PRESS RELEASE The Film Society of Lincoln Center and The Museum of Modern Art Announce Seven Official Selections for the 41 st edition of New Directors/New Films New York, NY, January 19, 2012 The Film Society of Lincoln Center and The Museum of Modern Art today announced seven official selections for the 2012 New Directors/New Films Festival (March 21 April 1). Dedicated to the discovery of new works by emerging and dynamic filmmaking talent, the 2012 edition marks the film festival s 41st year. Representing seven countries from around the world, the initial seven selections are Karl Markovics BREATHING (Austria), Anca Damian s CRULIC: THE PATH TO BEYOND (Romania), Julia Murat s FOUND MEMORIES (Brazil), Pablo Giorgelli s LAS ACACIAS (Argentina), Joachim Trier s OSLO 31, AUGUST 31ST (Norway/France), Alejandro Landes s PORFIRIO (Colombia), and Angelina Nikonova s TWILIGHT PORTRAIT (Russia). Murat s FOUND MEMORIES was named Best Film in the New Horizons category at the Abu Dhabi International Film Festival and received a Special Mention at the San Sebastian International Film Festival, while Giorgelli s LAS ACACIAS was the winner of the Camera d Or and a favorite of the 2011 Cannes Critics Week. The film has been described as a genre-straddling gem by The Guardian. Directing debuts include veteran Austrian actor Markovics s BREATHING and Nikonova s TWILIGHT PORTRAIT, winner of the Golden Alexander Best Film Award at the Thessaloniki Film Festival, which she co-produced and co-wrote with the film s lead actress Olga Dihovichnaya. Joachim Trier s OSLO, AUGUST 31 ST, which premieres at the Sundance Film Festival this week, marks the filmmaker s return to New Directors/New Films, where he premiered his debut feature REPRISE in 2007. Additional sophomore efforts are Damian s animated documentary CRULIC: THE PATH TO BEYOND - her second film following festival favorite CROSSING DATES (2008), and Landes s PORFIRIO, another film that wildly expands the documentary form. The film won the Golden Peacock Best Film Award at the International Film Festival of India. Landes s first feature, COCALERO (2007) enjoyed a successful debut at Sundance.
For more than four decades, New Directors/New Films has been a beacon for emerging directors eager to make their mark on the film scene, and the festival has introduced or cemented the status of some of the most familiar and critically acclaimed directors (Chantal Akerman, Pedro Almodóvar, Darren Aronofsky, Ken Burns, Agnieszka Holland, Wong Kar Wai, Spike Lee, Christopher Nolan and Steven Spielberg, among them). "A testament to the vitality of international auteurist cinema, our initial titles set a high bar for emerging directors this year. As in past years, the New Directors class of 2012 promises to generate talent that will rank notably amongst the most innovative and influential in the field, said Rajendra Roy, The Celeste Bartos Chief Curator, Department of Film, The Museum of Modern Art. (HOLDING) Film Society of Lincoln Center Program Director Richard Pena added, "While New Directors/New Films continues to be dedicated to emerging talents, the filmmakers of these films exhibit accomplished storytelling as well as adventurous approaches to these often daring works." The seven official selections include: BREATHING (Atmen) (2011) 90min Director: Karl Markovics Country: Austria The remarkably assured directorial debut from veteran Austrian actor Karl Markovics (THE COUNTERFEITERS) creates a slipstream between the perilousness of youth and the inevitability of death. Roman (Thomas Schubert) is an inmate at a juvenile detention center whose last hope of parole rests on his ability to hold down a job as a morgue assistant. Remorse, horror and ultimately a glimmer of illumination are cultivated through his work and his attempts to connect with a life hanging in the balance. BREATHING is a Kino Lorber release. CRULIC: THE PATH TO BEYOND (2011) 73min Director: Anca Damian Country: Romania When Claudiu Crulic, a young Romanian in Poland, is arrested for a crime he didn t commit, he becomes a pawn in a Kafkaesque miscarriage of justice and goes on a hunger strike to protest his treatment in jail. Filmmaker Anca Damian s documentary is by turns chilling and heartbreaking, but also ironic, with a bit of black humor thrown in for good measure. What makes her extraordinary documentary even more compelling is its strong visual style: Damian uses hand drawn, cutout and collage animation techniques to create a strikingly memorable film. FOUND MEMORIES (Historias Que So Existem Quando Lembradas) (2011) 98min
Director: Julia Murat Country: Brazil/Argentina/France The original title, which translates as "stories that only exist when remembered," beautifully expresses the theme and core sentiment of Julia Murat's film. FOUND MEMORIES is a poetic rendering of the fictive town of Jotuomba. A magical confluence of generations and cultures is occasioned by the visit of Julia, a young photographer, to this place where time has seemingly stood still and life is rooted in the fixed roles of tradition soon to be rendered obsolete. FOUND MEMORIES is a Film Movement release. LAS ACACIAS (2011) 85min Director: Pablo Giorgelli Country: Argentina/Spain A road movie with a difference, LAS ACACIAS takes a 900-mile trip from Asunción, Paraguay to Buenos Aires, with a gruff, taciturn truck driver and the two illegal immigrants a young woman, and her newborn daughter he is reluctantly transporting. Largely confined to the cramped confines of the truck s cab, Giorgelli s camera observes the miles passing, and the quiet, subtly evolving interaction of the trio, while borders are crossed (in more than one sense) and the driver gradually lowers his defenses and finds himself becoming unexpectedly attached to his passengers. OSLO, AUGUST 31ST (2011) 96min Director: Joachim Trier Country: Norway Daylight lingers at the end of August in Oslo, but sunlight is not a friend to Anders, a semi-recovered addict, facing a new life which may not be appealing without former habits. Joachim Trier's first feature, REPRISE, was a critical highlight of New Directors/New Films 2007, and while that antic fiction was about friendship and hope, his second is quite different, bearing traces of Robert Bresson. Adapted from the same novel as Louis Malle's THE FIRE WITHIN (1963), this subtle and haunting film follows Anders, as he tries to adjust - making love, wandering through Oslo, having a job interview, seeing old friends, and trying to get comfortable with his situation. OSLO, AUGUST 31 ST is a Strand Releasing film. PORFIRIO (2011) 101min Director: Alejandro Landes Country: Colombia Paralyzed from the waist down by a stray police bullet, the title character in Alejandro Landes' remarkable film spends his days selling minutes on his cell phone when not flirting with his comely neighbor, and secretly plotting his revenge. Landes worked on the film for five years, creating a tale that joined the most intimate details of Porfirio's day-to-day life with an astonishing re-creation of his attempt to hijack an airplane.
