Museum of the Moving Image Announces Major Exhibitions and Programs, January–March 2023

Among the highlights is the first-ever U.S. solo exhibition devoted to Spanish artist, inventor, and filmmaker José Val del Omar

New York, N.Y. – Museum of the Moving Image is pleased to announce the following exhibitions, initiatives, and film programs in the first quarter of 2023. In January, the Museum opens The Office of In Visibility Presents: SAN TV, a video installation by artist sTo Len, and the exhibition On the Morning You Wake to Nuclear Threat, a co-presentation with Games for Change. Upcoming screening series include Snubbed: Great Movies, No Nominations, a retrospective of Chinese artist-filmmaker Qiu Jiongjiong, and the 12th annual First Look festival. Additional programs will be announced as they are confirmed.

SCREENING SERIES
Curators’ Choice
THROUGH JANUARY 21, 2023
One of the Museum’s most-popular annual series, Curators’ Choice offers New York audiences an opportunity to see (or revisit) some of the best films of the past year on the big screen. Selected from films released in 2022, the program, which opened on December 9, features the following upcoming titles, some with filmmakers in person: Aftersun, EO, Decision to Leave, Armageddon Time, Petite Maman, Murina, No Bears, All That Breathes, The Territory, Saint Omer, RRR, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, Last Flight Home, Top Gun: Maverick, A New Old Play, Claire Denis’s Both Sides of the Blade and Stars at Noon, the acclaimed HBO series Irma Vep and The Rehearsal, and overlooked gems such as Terence Davies’s Benediction and Richard Linklater’s Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood. Press release | Program info

INSTALLATION
Office of In Visibility Presents: SAN TV
JANUARY 5–29, 2023
Office of In Visibility Presents: SAN TV (Sanitation Art Network Television) is a video installation by artist sTo Len, who is currently a Public Artist in Residence (PAIR) at the New York City Department of Sanitation, part of a program created by the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs. Based in the Sanitation Department’s Central Repair Shop in Woodside, Queens, Len began working in a defunct television studio, where he has been using the antiquated video equipment to activate hundreds of hours of forgotten films and videos; together they span more than a century of documentation capturing the work of the sanitation department. Located in the Museum’s core exhibition Behind the Screen, within the Media Lab—a media-making space for visitors—SAN TV will include a selection of Len’s videos and offers viewers the chance to record themselves visiting various shuttered waste sites in the city, such as the Fresh Kills Landfill. In the Game Lab (open Saturdays and Sundays), visitors of all ages are invited to play and modify a game inspired by Department of Sanitation mascot Phil D. Basket by digitally drawing their own trash into the game or designing a new outfit for Phil. Len will participate in an artist talk at the Museum on January 28. Exhibition info

EXHIBITION
On the Morning You Wake to Nuclear Threat: Exploring Social Impact Through Virtual Reality
JANUARY 20–FEBRUARY 12
Games for Change brings the award-winning virtual reality (VR) film On the Morning You Wake (to the End of the World) to Museum of the Moving Image. Created by Archer’s Mark and Atlas V—the producers of Notes on Blindness VR—this documentary immerses the viewer in the first-hand experience of citizens in Hawai’i, who endured a false ballistic missile alert on January 13, 2018. On that day, the message “BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL,” flashed on people’s phones. As panic took hold of the Hawaiian population (as well as their friends and relatives across the globe), people came to understand the real, growing, and urgent nature of today’s nuclear threat. The VR experience whisks viewers through an intimately human perspective concerning the threat of nuclear weapons. This exhibition offers the public an opportunity to view the film in VR, while also providing insight into the creative process, production workflows, and worldwide impact of the film. Watch the trailer.
Press release | Exhibition info

SCREENING SERIES
Snubbed: Great Movies, No Nominations
JANUARY 20–MARCH 12
With a nod to the film awards season, MoMI will present 24 American films from nearly every decade since the start of the Academy Awards that received no nominations despite acclaim from peers and critics of their era. Each was regarded as an appalling snub at the time, and in certain cases, the lack of recognition has lingered. Today, some of these films are considered classics or have aged better than other films of their era; in hindsight, some snubs exposed moments of inequity, prejudice, and injustice. The full lineup (in order of year of release) includes: The Docks of New York (1928), City Lights (1931), Show Boat (1936), Make Way for Tomorrow (1937), The Women (1939), The Big Sleep (1946), In a Lonely Place (1950), The Night of the Hunter (1955), All That Heaven Allows (1955), Gimme Shelter (1970), Harold and Maude (1971), The Long Goodbye (1973), Mikey and Nicky (1976), The King of Comedy (1982), Paris, Texas (1984), The Thin Blue Line (1988), To Sleep with Anger (1990), Miller’s Crossing (1990), Crooklyn (1994), Safe (1995), Rushmore (1998), Inland Empire (2006), Uncut Gems (2019), and Passing (2021). Press release | Program info

