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NYFF60: Q&As & Intros

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

KEANE: 4K RESTORATION

A 4K restoration of Keane, starring Damian Lewis, comes to Lincoln Center beginning August 19

KEANE (Lodge Kerrigan, 2004)
Film at Lincoln Center, Francesca Beale Theater, Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center
144 West 65th St. between Eighth Ave. & Broadway
Opens Friday, August 19
www.filmlinc.org
grasshopperfilm.com

Lodge Kerrigan’s remarkable third feature, Keane, is mesmerizing, always teetering on the brink of insanity. Damian Lewis, years before Homeland and Billions, stars as William Keane, whom we first meet as he rants and raves in the Port Authority, filled with anger, paranoia, and a twitchiness that immediately sets you on edge and never lets up. He is trying to figure out what went wrong when his daughter was abducted from the area, but he now acts like just another crazy at the bus depot. As he befriends a desperate woman (Gone Baby Gone’s Amy Ryan) and her daughter (Little Miss Sunshine’s Abigail Breslin), you’ll feel a gamut of terrifying emotions rush through your body. The cast also features such familiar faces as Liza Colón-Zayas, Christopher Evan Welch, Chris Bauer, Frank Wood, Stephen McKinley Henderson, and others in tiny roles.

With Keane, Kerrigan, who made a big indie splash with his 1993 debut, Clean, Shaven, has created a brilliant psychological film centered on one man’s obsession that will leave you emotionally and physically spent. Filmed on location in 35mm with a handheld camera (with only one shot per scene) and natural sound, Keane has a taut realism that will knock you for a loop. You’ll love this film, but it will also scare the hell out of you.

A selection of the 2004 New York Film Festival, Keane is back at Lincoln Center beginning August 19 in a brand-new 4K restoration supervised by Kerrigan and TV and film editor Kristina Boden; Lewis and Kerrigan — who has made only one film since Keane, 2010’s Rebecca H. (Return to the Dogs), instead concentrating on directing episodes of such series as Homeland, The Killing, and The Girlfriend Experience — will participate in a Q&A following the 6:30 screening on August 20, moderated by Christopher Abbott.

SONGS FOR ’DRELLA

SONGS FOR ’DRELLA (Ed Lachman, 1990)
Film Forum
209 West Houston St.
October 22-27
212-727-8110
filmforum.org

In December 1989, Velvet Underground cofounders John Cale and Lou Reed took the stage at BAM’s Howard Gilman Opera House and performed a song cycle in honor of Andy Warhol, who had played a pivotal role in the group’s success. The Pittsburgh-born Pop artist had died in February 1987 at the age of fifty-eight; although Cale and Reed had had a long falling-out, they reunited at Warhol’s funeral at the suggestion of artist Julian Schnabel. Commissioned by BAM and St. Ann’s, Songs for ’Drella — named after one of Warhol’s nicknames, a combination of Dracula and Cinderella — was released as a concert film and recorded for an album. The work is filled with factual details and anecdotes of Warhol’s life and career, from his relationship with his mother to his years at the Factory, from his 1967 shooting at the hands of Valerie Solanis to his dedication to his craft.

Directed, photographed, and produced by Ed Lachman, the two-time Oscar-nominated cinematographer of such films as Desperately Seeking Susan, Mississippi Masala, Far from Heaven, and Carol, the concert movie has just undergone a 4K restoration supervised by Lachman that premiered at the New York Film Festival a few weeks ago and is now running October 22-27 at Film Forum, with Lachman participating in Q&As following the 5:45 screenings on October 22, 23, and 24. (Producer Carolyn Hepburn will introduce the 5:45 show on October 27.) Songs for ’Drella is an intimate portrait not only of Warhol but of Cale and Reed, who sit across from each other onstage, Cale on the left, playing keyboards and violin, Reed on the right on guitars. There is no between-song patter or introductions; they just play the music as Robert Wierzel’s lighting shifts from black-and-white to splashes of blue and red. Photos of Warhol and some of his works (Electric Chair, Mona Lisa, Gun) are occasionally projected onto a screen on the back wall.

