Neshobe River Winery: A Wicked-Good … in Vermont!

Visitors to Vermont can drink in more than fall foliage with a trip to a winery. Photo courtesy of Leaf Peepers.

BY TAMARA FISH

BRILLIANT fall foliage.
Excellent cross country skiing.
Damn-near mystical maple syrup.
And some wicked-good wine?!

Who woulda thunk it? That’s Vermont. Full of quirky little surprises. Imagine my surprise when a wine called Purple Haze proved to be far superior to the lighter-fuel, rot-gut hazy hangover its name seems to foreshadow.

Purple Haze. Created in the same year as the 40th anniversary of Woodstock. Did I ever get the reference wrong! But to be fair, the label does say, “Relive the experience Woodstock 1969-2009.” I was thinking one would have to re-live the experience, because just how many who went could actually remember it?

And, who in the world would have the audacity to evoke such an iconic rock legend and slap its name on a wine bottle?

Enter the Foley family, and Bob Foley, Jr. in particular. A short six years ago, BF got it into his head to start the Neshobe River Winery (http://www.neshoberiverwinery.com/about_nrw.html). One son, Patrick, had already embarked on a winemaking career, learning the trade in California, South America and South Africa. The lessons must have stuck, and one lesson in particular: respect the grape.

Label of Purple Haze. The wine is Neshobe River Winery's new take on an old Jimi Hendrix classic song. Photo courtesy of Neshobe River Winery.

Respect for the Hybridized Grapes of Vermont
The tried-and-true, run-of-the-mill varietals simply will not thrive where the ground is wet and the climate is cold; their wines suffer, if one can call them wines at all. Staying true to Vermonters’ passion for supporting local agriculture, BF and other local vintners turned instead to grapes that thrive in the region.

Ever heard of Frontenac? Neither have I. How about Traminette? Not so much. St. Croix and Marquette? Ditto. Many of these grapes are kissing cousins of varietals from Northern Germany and Northern France – also wet and cold climes.

The Traminette grape is derived from the German Gewürztraminer. Photo courtesy of Cornell University horticulture department.

Romance or Science: The Origins of Some Vermont Varietals
Depending on whether one speaks with Vermonters or academic viniculturists, there are two distinct stories about the origins of these grapes. On the one hand, the romantic Vermont version is that French explorers tried desperately to plant the vines of their homeland in North America. That didn’t work. Then some explored producing wines from the wild grapes grown in the region and others spliced in grafts of French vines, creating hybrids that after hundreds of years have become, well, not exactly indigenous, but pretty darn close. From these wines come innovative Vermont wines.

On the other hand, university horticultural experiments of the past 20 years have developed hybrids specifically to develop or enhance varietal characteristics. SPOILER ALERT: That delightful little Traminette? A derivative of Gewürztraminer developed in 1965 by H.C. Barrett at University of Illinois (New York’s Food and Life Sciences Bulletin, No. 149 [1996] http://http://www.neshoberiverwinery.com/about_nrw.html).

Marquette? Developed in 1989 by Peter Hemstad at the University of Minnesota (Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC) Datasheet, [2007], http://www.vivc.de/datasheet/dataResult.php?data=22714).

Frontenac? Also another UMinn product, released in 1996 (Frontenac Enology, [2008], http://www.grapes.umn.edu/frontenac/enology.html). Who knew that two NCAA Big Ten schools could produce great grapes as well as great football?

Label of Neshobe River Winery's Traminette. Photo courtesy of Neshobe River Winery.

Now before anyone goes and has a kitten about genetic engineering, keep in mind that the millennia-long history of viniculture is all about genetic engineering: hybridization, grafts, etc. These forms of genetic engineering are quite traditional – and quite apart from today’s genetically modified plants wherein DNA material from one species is injected into another. This is not that.

Breathe. Pour a glass of Vermont wine. Relax. The point is simply that laboratory science has facilitated traditional winemakers in developing varietals that thrive in the cool, wet weather of northern New England and Canada. Such varietals have begun to flourish in these regions, and the wines they create are distinctive.

Neshobe River Winery
By respecting the grapes that the climate supports, Vermont vintners are beginning to develop a truly regional wine. For its part, Neshobe River Winery is elevating the cultivation of these grapes to an artform. Out of such quirky little varietals delicious, full bodied and unexpectedly complex wines emerge.

The Frontenac grape was created in a test tube. Photo courtesy of the University of Minnesota horticulture department.