TWILIGHT PORTRAIT (2011) 105min Director: Angelina Nikonova Country: Russia TWILIGHT PORTRAIT is a powerhouse collaboration between Angelina Nikonova and Olga Dihovichnaya who, between them, directed, wrote, produced and stars in this very dark, provocative and constantly surprising debut feature film. In a modern Russian city where corruption, apathy and class warfare are the norm, a woman is raped, rather casually by the police. What follows explodes the conventions of sexual politics and will certainly have film-goers talking. This staggering film features great performances and an unvarnished view of life in the age of Putin. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Sunday, March 11, 2012. New Directors/New Films tickets can be purchased online at newdirectors.org, or at the box offices at The Film Society of Lincoln Center (Walter Reade Theater, 165 W. 65th Street, near Amsterdam Avenue) and The Museum of Modern Art (11 W. 53rd Street). There are two advance ticketing opportunities: Film Society and MoMA Members may purchase tickets starting Sunday, March 4. To become a Member of the Film Society or MoMA please visit: filmlinc.com and MoMA.org, respectively. About New Directors/New Films Dedicated to the discovery and support of emerging artists, New Directors/New Films has earned an international reputation as the premier festival for works that break or re-cast the cinematic mold. The New Directors/New Films selection committee is made up of members from both presenting organizations: from The Film Society of Lincoln Center, Marian Masone, Richard Peña, and Gavin Smith; and from The Museum of Modern Art, Jytte Jensen, Laurence Kardish, and Rajendra Roy. About The Film Society of Lincoln Center and The Museum of Modern Art Under the leadership of Rose Kuo, Executive Director, and Richard Peña, Program Director, The Film Society of Lincoln Center offers the best in international, classic, and cutting-edge independent cinema. The Film Society presents two film festivals that attract global attention: the New York Film Festival, now in its 50th year, and New Directors/New Films, which, since its founding in 1972, has been produced in collaboration with MoMA. The Film Society also publishes the award-winning Film Comment Magazine, and for over three decades has given an annual award now named The Chaplin Award to a major figure in world cinema. Past recipients of this award include Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Scorsese, Meryl Streep, and Tom Hanks. For more information, visit www.filmlinc.com. The Museum of Modern Art s Department of Film was established as the Film Library in 1935, and presented its first series as circulating exhibitions in 1936. The Film Department organizes over 50 film exhibitions every year, including annual programs such as Premiere Brazil, To Save and Project and The Contenders. The Department also organizes exhibitions in MoMA s
galleries, including Tim Burton (2009-10) and Pixar: 20 Years of Animation (2005 06). The department also has an extensive archive of over 27,000 film and video works, including the world s largest institutional collections of the works of D. W. Griffith, Andy Warhol, and Stan Brakhage. Rajendra Roy is the current Celeste Bartos Chief Curator of Film, appointed in May 2007. Sponsorship New Directors/New Films is presented by The Museum of Modern Art and The Film Society of Lincoln Center and is supported by Kenneth Kuchin, The Junior Associates of The Museum of Modern Art, the New Wave Young Patrons of the Film Society of Lincoln Center, The New York Times and American Airlines. The Film Society of Lincoln Center receives major, year-round support from: 42BELOW; American Airlines; GRAFF; Stella Artois; The New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency; and the National Endowment for the Arts. MEDIA CONTACTS: Film Society of Lincoln Center John Wildman, jwildman@filmlinc.com, 212/875-5419 David Ninh, dninh@filmlinc.com, 212/875-5423 The Museum of Modern Art Sarah Jarvis, sarah_jarvis@moma.org, 212/708-9757 ONLINE PRESS OFFICE: Press materials including high-res images and press releases are available for download at: www.filmlinc.com/press (Password: press2) and MoMA.org/press.