“When you’re growing up in a small town / Bad skin, bad eyes — gay and fatty / People look at you funny / When you’re in a small town / My father worked in construction / It’s not something for which I’m suited / Oh — what is something for which you are suited? / Getting out of here,” Reed sings on the opener, “Smalltown.” Cale and Reed share an infectious smile before “Style It Takes,” in which Cale sings, “I’ve got a Brillo box and I say it’s art / It’s the same one you can buy at any supermarket / ’Cause I’ve got the style it takes / And you’ve got the people it takes / This is a rock group called the Velvet Underground / I show movies of them / Do you like their sound / ’Cause they have a style that grates and I have art to make.”

John Cale and Lou Reed reunited to honor Andy Warhol in Songs for ’Drella

Cale and Reed reflect more on their association with Warhol in “A Dream.” Cale sings as Warhol, “And seeing John made me think of the Velvets / And I had been thinking about them / when I was on St. Marks Place / going to that new gallery those sweet new kids have opened / But they thought I was old / And then I saw the old DOM / the old club where we did our first shows / It was so great / And I don’t understand about that Velvets first album / I mean, I did the cover / and I was the producer / and I always see it repackaged / and I’ve never gotten a penny from it / How could that be / I should call Henry / But it was good seeing John / I did a cover for him / but I did it in black and white and he changed it to color / It would have been worth more if he’d left it my way / But you can never tell anybody anything / I’ve learned that.”

The song later turns the focus on Reed, recalling, “And then I saw Lou / I’m so mad at him / Lou Reed got married and didn’t invite me / I mean, is it because he thought I’d bring too many people? / I don’t get it / He could have at least called / I mean, he’s doing so great / Why doesn’t he call me? / I saw him at the MTV show / and he was one row away and he didn’t even say hello / I don’t get it / You know I hate Lou / I really do / He won’t even hire us for his videos / And I was so proud of him.”

Reed does say hello — and goodbye — on the closer, “Hello It’s Me.” With Cale on violin, Reed stands up with his guitar and fondly sings, “Oh well, now, Andy — I guess we’ve got to go / I wish some way somehow you like this little show / I know it’s late in coming / But it’s the only way I know / Hello, it’s me / Goodnight, Andy / Goodbye, Andy.”

It’s a tender way to end a beautiful performance, but Lachman has added a special treat after the credits, with one final anecdote and the original trailer he made for Reed’s 1974 song cycle, Berlin. In addition, Songs for ’Drella is an excellent companion piece for the new Todd Haynes documentary, The Velvet Underground, which is also screening at Film Forum.

TODD HAYNES: THE VELVET UNDERGROUND

Todd Haynes tells the true story of the Velvet Underground in new documentary opening at Film Forum

THE VELVET UNDERGROUND (Todd Haynes, 2021)
Film Forum
209 West Houston St.
Opens Wednesday, October 13
212-727-8110
filmforum.org

The Velvet Underground was more than just a music group; they electrified a generation, and continue to do so today, half a century later. Todd Haynes, whose 1998 Velvet Goldmine was set in the world of glam rock and whose 2007 I’m Not There explored the career of Bob Dylan through six characters and a nonlinear narrative, now turns his attention to the true story behind the Velvets. Haynes details the history of the band by delving into leaders John Cale and Lou Reed’s initial meeting, the formation of the Primitives with conceptual artists Tony Conrad and Walter DeMaria, and the transformation into the seminal VU lineup at the Factory under Pop icon Andy Warhol’s guidance: singer-songwriter-guitarist Reed, Welsh experimental composer and multi-instrumentalist Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, drummer Maureen Tucker, and German vocalist Nico. Much of Haynes’s documentary focuses on Warhol’s position in helping develop and promote the Velvets. “Andy was extraordinary, and I honestly don’t think these things could have occurred without Andy,” Reed, who died in 2013, says. “I don’t know if we would have gotten the contract if he hadn’t said he’d do the cover or if Nico wasn’t so beautiful.”

