20TH edition NOVEMBER 24 TO DECEMBER 2, 2023
20th edition
November 24 to December 2, 2023
James Gray was born in New York City and grew up in Queens. He studied cinema and television at the University of Southern California and made his directorial debut with Little Odessa (1994), which won the Silver Lion for Best Director at the Venice Film Festival. He went on to direct The Yards (2000), We Own the Night (2007), The Lovers (2008) and The Immigrant (2013), all of which were had their premieres at the Festival de Cannes. The Lost City of Z (2016) had its premiere as the closing film of the New York Film Festival. Grayâs most recent films are Ad Astra (2019), which had its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, and Armageddon Time (2022), which was presented in competition at the Festival de Cannes.
After his fiancée has ditched him, Leonard is burnt out and increasingly suicidal. At loose ends, he lives with his immigrant parents, helping them out at their dry-cleaning shop in Brooklyn. In quick succession, he meets two women. Sandra is the daughter of business associates of his folks. Jewish like Leonard, she is frank and sensual. His neighbour Michelle, meanwhile, is mercurial, fun and blonde⦠and unattainable: sheâs in love with a married man and Leonard is just a shoulder for her to cry on. Leonard finds himself in a dilemma: should he risk intimate moments with Michelle at the risk of losing Sandra?
Director James Gray
Producer Donna Gigliotti, James Gray, Anthony Katagas
Screenwriter James Gray, Richard Minello
Cinematographer JoaquÃn Baca-Asay
Production Designer Happy Massee
Editor John Axelrad
SoundDouglas Murray
Production Company 2929 Productions, Wild Bunch, Tempesta Films
International Sales Wild Bunch