SCREENING SERIES
Qiu Jiongjiong
January 22–29
The contemporary Chinese artist and independent director Qiu Jiongjiong has emerged as one of the most daring and innovative filmmakers in his country. Born in 1977 in Leshan, Sichuan province, Qiu grew up in an environment steeped in traditional Chinese opera, and most of his works remain infused with the sounds and sights he absorbed there. After establishing himself as a painter, Qiu kicked off his filmmaking career making effervescent, slyly humorous family portraits with a darting, cheerfully voyeuristic handheld camera and provocatively decoupled sound and image. His later films include a trio of documentaries about storytellers, and his first work of fiction, A New Old Play (a highlight of MoMI’s First Look 2022), the summation of Qiu’s work so far, an artisanal epic that spans 50 years in the history of an imaginary Sichuan opera troupe. This retrospective, organized by guest curator Shelly Kraicer, features seven films by Qiu. Program info

EXHIBITION
Cinema of Sensations: The Never-Ending Screen of Val del Omar
MARCH 10–SEPTEMBER 10, 2023
Museum of the Moving Image will present a major exhibition devoted to the work of José Val del Omar (1904–1982), a visionary Spanish artist, filmmaker, and inventor who approached cinema as a multisensory experience. Presented in collaboration with the Val del Omar Archive and the Max Estrella Gallery, and organized by guest curator Almudena Escobar López, Cinema of Sensations brings Val del Omar’s immersive cinematic installations to U.S. audiences for the first time, with the monumental work Elementary Triptych of Spain (1953–95) as its centerpiece. Val del Omar’s work is shown alongside commissioned pieces by contemporary artists Sally Golding and Matt Spendlove; Duo Prismáticas; Esperanza Collado; and Colectivo Los Ingrávidos, who interpret and draw on his work for inspiration. Presented with support from The Andy Warhol Foundation and National Endowment for the Arts. Exhibition info

FILM FESTIVAL
12th Annual First Look
MARCH 15–20, 2023
The Museum’s annual showcase for 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. First Look was the U.S. launching point for films such as Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović’s Murina (2022), Chantal Akerman’s Almayer’s Folly (2012), Sergei Loznitsa’s Donbas (2018), and Hirokazu Kore-eda’s After the Storm (2016). The 12th edition of the festival will feature premieres of works selected from international film festivals, with filmmakers appearing either in person or via video. The Working on It program, which offers a lab-like environment for work-in-progress screenings, workshops, and discussions will take place during the day on March 15, 16, and 17. New this year: the festival will offer the Emerging Critics Workshop, a debut initiative of First Look’s Working on It section, organized by Reverse Shot editor Michael Koresky. This program resurrects and adapts the Museum's Moving Image Institute in Film Criticism, which was a model academy for developing young writers, last offered in 2008. Participating writers, selected via an application process, will have the opportunity to meet established film critics, take part in talks and workshops, and attend and cover a major New York festival. Presented with support from The Murray Center at Columbia School of Journalism, The Harriman Institute, Polish Cultural Institute, Villa Albertine, and Kickstarter. Press release | Program info

2023 Marvels of Media Awards, Exhibit, and Festival
 

MARCH 30–APRIL 30, 2023
Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) invites all audiences to recognize the creativity and leadership of autistic media-makers at its second annual Marvels of Media Awards, taking place on Thursday, March 30. Launched in 2022, the Marvels of Media initiative is the first media awards ceremony, film festival, and exhibit to celebrate neurodiversity. The 2023 awards ceremony also marks the opening of the Marvels of Media exhibit, with the film festival to follow in April 2023 during Autism Acceptance Month. Submissions are currently being accepted through January 31, 2023. Artists, filmmakers, cinematographers, game designers, and other creators working with film, media, animation, or game design may self-nominate by submitting their work or be nominated by a colleague or organization. Marvels of Media is presented by Museum of the Moving Image with Sapan Studios. Josh Sapan is a member of the Museum’s Board of Trustees. Press release | More info

Press contacts:
Tomoko Kawamoto, MoMI, tkawamoto@movingimage.us, 718 777 6830
Alex Cutler and Hayley Brinkman, Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis, momi@ssmandl.com

PRESS IMAGES ARE AVAILABLE HERE.

MUSEUM INFORMATION

Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) is the only institution in the United States that deals comprehensively with the art, technology, enjoyment, and social impact of film, television, and digital media. In its stunning facility in Astoria, New York, the Museum presents exhibitions; screenings; discussion programs featuring actors, directors, and creative leaders; and education programs. It houses the nation’s largest collection of moving image artifacts and screens over 500 films annually. Its exhibitions—including the core exhibition Behind the Screen and The Jim Henson Exhibition—are noted for their integration of material objects, interactive experiences, and audiovisual presentations.

Hours: Thursday, 2:00–6:00 p.m. Friday, 2:00–8:00 p.m. Saturday–Sunday, 12:00–6:00 p.m. 
General Museum Admission: $20 adults, $12 senior citizens (ages 65+) and students (ages 18+) with ID, $10 youth (ages 3–17). Children under 3 and Museum members are admitted free. General admission is free every Thursday, 2:00–6:00 p.m.
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Film Screenings: Friday evenings, Saturdays and Sundays, and as scheduled. Unless noted, tickets are $15 adults / $11 students and seniors / $9 youth (ages 3–17) / free or discounted for Museum members. Advance online purchase is recommended.

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Museum of the Moving Image is housed in a building owned by the City of New York and has received significant support from the following public agencies: New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; New York City Council; New York City Economic Development Corporation; New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature; Institute of Museum and Library Services; National Endowment for the Humanities; National Endowment for the Arts; and Natural Heritage Trust (administered by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation). For more information, please visit movingimage.us.