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| Kent Jones: "Throughout its history, it has been a true home for the art of cinema - that was how it began with Richard Roud and Amos Vogel, that was how it remained with my predecessor Richard Peña, and that was how I’ve done my best to maintain it." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze |
Film at Lincoln Center has announced this afternoon that Kent Jones, director of the New York Film Festival will "step down" following this year's program. Kent in his seven year tenure initiated the Spotlight on Documentary and Convergence sections and will stay on in an advisory role.
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| Kent Jones: "I thank my colleagues, I thank the board for sticking to the original mission, I thank our audiences, I thank our colleagues in the industry" Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze |
The 57th New York Film Festival Opening Night selection is the world première of Martin Scorsese's The Irishman with Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, and Frank Sheeran; Centerpiece is Noah Baumbach's Marriage Story, starring Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver with Laura Dern, Ray Liotta, Alan Alda, Julie Hagerty, and Merritt Wever, and the Closing Night is Edward Norton's Motherless Brooklyn with Bruce Willis, Willem Dafoe, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Cherry Jones, Alec Baldwin, Bobby Cannavale, Leslie Mann, and Norton.
“At some point when I was pretty young and already deep into movies, the New York Film Festival became a beacon for me,” said Jones. “Throughout its history, it has been a true home for the art of cinema—that was how it began with Richard Roud and Amos Vogel, that was how it remained with my predecessor Richard Peña, and that was how I’ve done my best to maintain it. I thank my colleagues, I thank the board for sticking to the original mission, I thank our audiences, I thank our colleagues in the industry, but most of all I thank the filmmakers. It’s been a joy and an honour to present their work.”
“Beginning as a year-round programmer, Kent has shared his knowledge and passion for the movies with our Film at Lincoln Center audiences for almost twenty years,” said Film at Lincoln Center’s Executive Director Lesli Klainberg. “On behalf of the Board and staff, I’m delighted to support him as he continues into the next phase of his career, making more of his own cinematic dreams come true, and we can’t wait to enjoy the results.”
The 2019 New York Film Festival runs from September 27 through October 13.
