Narrative Feature | 107 minutes
2021 | English/French | USA
CLOSING NIGHT FILM
Wes Anderson’s (THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL) latest escape into color palettes and quirk revels in the 1920s expatriate life in France while turning an eye to the world of journalism with his signature impeccable style and flair. Bringing to life the stories published within the expatriates’ magazine is a star-studded cast, including Frances McDormand, Willem Dafoe, Timothée Chalamet, Tilda Swinton, Saoirse Ronan, Bob Balaban, Owen Wilson and long time Anderson collaborator Bill Murray. A magnificent world rigorously analyzed and perfected to its core, THE FRENCH DISPATCH will be celebrated by diehard fans and first time viewers alike.
WORLD PREMIERE
Documentary Feature | 93 minutes
2021 | English | USA
OPENING NIGHT FILM
With exclusive access to one of New York’s hardest-hit hospital systems, Oscar®-nominated and Emmy® Award-winning director Matthew Heineman (CARTEL LAND) spotlights the everyday heroes at the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic as they come together to fight one of the greatest threats the world has ever encountered. Leaving a devastating trail of death and despair, this once-in-a-century pandemic changed the very fabric of daily life and exposed long-standing inequities in our society. The “first wave” of COVID-19 ravaged New York from March through June 2020. Employing his signature approach of character-driven cinema vérité, Heineman documents those harrowing first four months, embedding with a group of doctors, nurses and patients on the frontlines as they all navigated the crisis. With each distinct storyline serving as a microcosm through which we can view the emotional and societal impacts of the pandemic, THE FIRST WAVE is a testament to the strength of the human spirit.
EAST COAST PREMIERE
Narrative Feature | 124 minutes
2021 | English | UK/Italy/Canada/USA
A man ahead of his time, Cyrano de Bergerac (a delightful Peter Dinklage) dazzles, whether with ferocious wordplay at a verbal joust or with brilliant swordplay in a duel. But, convinced that his appearance renders him unworthy of the love of a devoted friend, the luminous Roxanne (Haley Bennett), Cyrano has yet to declare his feelings for her — and Roxanne has fallen in love, at first sight, with Christian (Kelvin Harrison, Jr.). Award-winning director Joe Wright (DARKEST HOUR, ATONEMENT) crafts an exuberant and enchanting re-imagining of the timeless tale of love and heartbreak.
Narrative Feature | 108 minutes
2021 | English | USA
Writer-director Mike Mills (BEGINNERS, 20TH CENTURY WOMEN) returns to the festival with the story of Johnny (Joaquin Phoenix), a well respected radio journalist who finds his life turned upside-down when unexpected circumstances lead his semi-estranged sister Viv (Gaby Hoffmann) to leave her nine-year-old son Jesse (Woody Norman, in a breakout performance) in his care. Suddenly thrust into each other’s company, the two forge a tenuous but transformational relationship that takes them on a journey from Los Angeles to New York to New Orleans. With striking black-and-white cinematography and soulful performances from its knockout cast, C’MON C’MON is a delicate and deeply moving story about the tender connections between adults and children, the past and the future.
Documentary Feature | 100 minutes
2021 | English | USA
Douglas Tirola’s thrilling documentary portrait of famed composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein expertly tells the story of an immigrant son who became a phenom as the visionary and exuberant conductor of the New York Philharmonic, and, then for decades, the face of classical music for the nation. Bernstein joyfully responded to the clamor of his times, matching his passion for music with an unyielding commitment to political engagement while, as Tirola reveals, wrestling with what he called “the demons” of his hidden sexuality. We see Bernstein as a tireless participant in the anti-war and civil rights movements and a factor in the de-escalation of tensions between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. Incredibly, Tirola uses Bernstein’s own voice almost exclusively to turn the maestro’s life story into a call to action for artists and the people who believe in the arts to create change in our society today, with the goal of bringing freedom and respect to all people.
