IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK premiered last night at Harlem’s historic Apollo Theater as part of the New York Film Festival

IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK premiered last night at Harlem’s historic Apollo Theater as part of the New York Film Festival

The premiere marked the first time that a film from the New York Film Festival played at the historic Harlem theater. Following a Q&A in the packed theater, the cast made their way to Chef Marcus Samuelsson’s Harlem hotspot Red Rooster to celebrate. 

Attendees from the film included KiKi Layne, Stephan James, Regina King, Colman Domingo, Teyonah Parris, Brian Tyree Henry, Diego Luna, Finn Wittrock, Ed Skrein, Aunjanue Ellis, Emily Rios, Ebony Obsidian, Dominique Thorne

Filmmakers in attendance included Writer/Director/Producer Barry Jenkins, Plan B's Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, PASTEL'S Adele Romanski and Sara Murphy, composer Nicholas Britell, cinematographer James Laxton, costume designer Caroline Eselin-Schaeffer, editors Joi McMillon and Nat Sanders

Notable guests included actor Lakeith Stanfield, actor Michael K. Williams, actress Samira Wiley, actor Josh Radnor, actress Alia Shawkat, actress Adepero Oduye, actor Marcus Scribner, actress Jasmine Cephas Jones, model TK Quann, screenwriter Geoffrey Fletcher, playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, director Bo Burnham

 

Exclusively in NYC on November 30

Expanding on December 7

 

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IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK

Academy Award-winning writer/director Barry Jenkins’ first film since the Best Picture Oscar-winning Moonlight is If Beale Street Could Talk, his adaptation of James Baldwin’s novel — the first English-language feature film based on the work of the author, to whom the movie is dedicated. 

Set in early-1970s Harlem, If Beale Street Could Talk is a timeless and moving love story of both a couple’s unbreakable bond and the African-American family’s empowering embrace, as told through the eyes of 19-year-old Tish Rivers (screen newcomer KiKi Layne). A daughter and wife-to-be, Tish vividly recalls the passion, respect and trust that have connected her and her artist fiancé Alonzo Hunt, who goes by the nickname Fonny (Stephan James). Friends since childhood, the devoted couple dream of a future together but their plans are derailed when Fonny is arrested for a crime he did not commit.

Through the unique intimacy and power of cinema, If Beale Street Could Talk honors the author’s prescient words and imagery, charting the emotional currents navigated in an unforgiving and racially biased world as the filmmaker poetically crosses time frames to show how love and humanity endure.

Director: Barry Jenkins

Writer: Barry Jenkins

Producers: Megan Ellison, Barry Jenkins, Adele Romanski, Sara Murphy, Jeremy Kleiner, Dede Gardner

Cast: KiKi Layne, Stephan James, Regina King, Colman Domingo, Teyonah Parris, Brian Tyree Henry, Michael Beach, Ed Skrein, Diego Luna, Dave Franco, Pedro Pascal

NFF55: Laurence Fishburne, Bryan Cranston & Steve Carrell star in "Last Flag Flying"

In 1998 and I had the pleasure of being in the audience for James Purdy’s play SUN OF THE SLEEPLESS which stared a then, unknown actor whose reputation to surprise—in the early 90’s—was growing exponentially, that was Laurence Fishburne.  The dynamic thespian had not yet reached the iconic status that Fishburne has today, having not given Neo the epic choice in “The Matrix” of choosing between a red pill and a blue pill.

None the less, Fishburne’s commanding presence in Purdy’s play left an indelible mark and there, in a tiny New York theater—so long ago— I can clearly trace where I became a sincere fan of his work.

Fast forward to 2017 and despite my Hollywood hobnobbing and such, I’ve never had an opportunity to shake the storytellers’ massive hand and tell Fishburne, now a actor/producer with ABC’s excellent comedy “Black-ish” , just what his 1998 performance meant to me—until—last week at the NYFF55 opening night party at Tavern on the Green for Academy Award® winner, Richard Linklater's “Last Flag Flying” a drama with comedic overtones about three Vietnam War veterans played by Bryan Cranston, Steve Carell, Laurence Fishburne and newcomer J. Quinton Johnson. 

The invitation to NYFF’s opening night party isn't an automatic with press accreditation. To be frank, it’s a hard invitation to acquire but since covering the festival, for the past five years, what I’ve discovered—hindsight being 20/20—is that this is where I have been introduced to past Oscar® nominees and winners.  Such is the reputation of NYFF. 