I first encountered Neshobe wines at A Taste of Woodstock, a high-quality but surprisingly affordable local artisanal outdoor festival one week before the floods of Hurricane Irene arrived in late August. Organic cheeses, hamburgers made from beef of grass-fed cows, handmade quilts and hand crafted soaps surrounded the wine and cider booths.

Tucked toward the back was the Neshobe River Winery display. BF manned the fort gently while his T-shirt declared otherwise. An understated presence, he chatted just a bit, drawing our focus to the wines and letting us savor them silently. Then ever so slightly with a twinkle in his eye, he gave a slightly wicked little nod that said, “Didn’t expect that, huh?”

Of the five wines that Neshobe produces, let’s focus on two: Traminette and Purple Haze.

Traminette
$17
Mention that Traminette is Gewürztraminer’s kissing cousin and one might think a rather sweet white wine is on the horizon. Not so. Imagine a Gewürztraminer with a dry Riesling backbone: all the flavor is there with only a hint of sugar. This wine drinks well, unfolding with richness as the taste lingers for a moment on the tongue (smooth finish). Perfect for seafood and hearty cheeses.

Sporting a T-shirt that reads, "Come out ye coward and fight the six of us" Bob Foley, Jr. holds down the Neshobe River Winery winetasting fort in Woodstock, VT. Photo by Tamara Fish.

Purple Haze
$17
Take a walk on the wild side. Pure 100 percent Frontenac, the wine is an imp. Cloaked in a Zinfandel’s rich jammy-berry scent (completely fruity nose, strong), Purple Haze does a switcheroo: not a hint of sweetness at all while still retaining a sense of fruitiness. Take a Zinfandel’s hearty fruit-filled fullness (blackberry) and make it dry, dry, dry (not sweet). What a paradox! Don’t even think of drinking this alone. Purple Haze demands food. Good food, not munchies. Let Woodstock recede into that thick purple haze. This is a mature grownup’s drink.

Curious about Neshobe River Winery’s other wines? Go and visit. Stay at the Foley’s Old Mill Inn Bed and Breakfast (http://www.neshoberiverwinery.com/media.html) in lovely Brandon, VT ... To purchase from this small very boutique winery, call BF directly at 802.247.8002 or email neshoberiverwinery@gmail.com.

Next up: Indian Summer’s Perfect White Wine: Casas Patronales Reserva Sauvignon Blanc 2010

Day 17 NYFF: Reckoning & Lunacy in 'The Descendants'

THE 49th New York Film Festival closes down shop today with a journey to the lush, beautiful environs of Hawaii in “The Descendants.”

Making its U.S. debut at NYFF with four screenings, “The Descendants” is based on a novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings. It stars George Clooney as Matt King, a man suffering an existential crisis spawned by two different family events. (See trailer above).

The first is the boating accident off of Waikiki that left his wife in a coma and him to care for (or vice versa) his two troubled daughters, 10 year-old Scottie (Amara Miller) and 17-year-old Alexandra (Shailene Woodley). The strong supporting cast also includes Beau Bridges and Nick Krause.

Also challenging Matt is the impending sale of his family’s ancestral land. Passed down from Hawaiian royalty and white missionaries, the land is home to some of the last unspoiled acreage of tropical beach on the islands. Workaholic, but responsible Matt is the trustee.

Matt's large extended family of mostly deadbeats must agree to sell the land if it is to further benefit from the property before a law forbidding land ownership through perpetuity takes effect. “The Descendants,” directed by Alexander Payne (“Sideways”), has a wider U.S. release next month and a review will be published to coincide with it.

Other screenings today at NYFF include “Policeman,” “Ten Nights of Dreams,” “The Woman with Red Hair” and “Cold Fish.

Visit http://www.filmlinc.com/nyff2011/schedule to learn more about the 49th New York Film Festival: including schedule, repeat screenings, ticket and venue information.

Day 16: 'Policeman' Misfires and Fails to Ignite

A scene from "Policeman." Photo courtesy of 49th New York Film Festival.

POLICEMAN tells two parallel stories. One is of a tightknit, semi-corrupt anti-terrorist unit. The other concerns a group of disaffected, young radical wannabes who are fed up with the system.

The film, which makes its North American debut tonight at the 49th New York Film Festival, fails to engage because these stories focusing on current issues in Israeli society unfold symmetrically rather than overlapping.

“Policeman” is Hebrew with English subtitles.



