Film: The New York Film Festival, the Future of Documentary, Studio Ghibli Images

The Toronto International Film Festival has wrapped up, but now the New York Film Festival is here to

Sep 25, 2020 • View in browser

The Toronto International Film Festival has wrapped up, but now the New York Film Festival is here to enjoy! And the quarantine-friendly online edition means the venerable event is more accessible than ever. Hyperallergic has all the coverage you need to get the most out of the fest.Meanwhile, we have new pieces on films by Lucrecia Martel and Miranda July, an in-depth discussion on the future of independent documentary, and much more. Enjoy!– Dan Schindel, Associate Editor for Documentary

Desktop Wallpapers from Studio Ghibli

From Spirited Away

If you want a stunning moment from a Studio Ghibli movie to use as a desktop wallpaper or phone background but have had trouble getting a good screen capture, worry no longer! The beloved anime studio is making hundreds of high-quality images from its films available for download.In Other NewsThis year’s edition of the Tel Aviv International Documentary Film Festival was rattled by several high-profile withdrawals by participants who ultimately decided to stand in solidarity with the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign.This week, we hosted a special conversation between independent documentary filmmakers Cecilia Aldarondo and Robert Greene. The two discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted their field and speculate on what the future may hold.

SPONSORED Celebrate Black Futures at 18th Street Arts Center’s Virtual Gala Join the Los Angeles non-profit for an evening of experimental film programming curated by Jheanelle Brown and performance art by Ulysses S. Jenkins.

Latest Reviews

Lucrecia Martel's Feminine Monsters Three of the Argentine director’s films are now on the Criterion Channel, and they demonstrate how she complicates ideas of female agency and power. Ela Bittencourt

Scheming, Dealing, and Feeling in Miranda July’s Kajillionaire A gratifying watch, the oddball family dramedy is fundamentally about what it means to re-parent one’s self as an adult. Beandrea July

The 2020 New York Film Festival

From Lovers Rock

NYFF is well underway, with one of the most robust programs of any film festival to go online this year. Ela Bittencourt previewed some of the most promising picks.Out of earlier festivals, Beandrea July had reviewed the social justice documentary Time and Patrick Gamble reviewed the hypnotic Haitian film Ouvertures. During the Toronto International Film Festival, Kambole Campbell wrote up MLK/FBI and the Spike Lee/David Byrne concert film American Utopia, while Serena Scateni highlighted two experimental picks, The Inheritance and Fauna.Now we have a fresh set of pieces from the festival itself. Monica Castillo surveys films that tell specifically New York stories, such as Tayler Montague’s In Sudden Darkness and Sarah Friedland’s Drills. And Bedatri Choudhury reviews Her Socialist Smile, which explores the political side of Helen Keller that you probably weren’t taught about in school. The festival continues through October 11, so check out some of these films while you can. We have more coverage coming!

Cities Without People

Here’s your video essay pick of the week. Jacob Geller specializes in drawing unlikely but fascinating connections between video games and other phenomena. Here, he uses the latest edition of Microsoft Flight Simulator to explore urban design and how much of the space in various cities is devoured by infrastructure devoted to automobiles instead of human beings.

Films in Brief

From Ottolenghi and the Cakes of Versailles

Ottolenghi and the Cakes of Versaillesis a fun bit of food porn that goes behind the scenes of a grand feast held a few years back at the Met. A Love Song for Latasha is a beautiful tribute to the life of Latasha Harlins, a Black teenager murdered in 1991. Thank You and Good Night is a tragicomic meditation on loss that went ignored for decades but now has a terrific new restoration and is available to stream for the first time.Since 2016, comedian Demi Adejuyigbe has made increasingly elaborate annual videos to celebrate September 21st, in tribute to the immortal Earth, Wind & Fire song. The 2020 video is here, and it is magnificent.

9/21/20

Until we can see you at the movies again, stay safe!

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