American filmmaker, screenwriter and producer
Film at Lincoln Center has unveiled its main slate for the New York Film Festival, promising a mix of international cinema and high-profile premieres. Gray's Paper Tiger opens the festival, with Behemoth center stage, and Ava DuVernay's 14th closing the lineup. Other veteran and rising directors feature prominently.
Venice has faced criticism for including few female directors in its main competition. May el-Toukhys Woman Unknown was the lone woman-led feature in the initial lineup; festival organisers have since added the documentary NAZA. Jury president Maggie Gyllenhaal and programmers at London Film Festival have said structural barriers, especially financing, are limiting womens progression to larger films.
The 70th London Film Festival has opened with Simon Stone’s biographical drama Elsinore, starring Olivia Colman and Andrew Scott, about Ian Charleson’s final Hamlet performance. The director has discussed Day-Lewis’s reaction to revisiting the exit from the 1989 production. The festival runs for 12 days, featuring world premieres and a roster of international talent.