The Walk. 2015. USA. Directed by Robert Zemeckis. Courtesy of Sony Pictures
I was a punkish young film critic for the Chicago Reader when I saw, and loved, Robert Zemeckis’s first feature film, I Wanna Hold Your Hand, in 1978. Almost 40 years later, I’m now a mature, mostly respectable curator in MoMA’s Department of Film, and I’m still a devoted Zemeckis fan
Out on the Street. 2015. Egypt. Directed by Philip Rizk, Jasmina Metwaly
In recent weeks, filmmakers featured in the series Films from Here: Recent Views from the Arab World have been sending me their thoughts on their films (which we will be sharing on MoMA’s social media channels).
Trouble in Paradise. 1932. USA. Directed by Ernst Lubitsch. Acquired from Paramount Pictures. Preserved with funding from the Richard Griffith Memorial Fund
There is an old-fashioned expression about “honor among thieves.” What does this mean exactly? Perhaps this group swears an oath that no one criminal will interfere in the nefarious actions of another? If the question leaves you flummoxed, be sure to see the 1932 film Trouble in Paradise for an enjoyable resolution.
Poster for Grandma’s Boy. 1922. USA. Directed by Fred Newmeyer. Produced by Hal Roach. Public domain image reproduced via Wikimedia Commons
From left: one-sheet poster for I Walked With a Zombie. 1943. USA. Directed by Jacques Tourneur; Unknown designer. One-sheet poster for The Leopard Man. 1943. USA. Directed by Jacques Tourneur. Images courtesy Sikelia Productions
In conjunction with </i>Scorsese Collects</a>, an exhibition of selections from the Scorsese Poster Collection, MoMA’s Department of Film has organized </i>Scorsese Screens</a>, featuring films represented in the poster exhibition along with some of the Scorsese titles they influenced.
Iris Barry and John Abbott, 1935. Photo by Lewis Jacobs
July 1935 signing of the document establishing the MoMA Film Library. From left: John Abbott, Iris Barry, John Hay Whitney (seated), A. Conger Goodyear, Nelson A. Rockefeller
Long before The Museum of Modern Art Department of Film was so named, it was called the Film Library. The entity to be known as the Film Library was officially announced on June 27, 1935, and on July 2 The Museum of Modern Art Film Library Corporation was formalized with documents signed by trustees A. Conger Goodyear, John Hay Whitney, and Nelson A. Rockefeller.
Production still from Piercing Brightness. 2013. Directed by Shezad Dawood. Courtesy of UBIK Productions Ltd. The image features Halo, an artwork by John Kennedy, commissioned by Mid Pennine Arts
A sense of place pervades the work of British artist Shezad Dawood, but we’re not talking about your picture-postcard nostalgia. Dawood’s first feature film, Piercing Brightness, is at the surface a stylized science-fiction tale, but it could equally be read as a public artwork of sorts.
The discovery of new artists and the rediscovery of established ones are key components of curatorial work. An exhilarating part of curatorial work is the ability to be something of a cultural archeologist and bring to the fore an artist whose work has been consigned to the past due to changing critical taste, shifts in technology, and the demands of motion picture economics. As a longtime Fox Films contract director, Hamilton MacFadden (American, 1901–1977) is indeed worthy of thoughtful rediscovery.
San Siro. 2014. Italy. Directed by Yuri Ancarani
At its core, New Directors/New Films celebrates the unexpected and cutting-edge in movie making, and the 16 short films in this year’s festival offer plenty of excitement about the future of the medium.
A notable amount of these short films experiment with modes of storytelling, at times eschewing dialogue-driven narratives altogether.
If you are interested in reproducing images from The Museum of Modern Art web site, please visit the Image Permissions page (www.moma.org/permissions). For additional information about using content from MoMA.org, please visit About this Site (www.moma.org/site).
© Copyright 2016 The Museum of Modern Art