Starting tomorrow I’ll be indulging in one of my favorite things, the New York Film Festival. I’ve always loved the NYFF and love the idea of being a part of history, part of an event that first brought some of the best foreign directors to the US.  The festival has changed in many ways over the years (both good and bad) but it still works to give New York audiences a chance to see the world in a new light, to see the issues that filmmakers living abroad are working to bring to light.

The actual fest doesn’t start until September 26th but with my TakePart press pass, I’ll start seeing films tomorrow so I can tell you all about them! There’s a lot to be excited about, I just hope that those things that I am most looking forward to seeing live up to my expectations.

Here’s a little list of those films for which  I have the highest hopes. Stay tuned to TakePart for continuing NYFF coverage!

James Benning’s RR - As of late Benning has best been known for his landscape films.  Portraits of place, shot on 16mm, Benning’s film are defined by his fixed camera and long contemplative takes.  I’m interested to see what he does with a subject (RailRoads) that is a machine, that is movement, that stands to take away the power from the camera.

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Jia Zhangke’s 24 City - Jia Zhangke is perhaps my favorite working filmmaker. I’ve written about some of his former films and I can’t wait to see his latest. 24 City is again about Jia’s home, China, and specifically looks at a Chengdu munitions plant slated for conversion into high-rise luxury apartments. It features real retired workers and monologues from actors and it stands to be amazing (I hope!)

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Kelly Reichardt’s Wendy and Lucy - I’ve been hearing great things about Reichardt’s minimalist tale of a girl and her dog and their quest to overcome a troubling time in an Oregon town.  If this is anything like her last film, 2006’s Old Joy, I expect to be troubled but in a way that is inspiring to me as a filmmaker.

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Lucrecia Martel’s The Headless Woman - The international response has been mixed for this film thus far, but I still have confidence that I’ll really like Martel’s story of a woman who hits what he thinks is a dog while driving one day, only to lose her memory and her sense of what she did. I’m hoping for some great social melodrama here!

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Hong Sang-soo’s Night and Day - Hong has been creating some of the most poignant (and entertaining) portraits of men, woman and the relationships that define them, for some time now. His latest takes place in Paris and follows a 40 year old Korean man that can’t seem to find his place in life and looks at the city itself.

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Steven Soderbergh’s Che - The buzz about this has been strong since Cannes, plus I’m a big Benicio Del Toro fan(his performance is supposed to be stellar) and always up for a good revolutionary story. More than that I’m excited to see the piece in one consecutive session (minus an intermission).

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And that’s just a few of the films I’m looking forward to.  Keep checking back here for more on the best in foreign cinema and the NYFF.

Read on:

Films From Across the Globe, NYFF Line-up Announced

Film 24/7 at Cannes Film Festival : Jia Zhangke’s 24 City

Che at the New York Film Festival?