#InTheLoop | Watch 38 New Films from 22 Countries during First Look 2023
BY QEDC It's In Queens
Take a multi-stop trip around the world with no plane delays, jet lag or high prices.
The Museum of the Moving Image presents First Look 2023 from Wednesday, March 15, to Sunday, March 19.
Now in its 12th year, this festival introduces audiences to new and innovative international films. The 2023 lineup features 38 works, including 19 features representing more than 22 countries. The pieces include nonfiction, fiction, features, shorts, and non-traditional genres. For some screenings, the director will be on hand.
General admission is $15, but tickets for opening and closing nights are $20. An all-festival pass costs $120, while a weekend pass is $60.
First Look 2023 opens and closes with acclaimed films from Sundance: Babak Jalali’s Fremont and C.J. Obasi’s Mami Wata. New works from established filmmakers include the U.S. premiere of Koji Fukada’s Love Life, the New York premiere of Felix van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch’s The Eight Mountains, and the North American premiere of The Sparrow Dream by Robert Beavers.
“The guiding ethos of First Look is discovery, aiming to introduce audiences to new films, filmmakers to new audiences, and everyone to different methods, perspectives, interrogations, and encounters,” stated MoMI Curator of Film Eric Hynes. “For these five consecutive days First Look takes over our two theaters as well as other rooms and galleries throughout the Museum. Artists appearing with their work, watching one another’s work, and continuing a dialogue throughout the festival is integral to what we’ve envisioned.”
Details on some of the films in the 2023 program follow.
Fremont (Opening Night, U.S., 2023, 91 minutes). Lying alone in her small apartment, Donya can’t sleep. Her colleague at a San Francisco fortune cookie factory thinks the Afghan refugee is lonely, while her pro bono psychiatrist offers explanations like Donya’s past work as a translator for the U.S. government. Meanwhile at her Fremont housing complex, where many fellow Afghans live, her insomnia is common.
Away (Opening Night, Director Ruslan Redotov, Hungary/Portugal/Belgium, 2022, 29 minutes). Andrey and Alisa are 16-year-old refugees in Budapest. They look after children who are preoccupied by what they’ve witnessed and what’s going on back home.
Mami Wata (Closing Night, Nigeria, 2022, 107 minutes). Powerful mermaid goddess Mami Wata likes to swim off the coast of West Africa in this fantastical tale that contrasts traditional beliefs with an invading wave of modernity.
Rodeo (Showcase Screening, NYC premiere, Director Lola Quivoron, France, 2022, 105 minutes). Julia is hot-tempered and independent. The motorcycle lover is also great at scamming condescending men. She hooks up with an ultra-masculine gang, performing cons and running errands for their incarcerated ringleader, while finding a connection with his wife. Thus, a target is on her back.
Jill, Uncredited (Showcase Screening, North American premiere, Director Anthony Ing, England/Canada, 2022, 18 minutes). A prolific background actor takes center stage in this portrait constructed entirely from Jill Goldstein’s fleeting appearances in such films as Mr. Bean and The Elephant Man.
The Taste of Mango (Showcase Screening, Director Chloe Abrahams, New York premiere, England/U.S., 2023, 75 minutes). In candid conversations with her mother, Chloe probes never-discussed material.
Before You Were Here (Showcase Screening, Director Jeff Reichert, world premiere, U.S., 2023, 11 minutes). While on a journey in the Peruvian Amazon, an expectant father asks other men about their first moments of fatherhood.
New Strains (Showcase Screening, Directors Artemis Shaw and Prashanth Kamalakanthan, North American premiere, U.S., 2023, 78 minutes). Millennials Kallia and Ram have just arrived in New York for a romantic getaway, but it’s March 2020 and COVID-19 has other plans. They quickly begin to resemble a pair of screwball comedy heroes.
Click here for the entire schedule.
MoMI is located at 36-01 35th Ave. in Astoria’s Kaufman Arts District.
Images: Courtesy of MoMI