Moving Image announces new partnership with Queens Theatre in the Park: 'Moving Image Masterpieces'

FALL FILM SERIES TO FEATURE "MOVING IMAGE MASTERPIECES"

ASTORIA, NY, August 19, 2009 – Rochelle Slovin, Director of Museum of the Moving Image, today announced plans to present a series of classic films in partnership with Queens Theatre in the Park. Moving Image Masterpieces will be shown in the 464-seat auditorium of Queens Theatre in the Park on six Thursday evenings, October 1 through November 19, 2009, bringing international classics to audiences in the former New York State Pavilion in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. A sampling of half a dozen of the greatest, must-see films of all time, the series is the first dedicated film program to be presented by Queens Theatre in the Park.

The series is programmed by David Schwartz, Chief Curator, Museum of the Moving Image, who will introduce each screening. For the inaugural series, Schwartz has selected six enduring masterpieces by six great directors: Orson Welles, Fritz Lang, Jean Renoir, Yasujiro Ozu, Federico Fellini, and Stanley Kubrick. Tickets are $10 per film, $8 for a multi-show discount, as well as a special introductory offer of a $30 film series pass for all six films.

The new partnership with Queens Theatre in the Park is the latest in Moving Image's collaborations with other New York institutions, as it presents its programs of classic and contemporary films at screenings throughout the city. Other notable collaborations are a new partnership with the Museum of Arts and Design at Columbus Circle, which is presenting the Moving Image-curated French New Wave Essentials (through August 30), and Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City, which is presenting Moving Image's selection of international film in its popular annual Outdoor Cinema series (through August 19).

"While work proceeds on our expansion-renovation project, Museum of the Moving Image is a motion picture institution temporarily without a movie theater," said Ms. Slovin. "But we will not let that deter us from providing audiences with outstanding film series. Moving Image is delighted to be able to work with Queens Theatre in the Park to offer a wonderful program to the city's moviegoers this fall."

Other programs of the Museum of the Moving Image—notably its public and educational activities that center on the core exhibition Behind the Screen—are continuing during the construction period. When the expansion-renovation project is complete in 2010, the Museum will double in size, adding galleries, an Education Center and an extraordinary new film theater.

"Our theatre has been eager to host a film series for a number of years, but did not want to proceed without curatorial expertise," said Jeffrey Rosenstock, Executive Director of Queens Theatre in the Park. "Our collaboration with Museum of the Moving Image ensures the quality and integrity of this series and makes it a welcome addition to our full schedule of live performing arts programs. We hope to engage existing as well as new audiences to attend this program and enjoy this new aspect of Queens Theatre in the Park."

Moving Image Masterpieces Series Schedule
Museum of the Moving Image
Flushing Meadows Corona Park
718.760.0064
For directions and information: www.queenstheatre.org

at Queens Theatre in the Park

Citizen Kane
Thursday, October 1, 7:30 pm
1941, 119 mins. Directed by Orson Welles. With Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Agnes Moorehead. Wunderkind director Orson Welles used Hollywood as his playground to make his astonishing debut film, Citizen Kane, an endlessly inventive portrait of an ambitious and lonely newspaper tycoon. Using multiple perspectives, the film questions the nature of identity; it also reinvents the way that stories can be told cinematically. The film regularly and rightfully winds up as the top-ranked film of all time on critics polls; every decade since 1962, it has been the top film in Sight and Sound magazine's prestigious poll, and it is the number one film on the American Film Institute's top-100 list.

Metropolis
Thursday, October 8, 7:30 pm
With live music performed by Ben Model
1927, 124 mins. Directed by Fritz Lang. With Alfred Abel, Brigitte Helm. Reportedly inspired by a trip to New York City, Fritz Lang's stunning vision of a dystopian future in which an exploited working class lives underground, serving the wealthy ruling class, was the most lavish and influential of all silent films. With its spectacular sets, its thematic ambition, and its power-mad scientists, its alluring cyber-heroine, and its rebellious underlings, Metropolis set the template for many science fiction films to come. For years, the film was shown in highly edited prints in the United States; this recently restored version is the definitive edition of Lang's silent masterpiece.

