Alice Tully Hall is where many films for The New York Film Festival are screened, and for the first year, where New Directors/New Films is taking place. Friday night, I saw Infernal Affairs, a part of New Directors/New Films, there. The short film, The Ninja Pays Half My Rent, directed by Steven Tsuchida, Mindy's good friend and someone I had worked with at Bright Sun, got a wonderful reception. After the films, Steven found himself talking to other filmmakers, receiving praise, and signing a few autographs.
Alice Tully Hall is a great venue, if not a perfect one for viewing films. Seating 1,096, there's a stage as well as box seating (my issues with viewing films there have to do with the boxes - the angle is too extreme - but it was meant to be a music hall; also, the lights for the exits are too bright). What's cool during ND/NF (showing here, while the MoMA is being renovated and New York Film Festival is that after the film is screened, if the director is present, a house light shines on a box on the right and everyone claps and cheers for the director. And since it's a pretty intimate space, it makes you feel connected to the movie in another way.
Over the past few years, I've seen quite a few films at Alice Tully, mostly through the New York Film Festival. I've also seen some interesting film-related talks there too, with speakers like Oliver Stone, Christopher Hitchens, Christine Vachon, Bob Shaye, John Leguizamo, Rosie Perez, and Steven Spielberg. My fondness of Alice Tully Hall also stems from the fact that by now, I know the optimal seats for movie viewing as well as talk participation (upstairs, first row, for viewing; within the first 15 rows for a discussion).
Movies I've seen at Alice Tully Hall (2000-present):
Chunhyang
House of Mirth
Circle
Brother
Comedy of Innocence
In the Mood for Love
Faithless
Before Night Falls
What Time is There?
The Lady and the Duke
The Royal Tenenbaums
Y Tu Mama Tambien
Fat Girl
Waking Life
The Man Without a Past
AutoFocus
Punch Drunk Love
Raising Victor Vargas
Infernal Affairs
My Architect
And I'll be seeing Camp later.
More pictures of Lincoln Center from Bluejake.
