Over the 50-year history of the New York Film Festival, audiences have been introduced to some of the world’s greatest cinematic treasures. It is, therefore, a true pleasure to revisit many of the films shown in years past. We continue our 50 Years of the New York Film Festival series this week with a look back at Victor Erice’s meditative masterpiece Dream of Light—originally shown at NYFF30 in 1992—this Tuesday at 6:15pm.
Although he has been an active filmmaker since the early 1960s, Victor Erice has only produced three feature films: The Spirit of the Beehive, The South, and Dream of Light. Each of these films has been received with great critical praise, and it is not hard to see why. Erice is a master of subtle beauty and poetic storytelling. The director’s skill is on full display in Dream of Light, a cinematic portrait of Spanish realist painter Antonio LĂłpez GarcĂa that is part fiction and part documentary. The film, which won the Jury Prize at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival, proves a fascinating examination of not only GarcĂa’s artistic methods, but the essence of artistic creation in general.
And now that your NYFF appetite is whetted, we’ve filled out the lineup for the rest of year! The additions include Mike Leigh’s Topsy Turvy (NYFF ’99), Lars von Trier’s Dogville (NYFF ’03), and Michael Haneke’s The White Ribbon (NYFF ’09). Tickets for these films will go on sale this Thursday.
Below is a list of the films that played alongside Dream of Light at NYFF '92:
Olivier Olivier
Agnieszka Holland, France, 1992
Shown with Omnibus, Sam Karmann, France
And Life Goes On (Zendegi Edame Darad)
Abbas Kiarostami, Iran, 1992
Shown with My Little Eye, Benjamin Ross, Great Britain
Taking the Pulse
Three short works by master cinematic satirists:
Seen From Elsewhere (A sketch from “Montréal vu par”), Denys Arcand, Canada
A Sense of History, Mike Leigh, Great Britain
Pets or Meat: The Return to Flint, Michael Moore, USA
Strictly Ballroom
Baz Luhrmann, Australia, 1992
Shown with Mon Desir, Nicky Marshall, New Zealand
The Crying Game
Neil Jordan, Ireland/Great Britain, 1992
Autumn Moon (Qiuyue)
Clara Law, Hong Kong/Japan, 1992
Shown with Are We Still Married?, the Quay Brothers, Great Britain, 1992
Benny’s Video
Michael Haneke, Austria, 1992
Shown with Deeper Still, Anthony Nielson, Great Britain
Leolo
Jean-Claude Lauzon, Canada, 1992
Shown with One Thousand Dollars, Sergio Castilla, USA
Allah Tantou
David Achkar, Guinea/France, 1991
Shown with Lumumba: Death of a Prophet (Lumumba: la mort du prophete), Rauol Peck, Germany, Switzerland, 1991
The Oak (Le Chene)
Lucian Pintilie, Rumania/France, 1992
The Story of Qui Ju (Qui Ju da guansi)
Zhang Yimou, China, 1992
Shown with Square of Heroes, March 12, 1988, Johannes Rosenberger, Austria
A Tale of Winter (Conte d’hiver)
Eric Rohmer, France, 1992
Stone (Kamen)
Alexander Sokurov, Russia, 1992
Shown with Definitely Sanctus, Gerhard Ertl, Sabine Hiebler, Austria
Hyenas (Ramatou)
Senegal/Switzerland/France, 1992
Shown with Perpetual Motion, Karen Aqua, USA
In the Soup
Alexandre Rockwell, USA, 1992
Shown with Milk of Amnesia, Jeffrey Noyes Scher, USA
La Sentinelle
Arnaud Desplechin, France, 1992
Avant-Garde Visions: Sidewalk/Shuttle
Ernie Gehr, USA, 1992
John Five
James Herbert, USA, 1992
Short Fuse
Warren Sonbert, USA, 1991
Les Amants Du Pont Neuf
Leos Carax, France, 1991
Careful
Guy Maddin, Canada, 1992
Shown with Amelia Rose Towers, Jackie Karkas, Australia
Idiot
Mani Kaul, India, 1992
Zebrahead
Anthony Drazan, USA, 1992
Shown with Light Years Through the Heart: The Story of Fei and Miguel, Catherine Tse, USA
Man Bites Dog (C’est arrive pres de chez vous)
Rémy Belvaux, André Bonzel and Benoît Poelvoorde, Belgium, 1992
Shown with Rapture, Sara Whitely, USA
La Vie De Boheme
Aki Kaurismäki, Finland, 1992
Shown with The Addict, Matt Thomas Draper, USA
Delivered Vacant
Nora Jacobson, USA, 1992
Shown with Southwest, Richard R. Hall, USA
Night and the City
Irwin Winkler, USA
Shown with Revolver, Chester Dent, Great Britain
