This free talk will take place on Saturday, Sept. 30 at 4:00pm in the EBM Amphitheater.

With NYFF61 Opening Night selection May December, director Todd Haynes brings together his career-long preoccupations—with the nature of performance, the revelatory possibilities of melodrama, and the inner lives of women—to a thrilling, masterful crescendo. Drawing from a real-life, tabloid-fodder tale of a middle-school teacher’s affair with her much younger student, May December is a prism-like narrative about celebrity, power, and the deceptions we inflict on each other and ourselves in the name of desire.

To celebrate the North American premiere of May December at NYFF61, we are thrilled to present the U.S. premiere of Image Book, a short film by Haynes exploring the making of his new film, made as part of a commission by the Centre Pompidou for its collection “Où en êtes-vous?” The screening will follow an extended conversation with Haynes and will end with an on-site display of the director’s actual image book for May December, featuring reference images and location shots. Moderated by playwright and actor Jeremy O. Harris. Image Book is provided courtesy of the Centre Pompidou.

Todd Haynes’s May December is the Opening Night selection of this year’s New York Film Festival. Click here to learn more about the film.

NYFF Talks are presented by:

Free tickets for NYFF61 Talks will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis beginning one hour prior to each event at the corresponding box office. Tickets are limited to one per person, subject to availability. For those unable to attend, video from these events will be available online on Film at Lincoln Center’s YouTube channel at a later date.