‘Happening’ to Open 2022 New Directors/New Films Festival (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Wilson Chapman editorGolden Lion winner “Happening” will open the 2022 New Directors/New Films Festival, Film at Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art announced Tuesday.Now in its 51st year, the New Directors/New Films Festival screens the best films made by young filmmakers, many of which tend to be their debut features.

The festival has served as an early showcase for many notable directors, including Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Kelly Reichardt, Pedro Almodóvar, Spike Lee, Lynne Ramsay, Michael Haneke, Wong Kar Wai, Guillermo del Toro and Luca Guadagnino.

This year, the festival will screen 27 features and 11 shorts.“Portraits of individuals and communities navigating uncertain and turbulent circumstances in pursuit of freedom, self-determination, and survival set a remarkably contemplative tone for the lineup,” 2022 ND/NF co-chair and MoMa department of film curator La Frances Hui said in a statement. “This year’s new directors look inward and draw on events past and present to reflect on our collective humanity.

Together, these films reaffirm the creative power of cinema to see, critique, and inspire the way we live.” The festival will open with “Happening,” directed by Audrey Diwan.