The New Directors/New Films Festival celebrated its opening night party Thursday, March 22nd at New York's Museum of Modern Art. ONCE director John Carney was among those whose work was celebrated.
This description of the festival can be found on the "New Directors/New Films" blog:
"Now in their 36th year of collaboration, the Department of Film, The Museum of Modern Art, and the Film Society of Lincoln Center present New Directors/New Films 2007, a festival highlighting the work of emerging filmmakers from around the world. All of the films at New Directors are celebrating their New York, U.S., or North American premieres, and many of the screenings are introduced by the filmmakers. New Directors/New Films takes place from March 21st to April 1st, 2007."
And the New York Times's A.O. Scott had the following to say about ONCE, in tandem with the festival:
"Video has become the medium of choice -- or, given its relative inexpensiveness, of necessity -- among today's young filmmakers, and its aesthetic possibilities are still very much open to exploration. Somehow, the drabness of the format is one of the charms of John Carney's "Once," a lovely, modest Irish film that was one of the genuine discoveries of this year's Sundance Film Festival.
Scheduled for release by Fox Searchlight in May, "Once" follows the collaboration between a Dublin street musician and a Czech pianist as it edges hesitantly toward romance. It is not the greatest movie ever made and does not set out to be, but on its own modest, scruffy terms it is close to perfect."
Pictured: Directors Jim Jarmusch and John Carney; photo by Irene Meltzer Richard, Film Society of Lincoln Center.
