Shall we go to a movie? Actually, many, many movies. Peliculas, filmes, and eiga, too.
The Museum of the Moving Image hosts Directors’ Fortnight: 1969 and Directors’ Fortnight Extended over the next two weeks.
The French Directors’ Guild founded DF (aka Quinzaine des cinéastes) in 1969 to promote new talent and serve as an independent counter to the Cannes Film Festival. In fact, past DFs have introduced such stars as Martin Scorsese, Chantal Akerman, and Sofia Coppola to international audiences.
From Oct. 18 to Oct. 20, MoMI will present five films from the inaugural DF in 1969. Here they are.
Death by Hanging on Oct. 18 at 6:45 pm
In Japanese with English subtitles, this film starts in a death chamber where an execution is about to take place. The condemned man, an ethnic Korean, survives, but loses his memory. The officials who witness botched killing debate how to proceed, as the law could be interpreted as forbidding execution of an individual who does not recognize his crime and its punishment.
Marketa Lazarová on Oct. 19 at 2 pm.
In Polish with English subtitles, this adaptation of a 1931 novel by Vladislav Vančura concerns a 13th century feud between two pagan clans that have fallen under the dominion of Christian German overlords. One clan has converted to Christianity, and its patriarch has pledged his virginal daughter Marketa to a convent. The other brutish and superstitious clan abducts the young woman during a skirmish with its rivals.
Duet for Cannibals on Oct 19 at 5:30 pm
In Swedish with English subtitles, this story is about psychological, sexual, and emotional cannibalism. Artur Bauer is a university professor living in exile in Sweden with his enigmatic wife Francesca. He hires young Tomas to help arrange his papers for publication. After leaving his mistress to live with the couple and take the position, Tomas quickly discovers that things are not quite right with the dysfunctional pair.
Winter Wind on Oct. 20 at 2 pm
In Hungarian with English subtitles, this story deals with the historical and political irony of a 1930s Croatian anarchist leader who is destroyed by his own forces, only later to be resurrected as a hero.
The Virgin’s Bed on Oct. 20 at 4:30 pm
In French with English subtitles, this loose Biblical adaptation uses Jesus as a metaphoric symbol of the late 1960s protest movement or in other words, the “ultimate hippie.”
Then from Oct. 24 to Oct. 27, MoMI will screen six films from the most recent DF in 2024. They are all New York premieres, and they follow.
Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point on Oct. 24 at 7 pm
Director Tyler Taormina will be on hand to watch and discuss his depiction of an eccentric Italian American family’s Christmas Eve get-together. As the night wears on and generational tensions arise, one of the teenagers sneaks out with a friend to claim the wintry Long Island suburb for her own.
Eat the Night on Oct. 25 at 7 pm
In French with English subtitles, this thriller/coming-of-age tale follows Pablo who has grown up playing an online video game with his sister Apolline. The game announces the imminent disappearance of its universe, while Pablo’s relationship with a man called “Night” takes on increasing importance.
East of Noon on Oct. 26 at 3 pm
In Arabic with English subtitles, this folktale is set in an industrial wasteland in the middle of nowhere. Brilliant youngsters find ways to survive a childish tyrant’s autocracy where lottery tickets and sugar cubes are the currency.
The Other Way Around on Oct. 26 at 5:30 pm
In Spanish with English subtitles, this film follows a director and an actor who decide to go their separate ways after 15 years together. They announce their break-up party to friends and family in a bid to convince themselves of the reality of their separation.
Ghost Cat Anzu on Oct. 27 at 3:30 pm
Precocious tween Karin is abandoned by her father in this anime. Living in a rural Japanese temple with her grandfather, she meets Anzu, a giant “ghost cat” and notorious layabout tasked with looking after her. Distrustful of her new guardian, Karin sabotages Anzu’s odd jobs for the townsfolk and befriends the eccentric local forest spirits. In an effort to win Karin over, Anzu accidentally makes a deal with the devil, and all Hell breaks loose.
American Stories: Food, Family and Philosophy on Oct. 27 at 5:30 pm
Director Chantal Akerman explores Jewish-American identity in this multilayered portrait of the immigrant experience. Shot near the Williamsburg Bridge in Brooklyn, the film features a cross-section of Jewish New Yorkers.
General admission is $15.
All the screenings are at MoMI at 36-01 35th Ave. in Astoria’s Kaufman Arts District.
Images: MoMI