New York City may get all the new releases first, but there’s a lot more to the film culture here than just what’s in the mainstream theaters! Every week we bring you the top 5 cinematic events to check out.
1. A Close-Up on Abbas Kiarostami (Film Society of Lincoln Center)
Is there a director working today better than Iranian legend Abbas Kiarostami? I’d be very hard to name another, especially looking over the titles that will be featured in this career retrospective, held in honor of the upcoming release of Like Someone In Love. The series will feature favorites like Taste of Cherry, Close-Up, and Ten, but also dive into Kiarostami’s early works like The Traveler, The Experience, and First Graders. Perhaps the best treat will occur on February 10th, as audiences can watch all three parts of his legendary Koker trilogy back to back to back. (Begins February 8th)
2. A Tribute to Amos Vogel and ‘Film As Subversive Art’ (Anthology Film Archives)
Last year saw the very sad passing of cinephile legend Amos Vogel, founder of both Cinema 16 and the New York Film Festival, as well as the author of Film As Subversive Art. In honor of his inordinate contribution to cinema history, Anthology Film Archives presents a series of films that he championed throughout his life. Screenings this week include films by Dušan Makavejev, Ousmane Sembene, and Bernardo Bertolucci among many rare and experimental films, likely never to be seen projected on film again. (Begins February 6th)
3. When Boy Meets Girl: The Cinema of Leos Carax (French Institute Alliance Française)
Holy Motors may have taken the cinephile world by storm in 2012, but Carax has been an art house staple for the last two decades with his hard-to-find, rarely screened films. But this week, New Yorkers can take in two of his great works—Bad Blood and The Lovers on the Bridge—in rarely seen 35mm prints. (Begins February 5th)
4. Early Zemeckis (Film Society of Lincoln Center)
Before Robert Zemeckis became known as a special effects guru that pushed the ways technology could be used to tell stories, his early films show a zany sense of pop culture consciousness combined with a hard-edged satire often missing in his later works. But both I Wanna Hold Your Hand and Used Cars show off not only a pyrotechnic style of cinema that surprises at every moment, but also a keen concern of place and time. (Wednesday, February 6th at 6p.m.)
5. Tobacco Road (IFC Center)
In 1941, John Ford returned to the same territory as The Grapes of Wrath for a very different type of story—a black comedy provoking a path against the good ol’ American way. Buried at the time of release, Tobacco Road features the American titan at some of his best work in compositional depth, but for a story that still shocks today. Featuring Laura stars Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews before they made it big. (Fri-Sun, Feburary 8th-10th at 11a.m.)