Other screenings and events today at NYFF include “Play,” “I Look Up When I Walk aka Keep Your Chin Up," “The Untold History of the United States, Chapters 1-3,” “25th Anniversary Screening of Salvador, ” “Goodbye First Love,” “Book Signing Event With John Lithgow, “Pina,” “Love Hotel” and “Charisma.”

Visit http://www.filmlinc.com/nyff2011/schedule to learn more about the 49th New York Film Festival: including schedule, repeat screenings, ticket and venue information.

Day 14 NYFF: ‘This Is Not a Film,' Really. It’s Not.

Mojtaba Mirtahmasb and Jafar Panahi in "This Is Not a Film." Photos courtesy of 49th New York Film Festival.

THE Iranian government banned director Jafar Panahi from writing and filming. The 20-year-ban, however, did not prohibit him from acting.

Consequently, the director becomes a thespian in the wonderfully subversive “This Is Not a Film,” which was reportedly shot on an iPhone. Mojtaba Mirtahmasb, who is mostly off camera, is his documentarian. It makes its U.S debut today at the 49th New York Film Festival.


Some background, last year JP was sentenced to six years in prison and prohibited from practicing his craft for colluding and propagandizing against the Iranian government. JP is under house arrest while his appeal is being considered. The case of the award-winning director and some of his colleagues has been a cause celebre in film circles, particularly on the international film festival circuit. Just last month, MM was arrested as he was preparing to journey to Toronto to promote “This Is Not a Film.” He and five other filmmakers were charged with colluding against the Iranian government, etc. “This Is Not a Film” arrives in New York, then with quite a back story. Incidentally, it was smuggled into France for its world premiere at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. (See trailer below).

Circumstances dictate that the set and command central of the film are JP’s comfortable Tehran apartment. It opens on the eve of the Iranian New Year. JP is alone because his wife and children are visiting the children’s grandmother. “This Is Not a Film” is a sort of day-in-the-life-of project.



During the morning JP talks to his lawyer or advocate who assures him that his sentence can be reduced but also cautions him that he will do some jail time. “This is a political ruling,” not a legal one, she says.

JP receives the news well enough and continues about his day. He has a few chores to do, including feeding his family’s pet iguana, the source of a fair amount of comic relief. At one point the “actor” recalls a film he made with a child actress who’d become so frustrated that she quit. What he is really expessing is his own feelings of frustration and entrapment. He speaks in a kind of code, especially with MM as they are making an illegal film. A true act of revolt, though, is the scene with the garbage.

Of course, the entire film is an act of rebellion and expression of JP's frustration. It, too, makes its point covertly, so as not to invite further censure from the authorities. But will the film in and of itself bring more trouble on the filmmakers? Events so far suggest that it will, for Big Brother is watching. And listening.

In Noboru Tanaka's "The Hell-Fated Courtesan," the Japanese royal family takes drastic measures to endear itself to a “Death Goddess” (Rie Nakagawa).

“This Is Not a Film is a touching testament to the inventiveness of the human mind and the indomitable nature of the human spirit.

“This Is Not a Film” is in Persian with English subtitles.

Other screenings and events today at NYFF include “Martha Marcy May Marlene,” “Retaliation,” “Antonio Banderasat the Apple Store,” “This Is Not a Film,” “Wes Anderson at Apple Store,” “From Morning Till Midnight,” “The Hell-Fated Courtesan,” and “10th Anniversary Screening of The Royal Tenenbaums, Presented by New Wave.”

Visit http://www.filmlinc.com/nyff2011/schedule to learn more about the 49th New York Film Festival: including schedule, repeat screenings, ticket and venue information.

Any Nutritarian Worth His Salt Is Eating Up GOMBBS

The tangy bean salad contains fiber and protein, which contribute to energy and stamina. Photo from Whole Foods Market.

By JANET COOK, NYC Healthy Chick

ARE they fruits or vegetables? Do they taste good? Where do I buy them? C’mon NYC Healthy Chick, what are GOMBS?

Actually, “GOMBBS” is an acronym you can use to remember the most nutrient-dense, health-promoting foods on the planet. Joel Fuhrman, a medical doctor and author promotes this catchy acronym in his new book, “Super Immunity: The Essential Nutrition Guide for Boosting Your Body's Defenses to Live Longer, Stronger, and Disease Free." These foods should make up a significant portion of the diet, and JF recommends eating them every day. GOMBBS are extremely effective at preventing chronic disease as well as promoting health and longevity.

OK, so what exactly are GOMBBS? Simply, they are Greens, Onions, Mushrooms, Berries, Beans and Seeds/Nuts.

