to Leave (Park Chan-wook, 2022), Q&A with Park Chan-wook and Park Hae-il, 9:00
Sunday, October 9
Main Slate U.S. Premiere: No Bears (Jafar Panahi, 2022), introduced by by Mina Kavani, 12:00
Main Slate: One Fine Morning (Mia Hansen-Løve, 2022), Q&A with Mia Hansen-Løve and Léa Seydoux, 12:00
Currents Program 7: Ordinary Devotion, Q&As with Simon Liu, Alexandra Cuesta, and Pablo Mazzolo, 1:00
Currents Program 5: After Utopia, Q&A with Josh Kline, 1:30
Main Slate: Decision to Leave (Park Chan-wook, 2022), Q&A with Park Chan-wook and Park Hae-il, 2:45
Main Slate U.S. Premiere: Unrest (Cyril Schäublin, 2022), Q&A with Cyril Schäublin, 3:00
Currents World Premiere: Slaughterhouses of Modernity (Heinz Emigholz, 2022), Q&A with Heinz Emigholz, 3:15
Currents Program 4: Vital Signs, Q&As with Mary Helena Clark, Joshua Solondz, and Jordan Strafer, 3:45
Spotlight World Premiere: Is That Black Enough for You?!? (Elvis Mitchell, 2022), Q&A with Elvis Mitchell, 5:30
Main Slate U.S. Premiere: R.M.N. (Cristian Mungiu, 2022), Q&A with Cristian Mungiu, 6:00
Currents Program 6: Inside Voices, Q&As with Kim Salac, Mackie Mallison, Thuy-Han Nguyen-Chi, Courtney Stephens, Sheilah ReStack, and Angelo Madsen Minax, 6:00
Main Slate U.S. Premiere: Enys Men (Mark Jenkin, 2022), Q&A with Mark Jenkin and Mary Woodvine, 8:30
Currents U.S. Premiere: Dry Ground Burning (Joana Pimenta & Adirley Queirós, 2022), Q&A with Joana Pimenta and Adirley Queirós, 8:45
Main Slate: Aftersun (Charlotte Wells, 2022), Q&A with Charlotte Wells and Paul Mescal, 9:00
Monday, October 10
Main Slate U.S. Premiere: R.M.N. (Cristian Mungiu, 2022), Q&A with Cristian Mungiu, 12:00
Spotlight North American Premiere: The Super 8 Years (Annie Ernaux and David Ernaux-Briot, 2022), Q&A with Annie Ernaux and David Ernaux-Briot, 12:30
Main Slate U.S. Premiere: Unrest (Cyril Schäublin, 2022), Q&A with Cyril Schäublin, 1:00
Currents North American Premiere: Human Flowers of Flesh (Helena Wittmann, 2022), Q&A with Helena Wittmann, 2:45
Spotlight: “Sr.” (Chris Smith, 2022), Q&A with Chris Smith, Robert Downey Jr., Susan Downey, and Kevin Ford, 3:00
Currents Program 9: New York Shorts, Q&As with Jamil McGinnis, Sarah Friedland, Charlotte Ercoli, Alex Ashe, and Lloyd Lee Choi, 3:15
Spotlight: Women Talking (Sarah Polley, 2022), Q&A with Sarah Polley, Claire Foy, Rooney Mara, Judith Ivey, and Sheila McCarthy, 6:15
Currents Program 3: Action Figures, Q&As with Sara Cwynar, Diane Severin Nguyen, Fox Maxy, and Riccardo Giacconi, 6:30
Main Slate U.S. Premiere: Stonewalling (Huang Ji, Ryuji Otsuka, 2022), Q&A with Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka, 8:15
Currents U.S. Premiere: Dry Ground Burning (Joana Pimenta & Adirley Queirós, 2022), Q&A with Joana Pimenta and Adirley Queirós, 8:30
Currents: Rewind & Play (Alain Gomis, 2022), Q&A with Elisabeth Subrin and Alain Gomis, 8:45
Main Slate: The Eternal Daughter (Joanna Hogg, 2022), Q&A with Joanna Hogg and Tilda Swinton, 9:00
Chris Smith’s “Sr.” explores the life and times of Robert Downey Sr.