NEW YORK PREMIERE
Documentary Feature | 93 minutes
2021 | English/French | USA
For over four decades Jacques-Yves Cousteau and his explorations under the ocean became synonymous with a love of science and the natural world. As he learned to protect the environment, he brought the whole world with him—sounding alarms more than 50 years ago about the warming seas and our planet’s vulnerability. Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Liz Garbus (WHAT HAPPENED, MISS SIMONE?) takes an inside look at Cousteau and his life, his iconic films and inventions, and the experiences that made him the 20th century’s most unique and renowned environmental voice—and the man who inspired generations to protect the Earth.
WORLD PREMIERE
Documentary Feature | 95 minutes
2021 | English | USA
Against the backdrop of a culture in crisis, documentary filmmaker and curator Kelcey Edwards follows a diverse cast of young artists at defining moments in their careers, and explores whether the systems intended to nurture these up-and-coming creative talents are ultimately failing them instead. Simultaneously a powerful condemnation of the American art world and a love letter to those who strive to continue on in spite of extraordinary adversity, THE ART OF MAKING IT asks the question: are we at risk of losing a new generation of creative voices, or are we maybe on the verge of making art accessible to all?
HIFF 2019 will honor legendary director Brian De Palma with a Lifetime Achievement Award, along with a special screening of his iconic film BLOW OUT (1981) on October 12.
Equally regarded as a leading member of the New Hollywood movement, the Master of the Macabre, and the heir-apparent to Hitchcock’s legacy as an unparalleled auteur of suspense filmmaking, Brian De Palma has held a singular role in American filmmaking for almost a half-century. After getting his start in the late sixties with a series of irreverent New Wave-esque satires, De Palma gained his first mainstream recognition with a run of landmark cult favorite thrillers throughout the seventies (including SISTERS and PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE), culminating in the release of his first major mainstream success: 1976’s CARRIE.
Capitalizing on that film’s box-office momentum, De Palma quickly proved himself to be a master technician of genre filmmaking imbued with a trademark audacity, mixing huge outbursts of violence with a keenly aware sense of humor and provocation. Whether working within the world of SCARFACE’s 80s cocaine-fueled hysteria, BLOW OUT’s uneasy conspiracy thriller, THE UNTOUCHABLES’ prohibition-set gangster epic, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE’s brash throwback escapism, or CASUALTIES OF WAR’s stark examination of war crimes at the hands of American soldiers in Vietnam, the director created a slew of classics that still stand as watershed moments of their respective genres. Now entering his sixth decade in filmmaking, De Palma has continued to build on a body of work as much defined by its mastery of craft as by its restlessness, never content to settle on what’s come before and always keen to push himself, and his audience, out of their comfort zone.
The A Conversation With… series is a HIFF tradition, presenting one-on-one interviews with legendary personalities. Past conversations include Steven Spielberg, Vanessa Redgrave, Robert Altman, Susan Sarandon, Richard Gere, Michael Moore, Edward Norton, Holly Hunter, Emily Blunt, Martin Scorsese, Annette Bening, Rob Reiner, and many more.
2019 | feature narrative | 113 min
2019 | English | USA
In the wake of a botched execution under her watch, prison warden Bernadine Williams (Alfre Woodard) finds herself questioning her position, her home life, and the ethical consequences of the work she oversees. The arrival of the newest death row inmate, Anthony Woods (Aldis Hodge, HIFF 2019 Breakthrough Artist), along with the lawyer, relatives, and protestors fighting for his release, further complicates the increasingly undeniable truth—that under her professional, strong-willed demeanor, she is quickly approaching a breaking point. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, writer-director Chinonye Chukwu’s CLEMENCY is a thought-provoking look at the psychological effects of capital punishment, anchored by Woodard’s career-best performance at its center.
2019 | feature narrative | 95 min
WORLD PREMIERE
2019 | English | USA
Once a promising painter herself, Claire (Lena Olin) gave up on her own career to stand by the side of her famed abstract artist husband Richard (Bruce Dern) for over 20 years. When Richard is unexpectedly diagnosed with dementia during preparations for his latest exhibition, Claire is thrown into a crisis—suddenly torn between her husband’s erratic mood swings and the need to shield his illness from both the art community and their family. Struggling to regain control of her life, Claire takes up painting once again, and must decide whether to stay in the shadows or step into the spotlight.
• This film is also part of the Views From Long Island section
