NYFF 2011 Announcement: Special Screenings & Docs includes Tenenbaums and Exterminating Angel

The New York Film Festival today added a full roster of documentaries, special screenings and events to the schedule of its 49th annual edition, highlighted by the world premiere of ‘Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory,’ the latest doc by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky on the saga of the falsely incarcerated West Memphis Three, with a new ending added in the wake of their recent release from prison after 18 years.

The 10th anniversary of Hayao Miyazaki’s ‘Spirited Away’ and Wes Anderson’s ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’ will be celebrated with special screenings. Other highlights include Charlie Chaplin’s ‘The Gold Rush’ (1925), featuring live accompaniment by the NY Philharmonic, who will play Chaplin’s restored original score. Meanwhile, the famed Alloy Orchestra will perform their own original score as live accompaniment to the acclaimed German expressionist silent, ‘From Morning Till Midnight.’

The NYFF also kicks off the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s year-long retrospective, leading up to next year’s 50th inaugural event, of selected favorites from earlier festivals. The retro starts with the NYFF’s first-ever opening night film, Luis Bunuel’s masterpiece, ‘The Exterminating Angel.’

Restorations and rediscoveries abound, as with 1981’s ‘You Are Not I,’ Sara Driver’s adaptation of a Paul Bowles story about a woman released from a mental institution. Shot and co-written by Jim Jarmusch, the film had long been thought lost due to a warehouse mishap. The NYFF screening will mark the world premiere of the restored version. Also recently restored was the color version of George Méliès’ 1902 science-fiction fantasy ‘A Trip to the Moon,’ which has been given a new soundtrack by avant-pop band Air.

Other intriguing selections include the Latin American 1969 classic ‘Invasion,’ co-written by Jorge Luis Borges, about mysterious forces threatening a Buenos Aires-like city, and James Toback’s celebrated first feature ‘Fingers, starring Harvey Keitel, which will be accompanied by a panel discussion on film critic Pauline Kael.

In addition to the latest in the ‘Paradise Lost’ trilogy (slated to show on HBO in 2012), other documentaries include: the legendary Frederick Wiseman’s ‘Crazy Horse,’ about Paris’ famous “erotic cabaret”; ‘The Ballad of Mott the Hoople,’ about the British cult pre-punk band, ‘Don’t Expect Too Much,’ about the life of Nicholas Ray, produced by his widow; and the first three installments of Oliver Stone’s 10-part Showtime documentary, ‘The Untold History of the United States.’

The NYFF also announced the 15th iteration of its ‘Views from the Avant Garde’ program, as well as its partnership with HBO in four ‘Directors Dialogues.’ Details for both programs will be announced shortly.