Haynes and editors Affonso Gonçalves and Adam Kurnitz pace the film like VU’s songs and overall career, as they cut between new and old interviews and dazzling archival photographs and video, frantic and chaotic at first, then slowing down as things change drastically for the band They employ split screens, usually two but up to twelve boxes at a time, to deluge the viewer with a barrage of sound and image. Among the talking heads in the film are composer and Dream Syndicate founder La Monte Young, actress and film critic Amy Taubin, actress and author Mary Woronov, Reed’s sister Merrill Reed-Weiner, early Reed bandmates and school friends Allan Hyman and Richard Mishkin, filmmaker and author John Waters, manager and publicist Danny Fields, composer and philosopher Henry Flynt, and avant-garde filmmaker and poet Jonas Mekas. “We are not part really of the subculture or counterculture. We are the culture!” Mekas, who passed away in 2019 at the age of ninety-six, declares.

Haynes also talks extensively with Cale and Tucker, who hold nothing back, in addition to Morrison’s widow, Martha Morrison; singer-songwriter Jackson Browne, who opened up for the Velvets back in their heyday; and big-time fan Jonathan Richman (of Modern Lovers fame). While everyone shares their thoughts about Warhol, the Factory, the Exploding Plastic Inevitable shows, and the eventual dissolution of the band, Haynes bombards us with clips from Warhol’s Sleep, Kiss, Empire, and Screen Tests (many opposite the people who appear in the film) as well as works by such artists as Maya Deren, Jack Smith, Kenneth Anger, Barbara Rubin, Tony Oursler, Stan Brakhage, and Mekas and paintings by Warhol, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, and Mark Rothko. It’s a dizzying array that aligns with such VU classics as “I’ll Be Your Mirror,” “I’m Waiting for the Man,” “Heroin,” “White Light / White Heat,” “Sister Ray,” “Pale Blue Eyes,” and “Sweet Jane.”

Several speakers disparage the Flower Power era, Bill Graham, and Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, with Tucker admitting, “This love-peace crap, we hated that. Get real.” They’re also honest about the group’s own success, or lack thereof. Tucker remembers at their first shows, “We used to joke around and say, ‘Well, how many people left?’ ‘About half.’ ‘Oh, we must have been good tonight.’” And there is no love lost for Reed, who was not the warmest and most considerate of colleagues.

The Velvets still maintain a remarkable influence on music and art today despite having recorded only two albums with Cale (The Velvet Underground and Nico and White Light / White Heat) and two with Doug Yule replacing Cale (The Velvet Underground and Loaded) in a span of only three years. (For example, the tribute album I’ll Be Your Mirror was released in September, featuring VU covers by Michael Stipe, Matt Berninger, Andrew Bird & Lucius, Kurt Vile, St. Vincent & Thomas Bartlett, Thurston Moore & Bobby Gillespie, Courtney Barnett, Iggy Pop & Matt Sweeney, and others.) Haynes (Far from Heaven, Safe) sucks us right into their extraordinary orbit and keeps us swirling in it for two glorious hours of music, gossip, art, celebrity, and backstabbing. The documentary, which premiered earlier this month at the New York Film Festival, opens at Film Forum on October 13 and begins streaming on Apple+ two days later. If you end up watching the film at home, turn it up loud. No, louder than that. Even louder. . . .

[Film Forum will be hosting Q&As with Gonçalves and Kurnitz on October 14 and 16 following the 7:50 shows, and Taubin will introduce the 7:50 screening on October 15. In addition, Haynes will join Gonçalves and Kurnitz at Film Forum for the 7:50 screening on November 12.]

