Lisandro Alonso. Photo by Julie Cunnah.

The Filmmaker in Residence program is back for a second year with Argentine director Lisandro Alonso named as this year’s title holder of the initiative, which coincides with the New York Film Festival. The Film Society of Lincoln Center and Jaeger-LeCoultre announced Alonso’s selection at a dinner co-hosted by Charles Finch, Lesli Klainberg, Bennett Miller, Todd Solondz, and Lisa Cortes in New York Tuesday evening.

Andrea Arnold was last year’s inaugural Filmmaker in Residence. The initiative, created by Jaeger-LeCoultre and the Film Society of Lincoln Center aims to support a filmmaker at an “early stage in the creative process against the backdrop of New York City and the New York Film Festival.” Last night’s event that introduced Alonso and other Residency details took place at downtown Manhattan restaurant Indochine.

Also at the celebratory dinner, organizers named the members of the initiative’s Advisory Board: Lisa Cortes, James Gray, Tom Kalin, Eric Mendelsohn, Bennett Miller, Mira Nair, Ira Sachs, Todd Solondz, Fisher Stevens, Marisa Tomei, and Christine Vachon. Their involvement may include “mentoring Alonso, panel participation during the 52nd New York Film Festival, and/or attending/hosting events in support of the initiative,” according to the Film Society.

Attendees at last night’s event included Michael Almereyda, Lisandro Alonso, Michael Barker, Laura Bickford, JC Chandor, Lisa Cortes, Charles Finch, Naomi Foner,  Bennett Miller, Mira Nair, Terence Nance, Ed Pressman, Ry Russo-Young, Bob Shaye, Oliver Stone, Julie Taymor, Marisa Tomei, Christine Vachon as well as the Film Society’s Lesli Klainberg and Eugene Hernandez.

Lisandro Alonso has been described as a “maverick of the New Argentine Cinema, one of the most accomplished and original artists working in Latin American cinema today,” noted the Film Society in today’s announcement. Born in Buenos Aires in 1975, Alonso has directed four features prior to this year: La Libertad (2001), Los Muertos (2004), Fantasma (2006), and Liverpool (2008), all of which have premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and have established his reputation as a “creator of a minimalist cinema that bends the traditions of both documentary and narrative film.”


Viggo Mortensen in Jauja

Among the awards his films have garnered to date include the FIPRESCI (The International Federation of Film Critics) Prize at the 2001 Oslo Films from the South Festival and the FIPRESCI Prize-Special Mention at the 2002 Rotterdam International Film Festival for La Libertad, the Critics Award at the 2004 Lima Latin American Film Festival and the Independent Camera Award at the 2005 Karlovy Vary Internatuonal Flm Festival for Los Muertos, and the Grand Prix Asturias at the 2008 Gijón Internatuonal Film Festival for Liverpool.

Alonso also debuted his most recent work, Jauja, starring Viggo Mortensen, at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where the film won the FIPRESCI Prize and was nominated for the Un Certain Regard Award.

During his residency in New York, Alonso will develop his next project, which looks to explore the Amazonian civilization and population that still lives in the region while searching for gold. The film will “examine their evolution of living—from the old days to modern times, while eluding any spatiotemporal notion.”

“We are very happy to announce Lisandro Alonso as the 2014 Filmmaker in Residence during the 52nd New York Film Festival,” said Lesli Klainberg, executive director of the Film Society of Lincoln Center. “He is a filmmaker that has already accomplished great work and we are very happy to be able to offer him the space and time to develop his next project. Our partnership with Jaeger-LeCoultre on this cornerstone program fosters excellence in the filmmaking community, and reflects our shared belief in the universal power of film to inspire and engage the global community.”

Last Year, Andrea Arnold (Wuthering Heights, Fish Tank) took time to develop the script and work on pre-production details for her upcoming project, American Honey, which is expected to be her first feature project to be shot in the U.S. During her residency, which coincided with the 51st NYFF, she met and discussed her project with filmmakers on the Advisory Board, participated in a panel at NYFF on screenwriting, attended festival screenings and events, in addition to visiting local high schools to discuss film and filmmaking with the students.