Friday, May 6 opening night presentation is Anna, with award-winning Italian actress Valeria Golino [2] in person, followed by reception. From mind-bending genre experiments that reinvent the musical, sci-fi film, and horror movie, to gripping dramatic features and documentaries capturing the tenuous nature of modern life for a variety of wanderers and refugees, Panorama Europe 2016 is a vibrant selection of some of the finest and most riveting films coming out of Europe today.

Filled with New York premieres, with filmmakers from Greece, Malta, Poland, Portugal, and the Czech Republic in person, this is a great opportunity to discover some of the most exciting new international filmmakers. 

The Opening Night Film is Anna [2] (Italy, 2015), with award-winning actress Valeria Golino, best known for her roles in Barry Levinson’s Rain Man and Emanuele Crialese’s Respiro, in person on Friday, May 6.  The screening will be followed by a conversation with Golino and a reception.

Following Italy’s Anna, festival films hail from countries as diverse as Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, Lithuania, Malta, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain.

Programmed by David Schwartz, the Museum’s Chief Curator, and Eric Hynes, Associate Curator of Film, the festival offers New York audiences what may be their only chance to see these acclaimed films on the big screen.

Some of the highlights of this year’s edition include Spartacus & Cassandra [3] (True/False 2015, HotDOCS 2016), a poignant documentary on the plight of Romani children living on the margins of society; The Lure (Special Jury Prize winner for Unique Vision and Design at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival [4]), a fearless and imaginative vampire disco musical with 1980’s communist kitsch; the 2016 Austrian Film Award winner for Best Documentary Lampedusa [5] in Winter, an eye-opening look at the struggles suffered by both a tiny community at the edge of Europe and the migrants risking their lives to reach the island’s shores; the visually ravishing coming of age romance The Summer of Sangaile which won the World Cinema Directing award at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival; and History’s Future, visual artist Fiona Tan [6]’s mind-bending, genre-hopping tour through contemporary Europe, co-written with UK film critic Jonathan Romney [7].

“Panorama Europe is a great showcase for some of the strongest feature films that are making the rounds of international film festivals,” said Chief Curator David Schwartz. “The Museum is very pleased to present this showcase, which is filled with New York premieres of films by major emerging directors.”

Coordinated by Gaelle Duchemin, European Union Delegation to the United Nations and in partnership with the Czech Center New York/Bohemian National Hall, the Panorama Europe festival is comprised of the Albanian Institute New York, the Arts Council Malta New York, the Austrian Cultural Forum New York, the Balassi Institute - Hungarian Cultural Center New York, the Consulate General of the Republic of Croatia and the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Estonia, the Consulate General of Portugal, the Consulate General of Slovakia, the Cultural Services of the French Embassy, the Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations, Dutch Culture USA program by the Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York, the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania, the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovenian Film Centre, the General Representation of the Government of Flanders to the U.S.A., the Goethe-Institut New York, Instituto Cervantes, the Italian Cultural Institute [8], the Consulate General of Greece in New York and the Onassis Foundation (U.S.A.), and the Polish Cultural Institute New York.

FULL LINE UP
SCHEDULE AND DESCRIPTIONS FOR PANORAMA EUROPE [9], MAY 6–22, 2016*
*Program may be subject to change.

OPENING NIGHT FILM & RECEPTION
Anna (Per amor vostro)
New York Premiere with actress Valeria Golino in person
Followed by reception
Presented by the Italian Cultural Institute
FRIDAY, MAY 6, 7:00 P.M. AT MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE

Italy. Dir. Giuseppe M. Gaudino [10]. 2015, 117 mins. In Italian with English subtitles. With Valeria Golino, Massimiliano Gallo, Adriano Giannini. A woman’s downward spiral is viscerally evoked in this fantastical and psychologically charged character study. Winner of the Best Actress award at the Venice Film Festival [11], Valeria Golino is astonishing as a wife and mother losing her grip as she contends with a brutish criminal husband and three rebellious children. An affair with a dashing television actor seems to offer an escape—but is it also a dead end? Shot in evocative black-and-white—with surreal bursts of color to convey the protagonist’s memories and fantasies—Anna is an emotionally shattering portrait of a woman coming undone.