NYFF59: SONGS FOR ’DRELLA / THE VELVET UNDERGROUND

John Cale and Lou Reed reunite to honor Andy Warhol in Songs for ’Drella

SONGS FOR ’DRELLA (Ed Lachman, 1990)
New York Film Festival, Lincoln Center
Francesca Beale Theater, Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center
144 West 65th St. between Broadway & Amsterdam Ave.
Tuesday, October 5, 4:30
www.filmlinc.org

In December 1989, Velvet Underground cofounders John Cale and Lou Reed took the stage at BAM’s Howard Gilman Opera House and performed a song cycle in honor of Andy Warhol, who had played a pivotal role in the group’s success. The Pittsburgh-born Pop artist had died in February 1987 at the age of fifty-eight; although Cale and Reed had had a long falling-out, they reunited at Warhol’s funeral at the suggestion of artist Julian Schnabel. Commissioned by BAM and St. Ann’s, Songs for ’Drella — named after one of Warhol’s nicknames, a combination of Dracula and Cinderella — was released as a concert film and recorded for an album. The work is filled with factual details and anecdotes of Warhol’s life and career, from his relationship with his mother to his years at the Factory, from his 1967 shooting at the hands of Valerie Solanis to his dedication to his craft.

Directed, photographed, and produced by Ed Lachman, the two-time Oscar-nominated cinematographer of such films as Desperately Seeking Susan, Mississippi Masala, Far from Heaven, and Carol — Lachman also supervised the 4K restoration being shown at the New York Film Festival this week — Songs for ’Drella is an intimate portrait not only of Warhol but of Cale and Reed, who sit across from each other onstage, Cale on the left, playing keyboards and violin, Reed on the right on guitars. There is no between-song patter or introductions; they just play the music as Robert Wierzel’s lighting shifts from black-and-white to splashes of blue and red. Photos of Warhol and some of his works (Electric Chair, Mona Lisa, Gun) are occasionally projected onto a screen on the back wall.

“When you’re growing up in a small town / Bad skin, bad eyes — gay and fatty / People look at you funny / When you’re in a small town / My father worked in construction / It’s not something for which I’m suited / Oh — what is something for which you are suited? / Getting out of here,” Reed sings on the opener, “Smalltown.” Cale and Reed share an infectious smile before “Style It Takes,” in which Cale sings, “I’ve got a Brillo box and I say it’s art / It’s the same one you can buy at any supermarket / ’Cause I’ve got the style it takes / And you’ve got the people it takes / This is a rock group called the Velvet Underground / I show movies of them / Do you like their sound / ’Cause they have a style that grates and I have art to make.”

Songs for ’Drella is screening at NYFF59 in new 4K restoration

Cale and Reed reflect more on their association with Warhol in “A Dream.” Cale sings as Warhol, “And seeing John made me think of the Velvets / And I had been thinking about them / when I was on St. Marks Place / going to that new gallery those sweet new kids have opened / But they thought I was old / And then I saw the old DOM / the old club where we did our first shows / It was so great / And I don’t understand about that Velvets first album / I mean, I did the cover / and I was the producer / and I always see it repackaged / and I’ve never gotten a penny from it / How could that be / I should call Henry / But it was good seeing John / I did a cover for him / but I did it in black and white and he changed it to color / It would have been worth more if he’d left it my way / But you can never tell anybody anything / I’ve learned that.”

The song later turns the focus on Reed, recalling, “And then I saw Lou / I’m so mad at him / Lou Reed got married and didn’t invite me / I mean, is it because he thought I’d bring too many people? / I don’t get it / He could have at least called / I mean, he’s doing so great / Why doesn’t he call me? / I saw him at the MTV show / and he was one row away and he didn’t even say hello / I don’t get it / You know I hate Lou / I really do / He won’t even hire us for his videos / And I was so proud of him.”

Reed does say hello — and goodbye — on the closer, “Hello It’s Me.” With Cale on violin, Reed stands up with his guitar and fondly sings, “Oh well, now, Andy — I guess we’ve got to go / I wish some way somehow you like this little show / I know it’s late in coming / But it’s the only way I know / Hello, it’s me / Goodnight, Andy / Goodbye, Andy.”

