The second edition of the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Art of the Real series begins tomorrow, Friday, April 10, and runs through Sunday, April 26. Dennis Lim and Rachael Rakes’ program continues its mission to broaden standard conceptions of nonfiction, giving viewers the opportunity to sample an eclectic, and sometimes, esoteric, assemblage of offerings. This year’s event opens with a shorts program and closes with Jenni Olson’s Sundance essay, THE ROYAL ROAD (pictured), with other special programming including an Agnès Varda tribute and a spotlight on the use of reenactment in film.
The remaining main program consists of sixteen new and retrospective feature films, as well as some additional short form programming. Some of the highlights among the newer feature work include the North American premieres of: Gustavo Vinagre’s NOVA DUBAI (pictured), a rumination on gay desire in an urban landscape; Alain Cavalier’s LE PARADIS, an essay film about encroaching mortality; and Luisa Homem and Pedro Pinho’s TRADING CITIES, an observational profile of the impact of development on Cape Verde.
Some of the US premieres screening during the two week series are: Daniel Hui’s speculative portrait of Singapore, SNAKESKIN; René Frölke’s experimental biography of an exiled Romanian writer, LE BEAU DANGER (pictured); and Ion de Sosa’s hybrid, future-set exploration of Spain, ANDROIDS DREAM.
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