The 2009 New York Film Festival
Each year, America's pre-eminent film presentation organization, The Film Society of Lincoln Center presents New York’s most established film festival. For the 47th Annual New York Film Festival, The Film Society of Lincoln Center turned to Empire Entertainment to serve as the overall production company and special event producers to support the extraordinary range of premieres, screenings and events. Empire’s responsibilities would encompass nearly 50 separate events & screenings over the course of the 17-day festival with many taking place in the newly renovated, Alice Tully Hall.
Highlights of the 2009 festival included a special screening of the 70th anniversary of The Wizard of Oz, in a newly re-mastered version, never seen before by the public. Present at the screening were 5 out of 6 of the remaining Munchkins from the films original cast.Crossroads of Youth, a Korean silent film from 1934 that was recently re-discovered and restored, was screened just as it was in the 30’s - featuring a live musical orchestra and a narrator. Attendees were transported back to a time when films were viewed as live experiences.Precious, the festival’s Centerpiece selection, premiered to a sold out crowd complete with a celebrity-filled red carpet to see the Oscar buzz-worthy film. Those is attendance to introduce the film were Mariah Carey, Mo’Nique, Paula Patton and Lenny Kravitz, in addition to Gabourey Sidibe, the film’s title char acter. Academy Award-winning Spanish filmmaker, Pedro Almodovar, was on hand to introduce his latest film, Broken Embraces. Introduced by lead actress, Penelope Cruz, the film’s sold out crowd gave a standing ovation at the film’s completion, a fitting ending to the festival’s closing selection.
Earlier in the day, Pedro sat down with the Festival’s Program Director for a 2-hour discussion on the history of cinema.Empire was also responsible for staging a series of Directors Dialogues, intimate one-on-one conversations between Directors with selections in the festival and industry experts. Directors this year included Italian filmmaker, Marco Bellocchio, “Precious” director, Lee Daniels, Austrian disturbia king, Michael Haneke, French veteran, Claire Denis. Darren Aronofsky (Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler) and Noah Baumbach (The Squid and The Whale) made appearances as moderators. The dialogues were recorded and later streamed on HBO.Empire is a leading producer of high profile festival and events and is honored to work with the Film Society of Lincoln Center. For information on sponsorships for the 2010 New York Film Festival please contact Yasmine Falk at yfalk@filmlinc.com
Guests received their first taste of technological innovation at registration, where they were welcomed by name on a reactive LED screen installation covering the full width of the entry wall. A large lunch café was created with a décor scheme that incorporated custom-built, ceiling-high steel LED frames draped with foliage to create smaller, intimate restaurant-style spaces that displayed both technology and nature.
A series of breakout sessions presented content targeted to attendees’ varied interests, while imagery displayed throughout the venue showcased real-life applications of how products designed to empower developers help to unleash the power of data and reimagine possibilities that will improve our world.
Every element of Microsoft Connect(); from registration, breakfast and keynote, to lunch and evening cocktails, were custom-designed to communicate exacting brand messaging and to deliver a high-touch guest experience to this important audience. The keynote and breakout sessions were livestreamed through an onsite studio built for this purpose and content was watched online by millions around the world.
Empire is proud to collaborate with Microsoft on this annual, top-tier business communication event.
To view excerpts of Connect(); 2017, please visit https://www.microsoft.com/connectevent