In his popular book, Joel Fuhrman offers several remedies for good health, including high consumption of GOMBBS. Photo courtesy of HarpersCollins Publishers.

GOMBBS make up JF’s “Nutritarian Pyramid.” “A nutritarian,” he asserts, “is a person who strives for more micronutrients per calorie in their diet-style. A nutritarian understands that food has powerful disease-protecting and therapeutic effects and seeks to consume a broad array of micronutrients via their food choices. It is not sufficient to merely avoid fats, consume foods with a low glycemic index, lower the intake of animal products, or eat a diet of mostly raw foods.

“A truly healthy diet must be micronutrient rich and the micronutrient richness must be adjusted to meet individual needs," JF says. "The foods with the highest micronutrient per calorie scores are green vegetables, colorful vegetables, and fresh fruits. For optimal health and to combat disease, it is necessary to consume enough of these foods that deliver the highest concentration of nutrients ...”

A nutritarian also consumes a lot of GOMBBS:

G – Greens. Want to protect blood vessels, reduce the risk of diabetes, plus have an excellent weight-loss tool? Eat unlimited quantities of greens. They contain about 100 calories per pound and are packed with the most nutrient-dense food missing from the U.S. diet. The majority of calories in green vegetables, including leafy greens, come from protein. This plant protein is packaged with beneficial phytochemicals, folate, calcium and contains small amounts of omega-3 fatty acids.

Leafy greens are also rich in antioxidant pigments called carotenoids. The pigments are known to promote healthy vision. Greens have combined additive effects, working synergistically to remove carcinogens, reduce inflammation, neutralize oxidative stress and inhibit angiogenesis (the process by which tumors acquire a blood supply). Further, they have been shown to kill cancer cells, too.

The berry crisp is a guilt-free dessert. Photo from Whole Foods Market.

O – Onions. Great benefits come to those who eat onions, leeks, garlic, shallots and scallions. Experience improved cardiovascular and immune systems while increasing anti-diabetic properties. It also lowered the risk of gastric, prostate and colon cancers. Onions and friends detoxify carcinogens, halt cancer cell growth and block angiogenesis. Plus, they contain high concentrations of health-promoting flavonoid antioxidants. Flavonoids also have anti-inflammatory effects that may contribute to cancer prevention. Who knew flavonoids were so powerful?

M - Mushrooms. White, cremini, portobello, oyster, shiitake, maitake and reishi mushrooms have all been associated with decreased risk of breast, stomach and colorectal cancers. Some are anti-inflammatory. They stimulate the immune system and prevent DNA damage. Mushrooms also contain aromatase inhibitors – compounds that can block the production of estrogen. These compounds are thought to be largely responsible for aiding in the prevention of breast cancer.

B – Berries. Low in sugar, not to mention the fact that they are naturally sweet and juicy, blueberries, strawberries and blackberries are true super foods. Their vibrant colors indicate that they are chock full of antioxidants, including flavonoids and antioxidant vitamins. Berries are some of the highest antioxidant foods in existence.

Berries contain all-important, disease-fighting antioxidants. Photo from Whole Foods Market.

Berries are also awesome for cardioprotective and anti-cancer effects, such as reducing blood pressure and inflammation. And they can prevent DNA damage, inhibit tumor angiogenesis and stimulate the body’s own antioxidant enzymes. Consuming berries is also linked to reducing the risk of diabetes, cancers and cognitive decline. Want a better brain? Berries improve both motor coordination and memory.

B – Beans. Beans and legumes are powerhouses of superior nutrition and the most nutrient-dense carbohydrate source. They are great for preventing diabetes and weight-loss because they are digested slowly, having a stabilizing effect on blood sugar while promoting satiety. Beans help to prevent food cravings, too. The soluble fiber found in beans and legumes lowers cholesterol levels. Fiber and resistant starch reduce the total number of calories absorbed from beans. Another benefit is that they are fermented by intestinal bacteria into fatty acids that help prevent colon cancer.

Eat beans, peas or lentils at least twice a week to decrease colon cancer risk by 50 percent. They also provide significant protection against oral, larynx, pharynx, stomach and kidney cancers.

S – Seeds. Don’t fret about the healthy fats in seeds and nuts. They aid in the absorption of nutrients when eaten with vegetables. Seeds and nuts contain healthy fats and are rich in a spectrum of micronutrients, including phytosterols, minerals and antioxidants. Consuming nuts helps with weight maintenance and diabetes prevention.

