NYFF54 Filmmaker in Residence Alice Rohrwacher sat down with Film Society Director of Programming Dennis Lim to discuss her experience at the 54th New York Film Festival. The Filmmaker in Residence program was co-created by Jaeger-LeCoultre and the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

The first two films by Italian director Alice Rohrwacher (Corpo Celeste, The Wonders) screened at the New York Film Festival, and this year she was back as the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s fourth Filmmaker in Residence, a collaboration with Jaeger-LeCoultre. During her residency in New York, Rohrwacher worked on writing her third feature, Lazzaro Felice, about the adventures of a man, almost a saint, who lives on the margins of his society and can seemingly travel through time.

Rohrwacher was born in Florence, Italy, in 1981. She graduated with a degree in Classic Literature from Torino University, and wrote for theater and worked as a musician before approaching filmmaking, initially as a documentary editor. Her first feature, Corpo Celeste, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival’s Directors’ Fortnight in 2011, and was then selected for Sundance, New York, London, Rio, and Tokyo film festivals before being released in the U.S., UK, and France. Rohrwacher’s second feature, The Wonders, won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival along with the Best Film Prize at Filmfest München, and the Black Pearl Award at the 2014 Abu Dhabi Film Festival. In 2015 she directed The Djess, a short film commissioned by Prada as part of Miu Miu’s Women’s Tales film series that premiered during New York Fashion Week, and was also presented at the Venice Film Festival. She is currently working on directing her first opera, a new version of La Traviata for Teatri di Reggio Emilia that will open in Fall 2016. Past Filmmakers in Residence include Athina Rachel Tsangari (Chevalier), Lisandro Alonso (Jauja), and Andrea Arnold (American Honey).

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The 17-day New York Film Festival highlights the best in world cinema, featuring top films from celebrated filmmakers as well as fresh new talent. The five-person selection committee is chaired by New York Film Festival Director Kent Jones and includes esteemed critics, curators, and programmers.

Since 1963, the New York Film Festival has brought new and important cinematic works from around the world to Lincoln Center. In addition to the Main Slate official selections, the festival includes newly restored classics, special events, filmmaker talks, panel discussions, an Avant-Garde showcase, and much more.

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The Film Society of Lincoln Center is devoted to supporting the art and elevating the craft of cinema. The only branch of the world-renowned arts complex Lincoln Center to shine a light on the everlasting yet evolving importance of the moving image, this nonprofit organization was founded in 1969 to celebrate American and international film. Via year-round programming and discussions; its annual New York Film Festival; and its publications, including Film Comment, the U.S.’s premier magazine about films and film culture, the Film Society endeavors to make the discussion and appreciation of cinema accessible to a broader audience, as well as to ensure that it will remain an essential art form for years to come.

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