Inside NYFF55’s opening night party hosted at Tavern On The Green, Fishburne wore a red suit that on anyone else might seem a bold and hasty fashion choice.  Sitting in a crowded VIP section, he was easy to spot. Jig-jagging with a practiced skill honed by attending hundreds of such events, I made my way to his table long-before the adoring crowd lined up to gush. 

The words tumbled out: “I’ve been a fan since 1989ish," I explained my theater experience and it’s here that I wish my very eyes were cameras, able to instantaneously capture a response.  "As far back as that?" he asked, a twinkle bouncing between his eyes.  "As far back as that," I confirmed.  

We chatted, and it was nice.  Fishburne is a man that loves his work, including his role as an actor/producer on ABC's "Black-ish" and when you insert his proper name, Laurence J. Fishburne III the search engine pulls up his resume, allowing one to step back and appreciate the breadth of his stage work, having won a Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Theatre World, and Tony Awards for his portrayal of Sterling Johnson in August Wilson's TWO TRAINS RUNNING, directed by Lloyd Richards.

He's an Emmy Award nominee and a NAACP Image Award winner and he's been acting since the age of 10. To say that he was born to the profession is rather very simplified.  At age 15, he was cast in Francis Ford Coppola's classic "Apocalypse Now" and he's never stopped becoming what he is now---storyteller Laurence J. Fishburne III.  His legacy continues and in “Last Flag Flying” his measured performance asRev. Richard Mueller aka Mueller the Mauler,  just might earn him a Best Supporting Actor nomination, or so says the Oscar® buzz.

The other conversations around early Oscar® predictions included "Strong Island" by director Yance Ford on Netflix, a documentary about his brother's murder 20 years ago. 

Also in conversation, most film critics and Hollywood insiders who saw Dee Rees "Mudbound" feel strongly that the film will land a nomination, next year.  

Also at the party, Academy Award®winning filmmaker Roger Ross Williams ("Music by Prudence") who is also a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (A.M.P.A.S.) board of governors, representing the Documentary Branch. 

I enjoy watching Williams work a room of distinguished folks, always tight-lipped and ready with a smile. 

Next year's 90th Academy Awards will be held on March 4 but until then the NYFF55 Festival runs until October 15. 

Follow @TheNYFF on Instagram for exclusive photos, festival videos, ticket giveaways, and more. 

https://www.filmlinc.org/nyff2017/

It’s the Best of African and African-American filmmakers and stories at the 2017 New York Film Festival 55 — September 28 to October 15

Seven films with black star power will make their impact on the 2017 New York Film Festival — running from September 28 to October 15, 2017. And that includes an evening with director Ava DuVernay (October 6th) who will choose an artist to join her for a special onstage conversation, which will include wide-ranging discussion about the state of the cinematic arts.  

The overall festival is built around a thoroughly vetted main slate culled from films seen in top global festivals (and meant for theatrical runs) but, this year, has many drawn from the streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon. ell.

This year, the 55th edition of the New York Film Festival will also feature the Convergence section (which runs from September 29 – October 1). In its sixth edition, the highly anticipated annual program delves into the world of immersive storytelling via interactive experiences, and features virtual reality, augmented reality, live labs and demos, and more.  From October 6th-9th, the Projections section screens eight features and eight shorts programs which present an international selection of film and video work that expands upon our notions of what the moving image can do and be

Among the 18 days of the fest, check out these picks of the must-see films at the 2017 NYFF:

“Mudbound" by writer/director Dee Rees

This is a historical epic about a failing economy of Mississippi during the World War II era. Two families, one white (the landlords) and one black (the sharecroppers) work the same miserable piece of farmland. A Netflix release.

“Félicité” directed by Alan Gomis 

A feature made by a French director of Guinea-Bissauan and Senegalese descent. This story is set the Congo where a woman named Félicité (Véro Tshanda Beya Mputu) scrapes together a living as a singer in a makeshift bar (her accompanists are played by members of the Kasai Allstars band).  

“Boom For Real - The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat” directed by Sara Driver 

A look at Jean-Michel Basquiat's life pre-fame, and how New York City, the times, the people and the movements around him formed the artist he became.

“The Rape of Recy Taylor” directed by Nancy Buirksi 

From the Spotlight on Doc section comes this film about Recy Taylor, a 24-year-old black mother, and sharecropper, who was gang-raped by six white boys in 1944 Alabama — something that happened far too often in the Jim Crow South. Recy Taylor bravely identified her rapists.                                               

“Tonsler Park,” directed by Kevin Jerome Everson

On Election Day, 2016 Everson’s 16mm camera quietly observed a community of mostly African-American voters and volunteers at a local polling precinct in Charlottesville, Virginia.

