Museum of the Moving Image - Programs

First Look / Museum of the Moving Image

FESTIVAL
First Look 20/21

July 22–August 1, 2021

First Look, the Museum’s acclaimed festival of innovative new international cinema, introduces New York audiences to formally inventive works that seek to redefine the art form while engaging in a wide range of subjects and styles. The festival’s tenth edition—shifting to mid-summer and extended to two weekends—First Look 20/21 presents still unseen works from the 2020 iteration of the festival alongside over a dozen additional programs, making it the biggest and most wide-ranging edition to date. All First Look 20/21 programs will be presented in the Museum’s two theaters, with filmmakers appearing either in person or via live video. A selection of films will also be available for online viewing after their on-site premiere, details forthcoming.

View trailer.

Opening Night, on Thursday, July 22, features the New York premieres of Claire Simon’s The Grocer’s Son, the Mayor, the Village, and the World…, and Yaara Sumeruk’s short film If We Say That We Are Friends, with Simon joining virtually and Sumeruk attending in person.

Closing Night, on August 1, features the New York premiere of Dash Shaw and Jane Samborski’s sui generis animated adventure Cryptozoo, which debuted at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, with Shaw in attendance.

First Look 20/21 was programmed by Eric Hynes, Curator of Film, and Edo Choi, Assistant Curator of Film; Becca Keating, Director of Development and curator of Persistent Visions program; Sonia Epstein, Associate Curator of Science and Film; and guest curator David Schwartz, Manager of Theatrical Programming, Netflix.

The programming team would like to acknowledge the following people for their guidance, support, advocacy, and generosity: Dorota Lech, Abby Sun, Keisha Knight, Joanne Feinberg, Sadie Tillery, Chris Boeckmann, Kristin Feeley, Stacey Woelfel and Robert Greene, Alla Rachkov, Tomek Smolarski, Mary Lee Grisanti, Amélie Garin-Davet, and Dominic Davis, Dan Nuxoll, and Maria Rhodes of Rooftop Films.

Tickets & Passes:
Unless otherwise noted, tickets for individual screening programs are $15 ($11 seniors and students / $9 youth / free for MoMI members starting at the Senior & Student levels ($7 Classic members). Tickets for Opening and Closing Night are $20 ($15 for MoMI Members):

$100 All-Access Pass (including opening and closing night, in-person and virtual cinema screenings, and Working on It)
$65 In-Person Pass (including all on-site screenings and “Working On It” days; value can be applied to a year-round Museum membership)

Sponsors: The Museum is grateful for support from The BFA Film Department, School of Visual Arts; The Jonathan B. Murray Center for Documentary Journalism at the Missouri School of Journalism; The Harriman Institute at Columbia University; The Polish Cultural Institute New York; Cultural Services of the French Embassy; Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program; Captain Lawrence Brewery; Bridge Lane Wine; The Collective Paper Factory Hotel, and Rooftop Films. Additional support was provided by the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.