Celebrating the work of Albert Maysles

The second edition of the New York Documentary Film Festival - Festival dei Popoli (May 27-31, 2009) at Anthology Film Archives (32 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10003) is part of an ongoing movement by the FESTIVAL DEI POPOLI of Florence, Italy, to celebrate its 50th anniversary through the circulation of its rich collection of archival films abroad. Founded in 1959 in Florence, the FESTIVAL DEI POPOLI is devoted to promoting and studying social documentary cinema. In fifty years, the collection has grown into an unparalleled treasure of documentary films covering the history of non-fiction filmmaking.

Legendary New York documentarian Albert Maysles, a regular guest of the Festival dei Popoli in Florence, will open the five-day event in-person with a rare screening of his MEET MARLON BRANDO. Maysles draws an intimate and unusual portrait of Brando as himself during a lengthy, semi-voluntary session of press interviews set up to try to save his ill-fated film project MORITURI. The Festival dei Popoli is honored to pay tribute to Maysles's unique vision with two more of his films in this year's program, including his first film PSYCHIATRY IN RUSSIA.

The festival features three programs of auteur documentaries with a total of 18 films, depicting reality and history as filtered through the deeply personal aesthetics of very different directors:

"A TRIBUTE TO ALBERT MAYSLES" - The Festival dei Popoli is proud of its long-term relationship with Albert Maysles whose extraordinary contributions to the documentary as an art form have been among the Festival's highlights for many years. This program is a rare chance for New York audiences to catch three of his lesser-known gems, suggested by the director himself.

"ITALIAN CHRONICLES" - A selection of works directed by three award-winning Italian documentarists: Alina Marazzi, Leonardo di Costanzo, and Bruno Oliviero. Although all directors work in their own inimitable style, together these six films offer a panorama of everyday life in Italy from the 1970s to the present.

"50 YEARS OF DOCUMENTARY (50th!)" - A selection of nine of the best documentaries of the last 50 years from the Festival dei Popoli's archive, featuring iconic international auteurs such as Agnès Varda, Alan Berliner, Artavazd Pelechian, and Volker Koepp.

_____________________________________________________


NEW YORK DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL
presented by Festival dei Popoli and The FitzGerald Foundation of Florence
DATE: May 27 - May 31, 2009
TIME: See the screening schedule above
LOCATION: Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10003
TICKET PRICES: $9 General Admission, $7 Students, Seniors Children (12 under), $6 AFA Members
Tickets are available at Anthology's box office on the day of the show only.
The box office opens 30 minutes before the first show of the day.
Reservations for the NYDFF screenings can be made by email at info@thefgf.org
MORE: For more information on the festival, please visit our website at www.nydff.org