In addition to getting a feel for the upcoming patterns in world cinema and becoming aware of potential awards traction (because everything, even arthouse film criticism, is part of the global machine), the thing you learn from the film festival experience is where people are — artists, activists, thinkers, weirdos — and how things are going in their world. There’s not a lot of hope in the air at the moment, and we know this because smoking is back. Not vaping, but full-on lighting up butts, because who cares? It’s something that stays with you, this sense that the failure of the carbon sink really has been steeping and we’re all just sort of tidying up for extinction.
Ironically, this year’s festival offerings — and we’re focusing on the 62nd New York Film Festival as well as NewFest (NF) and the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival (BHFF), because if you’re going to travel for a film festival, why shortchange yourself on opportunity — are pretty superb. No stinkers to be found, though a surprising number of these films don’t have American distribution, so it doesn’t hurt to reach out to the theaters, festivals and film companies you like and respect to try to get these films screened locally. We’re not going to get into films that have already been released (like Anora , Dahomey and Rumours ) due to deadlines, but know that they all add to the vibe of what cinephiles will be steeping in for the next year-and-change.
Talking to Mikey Madison About Hilariou.
