Recent Events
Book Talk with writer and journalist David Margolick moderated by festival curator David Schwartz
David Margolick long reported on legal affairs for The New York Times, where he wrote the weekly “At the Bar” column and covered, among other stories, the trial of O. J. Simpson. He was then a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. His many books include Beyond Glory: Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling, and a World on the Brink; Strange Fruit: The Biography [...]
Q&A with writer and critic J. Hoberman moderated by festival curator David Schwartz
J. Hoberman was for over three decades a film and culture critic for The Village Voice. His previous books have explored the subculture of midnight movies, the rise and fall of Yiddish-language cinema, the international Communist avantgarde, SoHo performance art, and the underground filmmaker Jack Smith. His “found illusions” trilogy—which includes The Dream Life, Make [...]
Q&A with director Katharina Otto-Bernstein moderated by festival curator David Schwartz
A two-time Emmy nominated filmmaker, Katharina Otto-Bernstein most recently served as a producer of Joyland, winner of the Cannes Jury prize, the Independent Spirit Award and short-listed for the Academy Award in 2023 and Oh, Canada (Cannes 2024.) Nonfiction works include HBO documentaries Absolute Wilson, Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures, The Price of Everything and [...]
Q&A with director Gaylen Ross and actor Ben Shenkman moderated by festival curator David Schwartz
Gaylen Ross is an award-winning documentary director, writer, and producer with over 25 years of experiences, including Emmy-winning Blood Money: Switzerland’s Nazi Gold and multiple films that premiered at major international festivals like Berlin, Toronto, and Hamptons. Her notable works include Killing Kasztner: The Jew Who Dealt With Nazis (theatrical releases in US, Israel, and France), Dealers Among [...]
Q&A with filmmaker Matthew Shear moderated by festival curator David Schwartz
Matthew Shear is a filmmaker and actor based in New York. He starred in Noah Baumbach’s Mistress America, alongside Greta Gerwig, as well as the limited series The Alienist, opposite Dakota Fanning and Daniel Brühl. His other credits include Baumbach’s The Meyerowitz Stories, M. Night Shyamalan’s Old, Nathan Silver’s Between the Temples, and The Boy [...]
Q&A with director Marisa Fox moderated by festival curator David Schwartz
Marisa Fox, A veteran print, broadcast (WNET, VH1, Fx) and digital journalist, has produced social impact campaigns for Hearst, earning American Society of Magazine Editors awards and nominations. She has written extensively on gender, genocide, sexual trauma and extremism (The Daily Beast, CNN, Ms., The New York Times, Elle, Health, The Forward and Ha’aretz, where [...]
Q&A with director Sergei Loznitsa
Sergei Loznitsa was born on September 5th 1964. He grew up in Kiev (Ukraine), and in 1987 graduated from the Kiev Polytechnic with a degree in Applied Mathematics. From 1987 to 1991, he worked as a scientist at the Kiev Institute of Cybernetics, specializing in artificial intelligence research. In 1997, Loznitsa graduated from the Russian [...]
Q&A with filmmaker Suzannah Herbert
Suzannah Herbert is a documentary director and editor from Memphis whose directing work focuses on the American South. Herbert directed and produced the twice Emmy-nominated film Wrestle. Named one of the top 5 documentaries of 2019 by the National Board of Review, lauded as “superb” by the Los Angeles Times, and hailed as a New [...]
Community discussion on immigration with Neighbors Link
Jeanette Gisbert joined Neighbors Link as Deputy Director in December 2024. She oversees Neighbors Link’s organizational strategy, program development, and fundraising to support the organization’s mission and long-term goals. Jeanette recently served as the Executive Director of Volunteer New York! She joined Volunteer New York! in 2008, where she began as a program coordinator. Eventually, [...]
Screening with live accompaniment followed by Q&A with actress Lili Taylor & artist David Michalek
Lili Taylor is a Golden Globe-winning and three-time Emmy-nominated actor known for her roles in classic indie films including Mystic Pizza and I Shot Andy Warhol, and more recently in television hits American Crime, Six Feet Under, and The X Files, among others. David Michalek is an American visual artist and director whose work is [...]
