With the Venice and Toronto International Film Festivals having unveiled their line-ups, and Telluride always keeping theirs under wraps until Labor Day, it’s time for the New York Film Festival to flex and show off their wares. And that’s exactly what they are doing. Last night, the festival announced Laura Poitras’ new documentary “All The Beauty And The Bloodshed” as the Centerpiece selection for the 60th New York Film Festival at Alice Tully Hall on October 7, and today Film at Lincoln Center announced James Gray’s “Armageddon Time” as a Main Slate selection of the festival, playing at Alice Tully Hall on October 12.
The “Armageddon Time” premiere has been designated a special 60th-anniversary screening event celebrating the history of the festival, featuring Gray and the cast in attendance, along with NYFF filmmakers and supporters who have been integral to the festival’s success.
Set against the backdrop of a country on the cusp of ominous sociopolitical change, “Armageddon Time” follows Paul Graff (Banks Repeta), a sixth grader who dreams of becoming an artist (read our review from Cannes). At the same time that Paul builds a friendship with classmate Johnny (Jaylin Webb), who’s mercilessly targeted by their racist teacher, he finds himself increasingly at odds with his parents (Jeremy Strong and Anne Hathaway), for whom financial success and assimilation are key to the family’s Jewish-American identity. Paul feels on the firmest ground with his kind grandfather (a marvelous Anthony Hopkins), whose life experiences have granted him weathered compassion. Rejecting easy nostalgia for a more difficult, painful form of recall, Gray’s film—shot with intimate naturalism by Darius Khondji—has made a perceptive and humane coming of age story that does what only cinema can do, elevating the smallest moments into the greatest drama. A Focus Features release, “Armageddon Time,” is set for an October 28 release.
“I am truly honored to have my film Armageddon Time chosen as the 60th Anniversary screening at NYFF, and to return to this great festival for a third time,” said Gray in a statement. “This is a film that’s deeply personal—it’s inspired by my childhood growing up in New York City—so I can’t imagine a more fitting place to share it.”
As for Poitras’ film, it centers on photographer and documentary subject Nan Goldin, who will design the 60th New York Film Festival poster, which will be revealed at a later date.
An Academy Award-winning filmmaker, Poitras’ doc weaves two narratives: the fabled life and career of era-defining artist Nan Goldin and the downfall of the Sackler family, the pharmaceutical dynasty Goldin personally took on in her fight to hold accountable those responsible for the deadly opioid epidemic. Following her own personal struggle with opioid addiction, Goldin, who rose from the New York “No Wave” underground to become one of the great photographers of the late 20th century, put herself at the forefront of the battle against the Sacklers, both as an activist at art institutions around the world that had accepted millions from the family and as an advocate for the destigmatization of drug addiction. Illustrated with a rich trove of photographs by Goldin, who mesmerizingly narrates her own story, including her dysfunctional suburban upbringing, the loss of her teenage sister, and her community’s fight against AIDS in the 1980s, Poitras’ film is an enthralling, empowering work that stirringly connects personal tragedy, political awareness, and artistic expression.
“I am thrilled to be part of the New York Film Festival with Nan,” said director Laura Poitras in a statement. “Her art and activism are deeply rooted in this city. It is an honor to return to the festival, and to do this with Nan is so meaningful.”
The New York Film Festival runs September 30 – October 16, 2022. All that’s left to announce is the closing night film, and after that, the full line-up will be unveiled.
