HE isn’t foreseeing any NYFF Spotlight insertion of Cristian Mungiu‘s Fjord. But I could be wrong. Yes, the controversial Palme d’Or winner could be announced as a Spotlight feature. The NYFF typically announces Spotlight selections throughout August, and always before Labor Day.
Fjord’s absence among the NYFF’s main program nonetheless marks the first time since 2015 that the NYFF hasn’t selected the previous May’s Palme d’Or winner for the main program.
On top of which Mingiu’s films have routinely been selected by the NYFF since his explosive debut effort, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, surfaced in 2007. Fjord is his first shut-out.
It seems fairly obvious that it was snubbed over perjorative woke politics — i.e., because of the alleged “MAGA film” factor.
Even if Fjord emerges as a Spotlight selection, it’s still a huge snub for (again) a Palme d’Or winner from a major Romanian auteur whose films have been making the cut for nearly 20 years now.
The NYFF Main Slate selection committee is chaired by NYFF artistic director Dennis Lim, and includes Florence Almozini, Justin Chang and Rachel Rosen.
