The NY Film Festival may not have Venice’s red carpet glitz, but it makes up for that by spotlighting awards hopefuls in the world’s media capital.
As the 60th Annual NYFF gears up for its 9/30 -10/16 run, it’s giving Oscar pundits something to talk about. By selecting Noah Baumbach’s WHITE NOISE for opening night, it put the Netflix drama, which will also open the 79th Venice Film Festival on 8/31, in Oscar’s best picture frontrunner group. By kicking off two prime festivals, NOISE (sight unseen) is also heading for 2023’s races for directing, lead actor (Adam Driver) & actress (Greta Gerwig).
A festival spotlight means even more to documentaries, which need all the help they can get since they’re usually lower-profile films than their best picture cousins. So NYFF’s choice of Participant/Praxis Films’ ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED as its centerpiece presentation is a major boost to the Laura Poitras docu about photographer Nan Goldin & the demise of the Sackler pharmaceutical dynasty.
ALL, which will play 10/7 at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, is also world premiering at Venice. Between its NY & Venice media coverage, ALL will get a big boost for Academy docu consideration. It should help that in 2015 Poitras (pictured – 2nd from L) won Oscar’s best docu feature for CITIZENFOUR, from Participant/Praxis/HBO, about ex-CIA & NSA intelligence officer Edward Snowden.