Movies about science and democracy and a series devoted to cinematic portraiture will anchor the documentary portion of the New York Film Festival, the Film Society of Lincoln Center said on Monday.
The Applied Science series will present three films about technology: Mark Levinson’s “Particle Fever†tells the story of the physicists at CERN and the search for the Higgs boson; “Google and the World Brain,†directed by Ben Lewis, recounts the search giant’s efforts to digitize the collections of the world’s libraries; and “Tim’s Vermeer,†directed by Teller, investigates the techniques used by the 17th-century painter.
Another series, How Democracy Works Now, will focus on films by Michael Camerini and Shari Robertson. They set out in 2001 to track efforts to overhaul immigration in the United States, following advocates and legislators in Washington in efforts to pass a comprehensive immigration bill. The filmmakers plan to complete 12 films in total; 10 are to be presented in the festival.
Motion Portraits, the last series, will include eight features that take decidedly different approaches toward the portrait. Among them are Nancy Buirski’s “Afternoon of a Faun: Tanaquil Le Clercq,†which illuminates Le Clercq’s role as the wife and muse of George Balanchine, and “The Dog,†directed by Allison Berg and Frank Keraudren, which recounts the tale of John Wojtowicz, whose attempt to rob a Chase Manhattan Bank in Gravesend, Brooklyn, inspired the film “Dog Day Afternoon.â€
The festival opens on Sept. 27. A full list is at the film festival’s Web site.
