By Carol Tannenhauser
After an unusual — and unusually successful — 58th season of virtual and drive-in screenings, the 59th New York Film Festival (59NYFF) will return to its home ground on September 24th, “with a combination of in-person, outdoor, and virtual screenings, and a comprehensive series of health and safety policies in place,” Film at Lincoln Center (FLC), the nonprofit film society that runs the festival, announced in the spring.
Now, they have revealed that the film in the coveted opening spot will be Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth, with “a strikingly inward Denzel Washington” as the man who would be king, and an “effortlessly Machiavellian Frances McDormand” as his Lady.
Joel Coen's boldly inventive THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH, starring Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand, will have its World Premiere as the Opening Night selection at #NYFF59 on September 24! https://t.co/SGHWIq15lv pic.twitter.com/VA2501I3TB
— New York Film Festival (@TheNYFF) July 22, 2021
“We can’t wait to welcome New York Film Festival audiences back to Lincoln Center this fall, and what a way to do that!” said Eugene Hernandez, Director of 59NYFF. “With Joel Coen, Frances McDormand, Denzel Washington, and our friends at Apple and A24 on Opening Night at Alice Tully Hall, we’re setting the stage for a momentous return to our roots. Last year was a deeply meaningful edition of NYFF; our Festival traveled to Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and around the country via our Virtual Cinema. This year we’re back in our Upper West Side home, but you’ll also find us exploring new venues and ways to connect with moviegoers in person, outdoors, and online—stay tuned!”
Tickets for 59NYFF screenings and rentals will go on sale to the general public on September 7th at noon ET, with early access opportunities for FLC members and pass holders prior to this date. Festival passes, offering special access and early-bird savings through July 30th, are on sale now.
For more information about the 59th New York Film Festival, click here.
*BREAKING* According to Playlist, “Film at Lincoln Center just announced Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog as the Centerpiece selection for the 59th New York Film Festival, making its New York premiere at Alice Tully Hall on October 1st.” The NYFF called The Power of the Dog, ”[a] mesmerizing, psychologically rich variation on the American western.”
With the mask mandates and probable lockdowns there will be no in person attendance at Lincoln Center.
That depends on how we react to the current flareup. If we do it right (get vaccinated asap, take precautions now) we’ll be ok.
However, from the tone of your comment?
I doubt you’ll be part of the solution.
I got my shots in March and April. My tone is that I am being realistic. Prepare for what could happen.
I’m still with the social distancing, cherish my vaccines, be fit, wear a mask. I’m contemplating the double mask, like prior to my vaccines. In Massachusetts so many of the vaccinated are testing positive for covid. I’m eschewing vaccine laxity.
A rigorous protocol might protect me, not the vaccine alone.
The NYFF returning to home? I could cry.
What if the Metro Theatre were an art film house. It’s still sitting here, idle but lovely as ever. Dreams of possibility abound. Mine contains a theater with stage (art film, drama including one-act plays, varied recitals, outside of which a small ‘multiplex’ art and photography gallery, maybe a small bar – liquor licenses bring in money and a coffee bar – bagels, coffee & tea, fruit.
See you at Linc in September!
How exciting!