47th New York Film Festival Preview

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The annual 17-day New York Film Festival is upon us, opening Sept. 25 and running through Oct. 11, at the newly and beautifully renovated Alice Tully Hall and nearby venues. On display will be 29 films from 17 countries.

“It’s been a great year for many directors who have already achieved acclaim,” said Richard Pena, program director of the New York Film Society and chairman of the Selection Committee for the festival, in a press release. “But the slate includes several exciting new voices ... major new filmmakers that deserve world attention.”

One such new voice is Chinese filmmaker Zhao Dayong, whose documentary “Ghost Town” (“Fei Cheng”) has aroused intense interest. Scheduled to screen on Sept. 27 in its World Premiere, “Ghost Town” deals with a small village tucked away in a rugged corner of Southwest China, whose residents eke out a day-by-day existence. Divided into three parts, the film displays the stories of citizens living on the edge, including a fine young man’s fiancée who might be sold into marriage to help her family with its financial problems.

Noted for its extensive international flavor, the festival features such filmmakers as the legendary French auteur Alain Resnais (“Hiroshima Mon Amour”), whose “Wild Grass” wins the opening night slot in this year’s festival. The tenth Resnais film selected over the years for the New York Film Festival, “Wild Grass,” based on Christian Gailly’s novel “The Incident,” displays some bizarre events that take place after a woman has her purse snatched. Some popular performers, including Sabine Azema, Andre Dussollier, and Mathieu Amalric, play out the comedy.

Already creating terrific buzz is the winner of both the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” by first-time festival entrant, the American Lee Daniels. Daniels unsparingly displays the horrific life of the obese, barely literate 16-year-old Clareece “Precious” Jones. Set in late 1980s Harlem, the film shows the brutally abused Precious using every ounce of her emotional energy to free herself from environmental pressures and turn her life around. Exceptional performances by Mo’Nique, Mariah Carey, and newcomer Gabourey Sidibe in this Centerpiece offering.

For closing night, the ever-popular Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar offers “Broken Embraces,” starring the glamorous Penelope Cruz in this tale of a blind screenwriter whose memories are triggered into a tale veering from comedy to romance to melodrama to film noir, as Almodovar’s perceptive camera moves from Madrid sound stages to the volcanic landscapes of the Canary Islands.

Several film festival alumni offer new features: Marco Bellochio (“Vincere”), Manoel de Oliveira (“Eccentricities of a Blonde”), Todd Solondz (“Life During Wartime”), Claire Denis (“White Material”), Catherine Breillat (“Bluebeard”), and more. Newcomers include Maren Ade (“Everyone Else”), Ilisa Barbash and Lucien Castaing-Taylor (“Sweetgrass”), Sabu (“Kanikosen”), and Bong Joon-Ho (“Mother”), to name a few.

This year the NYFF introduces masterworks, featuring works from India and China, as well as a retrospective showing of “The Wizard of Oz,” in a brand-new high-definition restoration.

Also on tap on are discussions by major directors and views from the Avant-garde.

To purchase tickets by phone: CenterCharge (212)721-6500. For complete program and ticket information, visit FilmLinc.com.

Diana Barth covers film and theater for The Epoch Times and other publications.