"New Directors/New Films" has sparked the careers of some of today's biggest filmmakers: Steven Spielberg, Wim Wenders and Spike Lee, for instance, all owe a large debt to to The Film Society and MoMA. With names like those, would you want to possibly miss the next wave of phenomenal filmmakers?
We've compiled a list of five films we cannot wait to see below.
5 Broken Cameras - Emad Burnat, Guy Davidi
When his fourth son Gibreel was about to be born, Emad Burnat bought a camera to record his early milestones, which happened to coincide with his hometown of Bil'in becoming encroached upon at the hands of new Israeli settlements. His story, however politically complex, is a heart-breaking chronicle in the creation of the 'other.'
Donoma - Djinn Carrénard
In a narrative triptych about romantic destiny, buzzworthy filmmaker Djinn Carrénard guides three female protagonists through a series of bizarre scenarios. A high school teacher whose frequent confrontations with a student may be signaling something more, a photographer eager to lose her virginity as long as no words are spoken and an atheist who claims to have stigmata anyway add up to fresh performances in a film rumored to have been made for just $200.
Teddy Bear - Mads Matthiesen
This challenging examination of masculinity pits the unspoken desires of a 38 year-old bodybuilder against the emotional manipulation of his domineering mother. Dennis wants nothing more than to find a girlfriend, but his live-in mother is there to cut him off at every turn. So, he heads to Thailand to find love in an attempt to overcome his overbearing mother and his own awkwardness.
Now, Forager - Jason Cortlund, Julia Halperin
In this striking romance, two fungi foragers dream of travelling the land in search of exotic varietiess, but the financial instability of the trade threatens to pull them apart. When Regina takes a job in a hip restaurant, Lucien must decide between her and his unconventional lifestyle.
Twilight Portrait (Portret V Sumerkakh) - Angelina Nikonova
Amid a sea of corruption in a Russian town, a woman is raped by members of the police force. The ensuing drama riles up the town in a storm of sexual politics and class warfare. With a strong performance from Olga Dihovichnaya, this dark, provocative film will surely have audiences talking.
No matter which films you catch (why not all of them?), there is sure to be plenty of surprises in the schedule that will spark an interest from even the most cynical cinephiles.
"New Directors/New Films" will take place from March 21st through April 1st, 2012.