Tuesday, October 11
Spotlight: “Sr.” (Chris Smith, 2022), Q&A with Chris Smith, Robert Downey Jr., Susan Downey, and Kevin Ford, 3:00
Currents North American Premiere: Tales of the Purple House (Abbas Fahdel, 2022), Q&A with Abbas Fahdel, 5:15
Main Slate U.S. Premiere: Stonewalling (Huang Ji, Ryuji Otsuka, 2022), Q&A with Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka, 5:30
Main Slate: The Eternal Daughter (Joanna Hogg, 2022), Q&A with Joanna Hogg and Tilda Swinton, 6:15
Main Slate: All That Breathes (Shaunak Sen, 2022), Q&A with Shaunak Sen, 6:30
Main Slate U.S. Premiere: EO (Jerzy Skolimowski, 2022), Q&A with Jerzy Skolimowski, 9:00
Spotlight North American Premiere: The Super 8 Years (Annie Ernaux and David Ernaux-Briot, 2022), Q&A with Annie Ernaux and David Ernaux-Briot, 9:00
Main Slate North American Premiere: Trenque Lauquen (Laura Citarella, 2022), Q&A with Laura Citarella, 9:00
Currents North American Premiere: Human Flowers of Flesh (Helena Wittmann, 2022), Q&A with Helena Wittmann, 9:15
Wednesday, October 12
Main Slate NYFF 60th Anniversary Celebration: Armageddon Time (James Gray, 2022), Q&A with James Gray, Jeremy Strong, Anne Hathaway, Banks Repeta, and Jaylin Webb, 6:00
Currents: Remote (Mika Rottenberg & Mahyad Tousi, 2022), Q&A with Mika Rottenberg and Mahyad Tousi, 6:15
Currents Program 9: New York Shorts, Q&As with Jamil McGinnis, Sarah Friedland, Charlotte Ercoli, Alex Ashe, and Lloyd Lee Choi, 6:30
Spotlight World Premiere: Personality Crisis: One Night Only (Martin Scorsese and David Tedeschi, 2022), Q&A with David Tedeschi and Martin Scorsese, 9:00
Main Slate: All That Breathes (Shaunak Sen, 2022), Q&A with Shaunak Sen, 9:00
Currents North American Premiere: The Adventures of Gigi the Law (Alessandro Comodin, 2022), Q&A with Alessandro Comodin, 9:15
Thursday, October 13
Main Slate U.S. Premiere: No Bears (Jafar Panahi, 2022), introduced by by Mina Kavani, 3:15
Spotlight World Premiere: She Said (Maria Schrader, 2022), Q&A with Maria Schrader, Carey Mulligan, Zoe Kazan, Jodi Kantor, and Megan Twohey, 6:00
Main Slate U.S. Premiere: Return to Seoul (Davy Chou, 2022), Q&A with Davy Chou and Park Ji-Min, 6:15
Currents North American Premiere: The Adventures of Gigi the Law (Alessandro Comodin, 2022), Q&A with Alessandro Comodin, 6:15
Main Slate U.S. Premiere: EO (Jerzy Skolimowski, 2022), Q&A with Jerzy Skolimowski, 6:45
Currents: Remote (Mika Rottenberg & Mahyad Tousi, 2022), Q&A with Mika Rottenberg and Mahyad Tousi, 9:00
Main Slate NYFF 60th Anniversary Celebration: Armageddon Time (James Gray, 2022), Q&A with James Gray and Jeremy Strong, 9:00
Currents: Three Tidy Tigers Tied a Tie Tighter (Gustavo Vinagre, 2022), Q&A with Gustavo Vinagre, 9:15
Friday, October 14
Currents: Three Tidy Tigers Tied a Tie Tighter (Gustavo Vinagre, 2022), Q&A with Gustavo Vinagre, 3:45
Main Slate NYFF 60th Anniversary Celebration: Armageddon Time (James Gray, 2022), introduced by James Gray, 6:00
Spotlight World Premiere: Personality Crisis: One Night Only (Martin Scorsese and David Tedeschi, 2022), Q&A with David Tedeschi, 9:00
Main Slate Closing Night Selection U.S. Premiere: The Inspection (Elegance Bratton, 2022), Q&A with Elegance Bratton, Jeremy Pope, Gabrielle Union, and Raúl Castillo, 6:00 & 9:00
Main Slate U.S. Premiere: No Bears (Jafar Panahi, 2022), introduced by Mina Kavani, 8:45
Ping Chong will revisit his 1972 work, Lazarus, at La MaMa (photo by Cathy Zimmerman)