It’s a tender way to end a beautiful performance, but Lachman has added a special treat after the credits, with one final anecdote and the original trailer he made for Reed’s 1974 song cycle, Berlin. Songs for ’Drella is screening October 5 at 4:30 at the Francesca Beale Theater; it is also being shown October 2 prior to the free outdoor presentation of Todd Haynes’s new documentary, The Velvet Underground, in Damrosch Park, which will be followed by a Q&A with Lachman and Haynes. Lachman and Haynes will also be part of a Q&A with producers Christine Vachon and Julie Goldman and editors Affonso Gonçalves and Adam Kurnitz at the September 30 screening of The Velvet Underground at Alice Tully Hall; Cale was supposed to attend but has had to cancel.

Todd Haynes documents the history of the Velvet Underground in new film

THE VELVET UNDERGROUND (Todd Haynes, 2021)
Thursday, September 30, Alice Tully Hall, 6:00
Saturday, October 2, Damrosch Park, 7:00
Film Comment Live: The Velvet Underground & the New York Avant-Garde, Sunday, October 3, Damrosch Park, free, 4:00
www.filmlinc.org

Much of Haynes’s documentary, which will have its theatrical premiere October 14–21 at the Walter Reade (and streaming on Apple+ beginning October 15), focuses on Warhol’s position in helping develop and promote the Velvets. “Andy was extraordinary, and I honestly don’t think these things could have occurred without Andy,” Reed, who died in 2013, says. “I don’t know if we would have gotten the contract if he hadn’t said he’d do the cover or if Nico wasn’t so beautiful.”

Haynes details the history of the group by delving into Cale and Reed’s initial meeting, the formation of the Primitives with conceptual artists Tony Conrad and Walter DeMaria, and the transformation into the seminal VU lineup at the Factory under Warhol’s guidance — singer-songwriter-guitarist Reed, Welsh experimental composer and multi-instrumentalist Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, drummer Maureen Tucker, and German vocalist Nico.

Haynes and editors Gonçalves and Kurnitz pace the film like VU’s songs and overall career, as they cut between new and old interviews and dazzling archival photographs and video, frantic and chaotic at first, then slowing down as things change drastically for the band They employ split screens, usually two but up to twelve boxes at a time, to deluge the viewer with a barrage of sound and image. Among the talking heads in the film are composer and Dream Syndicate founder La Monte Young, actress and film critic Amy Taubin, actress and author Mary Woronov, Reed’s sister Merrill Reed-Weiner, early Reed bandmates and school friends Allan Hyman and Richard Mishkin, filmmaker and author John Waters, manager and publicist Danny Fields, composer and philosopher Henry Flynt, and avant-garde filmmaker and poet Jonas Mekas. “We are not part really of the subculture or counterculture. We are the culture!” Mekas, who passed away in 2019 at the age of ninety-six, declares.

Haynes, who has made such previous music-related films as Velvet Goldmine, set in the 1970s glam-rock era, and I’m Not There, a fictionalized musical inspired by the life and career of Bob Dylan, also speaks extensively with Cale and Tucker, who hold nothing back, in addition to Sterling Morrison’s widow, Martha Morrison; singer-songwriter Jackson Browne, who opened up for the Velvets; and big-time fan Jonathan Richman (of Modern Lovers fame). While everyone shares their thoughts about Warhol, the Factory, the Exploding Plastic Inevitable shows, and the eventual dissolution of the band, Haynes bombards us with clips from Warhol’s Sleep, Kiss, Empire, and Screen Tests (many opposite the people who appear in the film) as well as works by such artists as Maya Deren, Jack Smith, Kenneth Anger, Barbara Rubin, Tony Oursler, Stan Brakhage, and Mekas and paintings by Warhol, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, and Mark Rothko. It’s a dizzying array that aligns with such VU classics as “I’ll Be Your Mirror,” “I’m Waiting for the Man,” “Heroin,” “White Light / White Heat,” “Sister Ray,” “Pale Blue Eyes,” and “Sweet Jane.”

