Zeitgeist Take Snapshot of ‘Bill Cunningham, New York’

Despite having premiered over two seasons ago, (it was the opening night film of this year’s New Directors/New Films) you know that Zeitgeist Films’ Nancy Gerstman doesn’t make snap judgments. Richard Press’ doc, Bill Cunningham, New York will have found a home with a distribution who specializes in foreign and doc items and is set to open theatrically almost one year later at the Film Forum on March 16th.

The Gist: Here’s the synopsis you’d find on the website, and get a load of the first quote here: “We all get dressed for Bill,” says Anna Wintour about Bill Cunningham, the legendary, yet enigmatic New York Times photographer known for his two columns in the Style section: “On The Street,” and “Evening Hours.” Obsessively interested in one thing – the pictures he takes that document the way people dress – Bill Cunningham has managed not only to chronicle fashion trends he spots emerging on the street but the intersection of fashion and society in New York for over fifty years. The documentary is not only a portrait of this elusive fashion-world deity but of New York City itself.

Worth Noting: A couple of years back, Richard Press was working on Virtual Love – a Sundance Labs and Cannes “L’Atelier du Festival” project based on the life of Tony Johnson. I’m curious to see if the Press might attempt to revive the project one day, despite the presence of a film like Precious in the market place?

Why Do We Care?: Among their five releases this year we find: Mid-August Lunch, The Oath and Last Train Home — we generally appreciate Zeitgeist Films’ conservative, concentrated, yearly output. With regards to our interest in Press’ doc, we actually like street fashion photography, especially if it has an embedded historical/cultural context.

Media: This narrated slideshow gives you an idea of what Cunningham does for a living. I highly suggest giving it a listen.