Who:Ping Chong and Company What: Reimagining of Ping Chong’s 1972 Lazarus Where:La MaMa Downstairs Theater, 66 East Fourth St. between Second & Third Aves. When: September 30 – October 16, $30 (panel discussion moderated by Sara Farrington on October 9 after 4:00 show) Why: “I’ve never thought of myself as a theater artist, I’ve thought of myself as an artist in the theater,” Ping Chong tells Sara Farrington in her new book, The Lost Conversation: Interviews with an Enduring Avant-Garde (53rd State Press, April 2022, $16). Asked how he first became involved in avant-garde theater around 1971, the Toronto-born Ping explains, “I graduated from the School of Visual Arts in film and I didn’t know what I was going to do. I mean, there were no filmmakers of color around. There was no role model and I wasn’t one of these go-getter aggressive kids. So I was just killing time, trying to figure out what to do next. And then a friend of a friend, an associate of mine from school, said, I’m taking some dance classes with Meredith Monk, do you want to go? So I took her classes — she was doing continuing education classes at NYU. And Meredith said to me, You’re talented, come to my workshop. But I didn’t.” He eventually did attend a workshop — Monk’s studio was only three blocks from his apartment — and even joined Monk’s company. His apartment was also only two blocks from La MaMa; he put on his first show there in 1979.
Ping is now back at La MaMa with what will be his final production as artistic director, Lazarus 1972–2022, a reimagining of his first independent work, which was staged at Meredith Monk’s loft studio half a century ago. It’s a nonlinear piece about cultural alienation in which the title biblical character is resurrected in 1972 New York City; it featured projections, puppets, voice-overs (by Ping and Andrea Goodman), sound effects, music, but no dialogue spoken by the two main characters, portrayed by Tony Jannetti and Catherine Zimmerman. The sixty-minute Lazarus 1972–2022 runs Thursdays through Sundays from September 30 to October 16 at La MaMa Downstairs Theater; Christopher Caines will be Lazarus and Jeannie Hutchins portrays Woman, with sets by Watoko Ueno, lighting by Hao Bai, costumes by Stefani Mar, sound by Ernesto Valenzuela, and projections by Kate Freer.
“Lazarus was a metaphor for my own experience, because I had just left my insular world of Chinatown, moving out of that limbo into figuring out how to exist in larger society,” Ping said in a statement. “The original show was 1972; New York City was nearly bankrupt at that time and the urban purgatory aspect of it was very surreal and real. Originally the work reflected that — but the work has changed: I’m a lifetime New Yorker, and Lazarus is now different than the show was at the time in the sense that New York is also different, and centrally, part of the character of the show. Lazarus 1972–2022 is my love for New York but it’s also my sadness for what it’s become. Lazarus may have left purgatory and come back into the world — but what kind of a world did he come back into in 2022?”
On October 9 following the 4:00 performance, playwright, theater artist, screenwriter, director, and Foxy Films cofounder Farrington will join Ping at La MaMa for the panel discussion “Time Passes: Ping Chong and Fiji Theater Company Then and Now,” accompanied by members of his company from the late-1970s and 1980s, including John Fleming, Brian Hallas, Louise Smith, and Jeannie Hutchins. In her book, Farrington, who has collaborated with her husband, Reid, on such experimental multimedia shows as The Passion Project,CasablancaBox,Tyson vs. Ali, and BrandoCapote in addition to writing and/or directing other works, also speaks with such legendary figures as JoAnne Akalaitis, Anne Bogart, Richard Foreman, André Gregory David Henry Hwang, Bill T. Jones, Adrienne Kennedy, David Van Tieghem, Kate Valk, Mac Wellman, and Robert Wilson, creating a fascinating oral history of avant-garde theater.