Several speakers disparage the Flower Power era, Bill Graham, and Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, with Tucker admitting, “This love-peace crap, we hated that. Get real.” They’re also honest about the group’s own success, or lack thereof. Tucker remembers at their first shows, “We used to joke around and say, ‘Well, how many people left?’ ‘About half.’ ‘Oh, we must have been good tonight.’” And there is no love lost for Reed, who was not the warmest and most considerate of colleagues.

The Velvets continue to have a remarkable influence on music and art today despite having recorded only two albums with Cale (The Velvet Underground and Nico and White Light / White Heat) and two with Doug Yule replacing Cale (The Velvet Underground and Loaded) in a span of only three years. Haynes (Far from Heaven, Safe) sucks us right into their extraordinary world and keeps us swirling in it for two glorious hours of music, gossip, art, celebrity, and backstabbing. If you end up watching the film at home, turn it up loud. No, louder than that. Even louder. . . .

NYFF59: FREE TALKS

Apichatpong Weerasethakul will discuss his new film, Memoria,) at NYFF59 free talk

NYFF59 FREE TALKS
Film at Lincoln Center
Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center Amphitheater
144 West Sixty-Fifth Street between Broadway & Amsterdam Ave.
September 25 – October 9, free (first come, first serve one hour before program)
www.filmlinc.org

The New York Film Festival, which opens today, has just announced its slate of free talks, taking place September 25 to October 9 at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center Amphitheater (with one exception). Admission is first come, first served starting an hour before each event; the talks will also be recorded for later on-demand viewing on YouTube. The highlight is the inaugural Amos Vogel Lecture, honoring the centennial of the birth of the cofounder of the festival, who is also the subject of a centenary retrospective. The lecture will be given by Albert Serra, the director of previous NYFF selections The Death of Louis XIV and Liberté and who wrote the foreword for the French edition of Vogel’s seminal book, Film as a Subversive Art.

The rest of the panel discussions, in-depth conversations, and filmmaker dialogues are divided into “Deep Focus,” “Crosscuts,” and “Film Comment Live,” with such participants as Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog), Sofia Coppola, Mia Hansen-Løve (Bergman Island), Joachim Trier (The Worst Person in the World), Todd Haynes (The Velvet Underground), Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Memoria, Night Colonies), Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (Drive My Car, Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy), and Amy Taubin. The discussion about the thirtieth anniversary of Mississippi Masala with director Mira Nair, star Sarita Choudhury, and cinematographer Ed Lachman, moderated by Jhumpa Lahiri, follows the free screening of the film in Damrosch Park, for ticket holders only. Below is the full schedule.

Jane Campion will delve into her NYFF59 centerpiece selection, The Power of the Dog, with Sofia Coppola

Saturday, September 25
Deep Focus: The Making of Mississippi Masala, with Mira Nair, Sarita Choudhury, and Ed Lachman, moderated by Jhumpa Lahiri, Damrosch Park, 9:30

Sunday, September 26
Roundtable: Cinema’s Workers, with Abby Sun, Ted Fendt, Kazembe Balagun, and Dana Kopel, moderated by Gina Telaroli, Amphitheater, 7:00

Monday, September 27
Crosscuts: Mia Hansen-Løve & Joachim Trier, Amphitheater, 7:00

Saturday, October 2
Deep Focus: Jane Campion, moderated by Sofia Coppola, Amphitheater, 4:00

Crosscuts: Silvan Zürcher & Alexandre Koberidze, Amphitheater, 7:00

Sunday, October 3
Film Comment Live: The Velvet Underground & the New York Avant-Garde, with Todd Haynes, Ed Lachman, and Amy Taubin, Amphitheater, 4:00

Deep Focus: Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Amphitheater, 7:00

Tuesday, October 5
Deep Focus: Maggie Gyllenhaal & Kira Kovalenko, Amphitheater, 7:00

Thursday, October 7
Deep Focus: Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Amphitheater, 6:30

Saturday, October 9
Film Comment Live: Festival Report, with Devika Girish, Clinton Krute, Molly Haskell, Bilge Ebiri, and Phoebe Chen, Amphitheater, 7:00