“The Mike Henderson program” (Projections)  

A singular cinematic figure, San Francisco's Mike Henderson became one of the first independent African-American artists to make inroads into experimental filmmaking in the 1960s.

“Did You Wonder Who Fired the Gun?” by director-screenwriter-producer-editor Travis Wilkerson  

Another Spotlight on Doc film, this unique production tries to answer how is it that some people escape the racism and misogyny in which they are raised, and some cling to it as if it were their reason for existence? This film/theater hybrid investigates the creator’s great-grandfather's killing of a black man in 1946.

“Piazza Vittorio” directed by Abel Ferrara

Also in the Spotlight on Doc program, this film illuminates the African musicians and restaurant workers, and others who call Rome’s biggest public square, Piazza Vittorio, (built in the 19th century) home. 

THE FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER UNVEILS THE 54th NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL POSTER, DESIGNED BY FILMMAKER APICHATPONG WEERASETHAKUL

The Film Society of Lincoln Center unveiled today the poster for the 54th New York Film Festival (September 30 – October 16), designed by acclaimed filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul. NYFF posters are looked upon as a yearly artistic “signature” for the film festival, and Weerasethakul joins a stellar lineup of artists whose work has been commissioned for the festival, including Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, David Hockney, Julian Schnabel, Cindy Sherman, and last year’s artist, Laurie Anderson. A link to download the new poster design, alongside the complete list of NYFF poster artists to date, can be found below.

“Apichatpong Weerasethakul is more than just a ‘logical’ choice to do our poster—he’s one of the world’s greatest filmmakers and he works in the visual arts,” said New York Film Festival Director Kent Jones. “I knew that he would send us something extraordinary: a beautifully wrought, self-contained little world. The more you concentrate on the image, the more detail you see, and the further your dream extends. The NYFF has had many great posters designed by a long list of great artists, but this is one of the very best.”

The renowned Thai filmmaker and artist, whose works deal with memory and subtly address personal politics and social issues, has had a fruitful relationship with the New York Film Festival for over a decade. Four of his films have been selected for the official NYFF lineup: Tropical Malady (2004), Syndromes and a Century (2006), the Palme d’Or–winning Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010), and Cemetery of Splendor (2015). In 2002, Apichatpong’s debut narrative feature Blissfully Yours won the Un Certain Regard prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

Along with his features, Apichatpong is known for his short films and art installations. His work has been featured in exhibitions across the globe, including solo shows at the New Museum in New York, the National Museum of Modern Art in Paris, the Irish Museum of Modern Art, the Munich Film Museum, and many more. His art prizes include the Sharjah Biennial Prize (2013), the prestigious Yanghyun Prize (2014) in South Korea, and the Thai Ministry of Culture’s Silpatorn Award (2005).

The poster will be available for purchase at all venues during the New York Film Festival, September 30 – October 16.

The complete list of NYFF poster artists:
Larry Rivers, 1963
Saul Bass, 1964
Bruce Conner, 1965
Roy Lichtenstein, 1966
Andy Warhol, 1967
Henry Pearson, 1968
Marisol (Escobar), 1969
James Rosenquist, 1970
Frank Stella, 1971
Josef Albers, 1972
Niki de Saint Phalle, 1973
Jean Tinguely, 1974
Carol Summers, 1975
Allan D’Arcangelo, 1976
Jim Dine, 1977
Richard Avedon, 1978
Michelangelo Pistoletto, 1979
Les Levine, 1980
David Hockney, 1981
Robert Rauschenberg, 1982   
Jack Youngerman, 1983
Robert Breer, 1984
Tom Wesselmann, 1985
Elinor Bunin, 1986
Sol Lewitt, 1987
Milton Glaser, 1988
Jennifer Bartlett, 1989
Eric Fischl, 1990
Philip Pearlstein, 1991
William Wegman, 1992
Sheila Metzner, 1993
William Copley, 1994
Diane Arbus, 1995
Juan Gatti, 1996
Larry Rivers, 1997
Martin Scorsese, 1998
Ivan Chermayeff, 1999
Tamar Hirschl, 2000
Manny Farber, 2001
Julian Schnabel, 2002
Junichi Taki, 2003
Jeff Bridges, 2004
Maurice Pialat, 2005
Mary Ellen Mark, 2006
agnès b., 2007
Robert Cottingham, 2008
Gregory Crewdson, 2009
John Baldessari, 2010
Lorna Simpson, 2011
Cindy Sherman, 2012
Tacita Dean, 2013
Laurie Simmons, 2014
Laurie Anderson, 2015
 
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