64th New York Film Festival opens today: James Gray’s “Paper Tiger” gets North American premiere at Alice Tully Hall

The New York Film Festival opens today its 64th edition with tonight’s opening-night gala at Alice Tully Hall, where crime drama “Paper Tiger” by director James Gray will have its North American premiere. The festival, organized by Film at Lincoln Center, lasts 18 days, from September 25 to October 12, turning New York once again into the world capital of cinema.

“Paper Tiger”, set in 1986 Queens and Brooklyn, follows engineer Irwin (Miles Teller) who, lured by the promise of middle-class comfort, is pulled by his brother Gary (Adam Driver), a former NYPD officer, into a scheme with Russian criminals dumping oil near the Gowanus Canal to dodge regulations — a path that endangers the whole family, including Irwin’s wife Hester (Scarlett Johansson).

The film competed in May this year at the Cannes Festival for the Palme d’Or and now gets its highly anticipated North American premiere in New York. The festival’s artistic director, Dennis Lim, has called Gray “one of New York’s greatest filmmakers”, while the director himself said he is “extremely grateful” for the invitation and that this “deeply personal film is rooted in the city of New York”.

Since its founding in 1963, the New York Film Festival remains one of the most prestigious events in world cinema and a springboard for awards season. “Paper Tiger” is distributed by Neon and will hit theaters on November 13, with a national expansion on November 20.

Source: Film at Lincoln Center