NYFF59 MAIN SLATE: BAD LUCK BANGING OR LOONY PORN

Emi (Katia Pascariu) goes on a strange journey in Rade Jude’s Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn

BAD LUCK BANGING OR LOONY PORN: A SKETCH FOR A POSSIBLE FILM (BABARDEALA CU BUCLUC SAU PORNO BALAMUC) (Radu Jude, 2021)
New York Film Festival, Lincoln Center
Saturday, September 25, Alice Tully Hall, with virtual Q&A, 9:00
Sunday, September 26, Francesca Beale Theater, 8:00
www.filmlinc.org

Radu Jude’s brilliantly absurdist Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn lives up to its title, a wildly satiric takedown of social mores that redefines what is obscene. Winner of the Golden Bear for Best Film at the 2021 Berlinale, the multipart tale begins with an extremely graphic prologue, a XXX-rated homemade porn video with a woman and an unseen man holding nothing back. In the first main section, the woman, a successful teacher named Emi (Katia Pascariu), is distressed to learn that the video is threatening to go viral. She determinedly walks through the streets of Bucharest, buying flowers (which she holds upside down), discussing her dilemma with her boss, the headmistress (Claudia Ieremia), and calling her husband, Eugen, trying to get the video deleted before her meeting with angry parents at the prestigious private school where she teaches young children.

Jude and cinematographer Marius Panduru follow the masked Emi — the film was shot during the pandemic, so masks are everywhere — on her journey, the camera often lingering on the scene well after Emi has left the frame, focusing on advertising billboards, couples in the middle of conversations, people waiting for a bus, and other random actions, before finding Emi again. She sometimes fades into the background, barely seen through the windows of a passing vehicle or amid a crowd crossing at a light. She gets into an argument with a man who has parked on the sidewalk, blocking her way; she insists that he move the car, but he unleashes a stream of misogynistic curses. Swear words are prevalent throughout the film, mostly adding poignant humor.

The second segment consists of a montage of archival and new footage that details some of Romania’s recent history, involving the military, the government, religion, fascism, Nazi collaboration, patriotism, the two world wars, the 1989 revolution, Nicolae Ceaușescu, domestic violence, jokes about blondes, and the value of cinema itself. The bevy of images also points out which NSFW word is most commonly looked up in the dictionary, as well as which is second. (The film is splendidly edited by Cătălin Cristuțiu, with a fab soundtrack by Jura Ferina and Pavao Miholjević.)

It all comes together in the third section, in the school garden, where Emi faces a few dozen masked, socially distanced, very angry parents and grandparents who want her fired immediately, while the headmistress demands a calm discussion. The masked Emi is a stand-in for all of us, facing the wrath of the unruly mob forcing its sanctimonious platitudes on others when it really needs to look at itself. It’s a riotously funny sitcomlike debate in which Jude roasts many common, hypocritical beliefs held by Romanians (and people all over the world) that have not necessarily changed much from the news clips shown in the previous part.

The cartoonish cast, which includes Olimpia Mălai as Mrs. Lucia, Nicodim Ungureanu as Lt. Gheorghescu, Alexandru Potocean as Marius Buzdrugovici, and Andi Vasluianu as Mr. Otopeanu, really gets to strut its stuff while making sure their masks are properly covering their mouths and noses. They argue about beloved national poet Mihai Eminescu and Russian writer Isaac Babel, delve into various sexual positions, repeat Woody the Woodpecker’s trademark call, and quote long, intellectual passages from the internet as Jude (I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians, Aferim!) reveals where society’s true obscenities lie. It’s an irreverent tour de force that offers three distinct endings to put a capper on the strangely alluring affair, turning a scary mirror on the sorry state of twenty-first-century existence.

Playfully subtitled A Sketch for a Possible Film in a reference to André Malraux’s description of Eugène Delacroix’s belief that his sketches could be of the same quality as his paintings, Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn is making its US premiere September 25 and 26 at the New York Film Festival; the first screening will be followed by a virtual Q&A. The film opens in theaters November 19.