New Directors/New Films New York festival unveils 2017 lineup

PanARMENIAN.Net - New Directors/New Films, the annual New York festival of work by emerging filmmakers presented by the Museum of Modern Art and the Film Society of Lincoln Center, has set a 2017 lineup of 29 features and nine shorts that includes Geremy Jasper’s “Patti Cake$”, Eliza Hittman’s “Beach Rats” and Dustin Guy Defa’s “Person to Person” in prominent slots, Variety reports.

All three films premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival. “Patti Cake$,” about a Jersey girl’s quest to become a rapper, will open the festival, while ensemble comedy “Person to Person” — with a cast that includes Abbi Jacobson and Michael Cera — will close it. Brooklyn-set sexual-awakening tale “Beach Rats” screens as the centerpiece.

“Patti Cakes$” turned heads at Sundance when it emerged from the festival with a $9.5 million distribution deal with Fox Searchlight, while new indie label Neon nabbed “Beach Rats.”

Also on the ND/NF lineup are international features including Sanal Kumar Sasidharan’s “Sexy Durga,” Ala Eddine Slim’s “The Last of Us” and Dalei Zhang’s “The Summer is Gone,” among others.

The 2017 New Directors/New Films festival runs March 15-26.