Virtual Q&A with Academy Award nominees director Clint Bentley and cinematographer Adolpho Veloso
Clint Bentley is a writer-director-producer whose debut directorial feature, Jockey(Sony Pictures Classics), premiered In Competition at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, where Clifton Collins Jr. was awarded the Special Jury Prize for Best Actor for his role. Bentley and his long-time collaborator Greg Kwedar co-wrote and produced the film which went on to enjoy further [...]
Q&A with filmmaker Sarah Friedland and experts on memory care from White Plains Hospital
Sarah Friedland is a filmmaker and choreographer working at the intersection of moving images and moving bodies. Her work has been presented in festivals and art spaces including the New York Film Festival, New Directors/New Films, Mubi, MoMA and the Performa19 Biennial. Sarah graduated from Brown University’s department of Modern Culture and Media and started [...]
Q&A with director Gianfranco Rosi
Gianfranco Rosi was born to Italian parents in Asmara, Eritrea, and grew up in Eritrea, Rome, and Istanbul before moving to New York City where he studied film at NYU. His documentaries include Below Sea Level (08), El Sicario, Room 164 (10), Sacro GRA (13), and the Festival Official Selections Boatman (93), Fire at Sea [...]
Cinema Studies Screening & Lecture by NYU PhD candidate Cameron Olsen
Cameron Olsen is a Cinema Studies PhD Candidate at NYU Tisch School of the Arts.
Introduction from Professor of English at Fordham University Keri Walsh
Keri Walsh is Professor of English and Director of the Institute of Irish Studies at Fordham University. She is the editor (alongside Christopher GoGwilt) of the academic journal Joyce Studies Annual as well as of James Joyce’s Exiles (Oxford World’s Classics, 2020), James Joyce’s Dubliners (Broadview Press, 2016), and The Letters of Sylvia Beach (Columbia University Press, 2010). Walsh is currently at work on [...]
Cinema Studies Screening & Lecture by NYU professor and filmmaker David K. Irving
David K. Irving is currently an Associate Professor at the Film and Television program at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. David has directed six feature films, including Night of the Cyclone with Kris Kristofferson and Marisa Berenson; C.H.U.D. II with Robert Vaughn and Gerrit Graham; The Emperor’s New Clothes with Sid Caesar [...]
Free members-only screening and Q&A with producer Nicolas Gonda on Feb. 11
Nicolas Gonda is a creative force whose work spans film, television, and immersive experiences, driven by a lifelong commitment to visionary storytelling on a global scale. He is the Co-Founder of Book of Shadows, the film and television company he leads with Academy Award–winning filmmaker Chloé Zhao, dedicated to developing and producing distinctive, world-class stories [...]
Q&A with producer Alex Megaro
Alex Megaro is a filmmaker best known for producing/editing WTO/99, winner of the IDA Award for Best Editing, and Driftwood, winner of the Slamdance Grand Jury Prize for Narrative Feature. He directed the multi-award winning documentary short Krush the Wrestler, produced/edited two seasons of the VICE documentary series Source Material, and produced the Sheffield Doc [...]
Q&A with filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania, moderated by Stephen Apkon
Kaouther Ben Hania is a three-time Academy Award-nominated filmmaker whose bold, inventive, and deeply human storytelling has established her as a leading force in international cinema, continuing to push the boundaries of both nonfiction and narrative filmmaking. Her most recent triumph, The Voice of Hind Rajab, won the Silver Lion at this year’s Venice International [...]
Cinema Studies Screening & Lecture by NYU professor Gail Segal
Gail Segal is a writer, filmmaker, and teacher at NYU’s Graduate Film department. Her film work includes the Peabody Award-winning documentary Arguing the World (co-producer) and a 15-part PBS series, The Shakespeare Hour. More recently, she wrote and directed the award winning narrative short, Filigrane, set in the Empty Quarter of the U.A.E., as well [...]
Q&A with director Constance Tsang
Constance Tsang is a Chinese American writer, director, and educator based in New York. She recently graduated from Columbia University with an MFA in Screenwriting and Directing, where she was awarded the Robert Gore Rifkind Launch Fund. Her short film BEAU received Jury Selects from an industry panel at her thesis showcase, and won the [...]
Q&A with director Alex Ross Perry and editor Clyde Folley
Alex Ross Perry was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania in 1984. He attended the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University and worked at Kim’s Video in Manhattan. He is the director of the films The Color Wheel, Listen Up Philip, Queen of Earth, Golden Exits, Her Smell, Ghost: Rite Here Rite Now, [...]