Rules of the Game
Thursday, October 29, 7:30 pm
1939, 105 mins. Directed by Jean Renoir. With Marcel Dalio, Nora Gregor. Filmed by Jean Renoir as the storm clouds of war were hovering over Europe, this romantic rondelay set during a weekend hunting party is unparalleled in its emotionally and cinematically rich portrayal of romance and intrigue among a fading aristocracy. Filled with comedy and tragedy, the film is masterfully choreographed, yet it spills over with the vitality of life. Jean Renoir, the greatest of French directors, was the son of impressionist painter Auguste Renoir.

Tokyo Story
Thursday, November 5, 7:30 pm
1953, 136 mins. Directed by Yasujiro Ozu. With Chishu Ryu, Setsuko Hara. Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu explored universal themes, including the generational tensions of family life, and the ongoing clash between modernity and tradition. His films were simple in plot; Tokyo Story follows an aging couple on a journey from their rural village to visit their married children in bustling postwar Tokyo. Ozu's signature is his meditative visual style; at the heart of the film are the exquisite performances by his favorite actors, Chishu Ryu as the aging father and Setsuko Hara as the daughter.

8 ½
Thursday, November 12, 7:30 pm
1963, 138 mins. Directed by Federico Fellini. With Marcello Mastroianni. A carnivalesque self-portrait of a movie director, 8 ½ moves freely between the frenzy of real life on a movie set, and the director's dream and fantasy life. Marcello Mastroianni perfectly captures the bemused wonder of the film director, creating an indelible portrait of the artist as ringleader. A lavish fantasia rooted in personal experience, this is the fullest expression of Fellini's desire to fuse realism and poetry. 8 ½ has inspired numerous movies about movies including this year's eagerly awaited new film 9.

2001: A Space Odyssey
Thursday, November 19, 7:30 pm
1968, 141 mins. Directed by Stanley Kubrick. With Keir Dullea. Nothing less than an epic vision of the history of humanity from the clash of caveman to the space age, 2001 is Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece, a film about space travel that was made with the same spirit of innovation and technological bravura as the space program itself. The film works on numerous levels, including cold-war satire, darkly comic warning against dehumanization, and mind-expanding journey into a new form of human consciousness, with an abstract and mysterious final sequence that must be interpreted by the viewer.

About Museum of the Moving Image
www.movingimage.us
Founded in 1981, Museum of the Moving Image is the only institution in the United States that deals comprehensively with the art, technology and social impact of film, television and digital media. It houses the nation's largest collection of moving image artifacts; screens hundreds of films annually; and offers education programs to thousands of New York City students and teachers. Its exhibitions—including the core exhibition, Behind the Screen—are noted for their integration of material objects, computer-based interactive experiences, and audiovisual presentations.

Moving Image is currently conducting part of its program off-site as it carries out its first major expansion project, designed by architect Thomas Leeser, which will double the size of the building, completely redesign the first floor and add a new theater, new galleries and an education center. When completed in 2010, the new Museum building will be ideal for showcasing the moving image in all its forms, ensuring the Museum's place—creatively, intellectually, and physically—as one of the great moving-image institutions of the world.

Museum of the Moving Image is grateful for the generous support of numerous corporations, foundations, and individuals. The Museum receives vital annual funding from the City of New York through the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York City Economic Development Corporation. Additional government support for operations is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the New York State Council on the Arts, and the Natural Heritage Trust (administered by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation). The Museum occupies a building owned by the City of New York.

About Queens Theatre in the Park
www.queenstheatre.org
Queens Theatre in the Park is located in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in the New York State Pavilion designed for the 1964 World's Fair by Philip Johnson. QTP was officially established in 1989 with the full support of the community and the Queens Borough President and became an independent nonprofit in 1997. The Theatre presents and produces 300 performances each year, annually serving 100,000 people who reflect the rich demographics of its community population. Currently 75% of the Theatre's constituency is from Queens. In addition to its own season, QTP frequently provides its space for use by community arts organizations and local promoters. Queens Theatre in the Park is committed to presenting performing arts that provide audiences with the highest quality work. QTP also produces new plays, with a concentration on up-and-coming directors and playwrights. QTP has broadened the experience of its core audience to include works by under-recognized artists from around the world and works that tap into the diverse communities of Queens.

Queens Theatre in the Park events are made possible with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

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