Q&A with filmmaker Lav Diaz
Lav Diaz is a filmmaker based in the Philippines. He’s renowned for his contemplative narrative style and extensive exploration of the Filipino socio-political landscape through cinema. Born in 1958 in Cotabato, Diaz has profoundly influenced the international film scene with his unique approach to duration and storytelling. His work often delves into the themes of [...]
Q&A with director Simón Mesa Soto moderated by Justin LaLiberty
Simón Mesa Soto is a Colombian director, screenwriter, and producer. He studied Audiovisual Communication at the University of Antioquia and later pursued a Master’s Degree at the London Film School. His thesis film, Leidi, won the Short Film Palme d’Or at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. With his next short film, Mother, he was again [...]
Introduction by cinematographer Frederick Elmes
Frederick Elmes’ long career as a cinematographer began with his collaborations with David Lynch (Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart) and John Cassavetes (The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, Opening Night). Elmes’ feature film work includes multiple films for directors Ang Lee (The Ice Storm, Ride With the Devil, Hulk) and Jim Jarmusch (Night on [...]
Q&A with cinematographer Frederick Elmes
Frederick Elmes’ long career as a cinematographer began with his collaborations with David Lynch (Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart) and John Cassavetes (The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, Opening Night). Elmes’ feature film work includes multiple films for directors Ang Lee (The Ice Storm, Ride With the Devil, Hulk) and Jim Jarmusch (Night on [...]
Q&A with filmmaker Mary Bronstein * SOLD OUT *
Mary Bronstein is a writer/director based in NYC known for her raw style, auteurist approach, and focus on stories about complicated women. Her best-known work is the cult-classic Yeast. Mary’s just completed her second feature, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, with A24. In addition to her film work, she’s written original feminist theory [...]
Q&A with director Brandon Kramer and producer Lance Kramer moderated by film curator David Schwartz
Brandon Kramer is a Washington, DC based filmmaker and co-founder of Meridian Hill Pictures with his brother Lance. Brandon directed The First Step (Tribeca, AFI DOCS); City of Trees (Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, PBS, Netflix); and the Webby Award-winning independent documentary series The Messy Truth (CNN). Brandon is a Film Independent Fellow, a DC Commission [...]
Q&A with cinematographer Frederick Elmes
Frederick Elmes’ long career as a cinematographer began with his collaborations with David Lynch (Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart) and John Cassavetes (The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, Opening Night). Elmes’ feature film work includes multiple films for directors Ang Lee (The Ice Storm, Ride With the Devil, Hulk) and Jim Jarmusch (Night on [...]
Free Member Q&A with director Shih-Ching Tsou and actress Nina Ye
Shih-Ching Tsou is a Taipei-born, New York–based writer, director, and producer whose work bridges cultures and challenges cinematic conventions. A multiple Independent Spirit Award and Gotham Independent Film Award nominee, Tsou is known for her keen humanism, emotional precision, and commitment to portraying underrepresented communities with honesty and empathy. Tsou first drew international acclaim as [...]
Q&A with cinematographer Frederick Elmes
Frederick Elmes’ long career as a cinematographer began with his collaborations with David Lynch (Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart) and John Cassavetes (The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, Opening Night). Elmes’ feature film work includes multiple films for directors Ang Lee (The Ice Storm, Ride With the Devil, Hulk) and Jim Jarmusch (Night on [...]
Q&A with co-cinematographer Frederick Elmes
Frederick Elmes’ long career as a cinematographer began with his collaborations with David Lynch (Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart) and John Cassavetes (The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, Opening Night). Elmes’ feature film work includes multiple films for directors Ang Lee (The Ice Storm, Ride With the Devil, Hulk) and Jim Jarmusch (Night on [...]
Q&A Panel with production designer Jack Fisk, cinematographer Darius Khondji, sound editor/designer Skip Lievsay, and make-up artist Kyra Panchenko
Jack Fisk is an Academy Award–nominated production designer whose work has defined some of the most acclaimed films of the past five decades. Known for his meticulous attention to historical detail and his ability to create immersive, character-driven worlds, Fisk has collaborated with visionary directors including Terrence Malick, David Lynch, Paul Thomas Anderson, Alejandro González [...]