Bok choy and carrots deliver on color, flavor and nutrients. Photo from Whole Foods Market.

The nutritional profile of seeds is similar to nuts as it regards healthy fats, minerals and antioxidants. Seeds, though, are also abundant in trace minerals and higher in protein than nuts. Flax, chia and hemp seeds are extremely rich sources of omega-3 fats.

Ready – Set – GOMBBS!!!! Try out some of NYC Healthy Chick’s favorite GOMBBS meals. They are full of flavor and variety, plus they are easy to prepare.

This colorful trio of greens, mushrooms and seeds are a light fare to be enjoyed anytime - Bok Choy with Carrots (http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/2859) ... Spice things up with your beans by skipping the pita (or not)! Instead, serve a tangy beans and onion medley (Tangy Bean Salad) over your choice of healthy raw leafy greens instead. (http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/531) ... Want a sweet treat that will boost brainpower and control weight? A no cook, no fuss version of Raw Berry Crisp (http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/2689) is one great way to have it all in one dish.

Thinking of becoming a nutritarian? Then pile on the GOMBBS!

Visit http://www.amazon.com/Super-Immunity-Essential-Nutrition-Boosting/dp/0062080636 to purchase "Super Immunity: The Essential
Nutrition Guide for Boosting Your Body's Defenses to Live Longer, Stronger, and
Disease Free" for as little as $14.

Day 11 NYFF: Escaping (Cults) and Embracing (Politics)

Esteban Lamothe as Roque in "The Student."Photo from 49th New York Film Festival.

THE Student (“El Estudiante”) could also be titled “The Political Education of Roque.”

In the film, which has its second and last screening tomorrow at the 49th New York Film Festival, Esteban Lamothe is in fine form as Roque, the student of the title who enrolls in a nondescript public college in Buenos Aires. Roque has three things on his mind and none is his studies.

Roque is content to exist in the sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll scene until he attends a rally where the fascinating Paula (Romina Paula) is among the speakers. She is a child of revolutionaries who has been involved in various causes since she was very young. Roque is even more fascinated by Paula after he enrolls in her class. It is through Paula’s class that he gains entrée into her political circle at the university.

In an interview after the press screening of his arch political drama, first-time director Santiago Mitre said for many Argentines the public university is the entry point into politics. At this university, like in many societies, there are many political factions.

The factions are all fighting for the same thing: control. A very few members are true believers. Most, however, talk a good game about throwing off the shackles of Peronism, demanding that students be taught the (whose?) truth and fighting for better student services, etc. In the final analysis, though, they are supremely self-interested. Roque, the son of a Peronist, throws in with a group espousing other theories. It doesn’t matter, for allegiance is pliable and ephemeral.

Much of the action in “The Student” takes place in bars, restaurants and coffeehouses. Doubtless, politics makes one thirsty and hungry. Politics also inspires loquaciousness, though the dialogue is snappy and engaging. To increase the tension and drama around this excessive jawing, SM relies on a soundtrack more appropriate for a thriller or horror film, infusing “The Student” with an undercurrent of whimsy and vaingloriousness.

Roque rises quickly in the ranks, owing to his facility for organizing people and fomenting dissent and protest. Professor Alberto Acevedo and student adviser
(Ricardo Felix) also sees this potential and exploits Roque’s talents.

John Hawkes, Elizabeth Olsen, Louisa Krause and Christopher Abbott in "Martha Marcy May Marlene." Photo courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures.

In politics, Argentine-style, someone you idolize, respect and trust can betray you at the worst possible moment in the name of expediency. A comrade-in-arms may even attempt to manipulate you after his betrayal, thinking he can play you for a fool for a second time. Sound familiar? Is this the case only in Argentina? The political machinations have universal relevance, SM discovered, from audiences in various countries around the world – Chile, Greece, Israel, among them. It is in such circumstances that Roque gets the bulk of his education.

Though “The Student” could have easily been 30 minutes shorter, it is engrossing until the end, which comes on a sort of exclamation point.

“The Student” is in Spanish with English subtitles.

Disconnecting and deprogramming are at the center of “Martha Marcy May Marlene,” Sean Durkin’s thriller debuting at NYFF tonight.

The film follows the story of Martha (Elizabeth Olsen) who has escaped from a cult in the Catskill Mountains and is recovering at the home of her sister, Lucy (Sarah Paulson). Martha may need more than the love she is receiving in the bosom of her family because she believes members of the cult, led by Patrick (John Hawkes), are still watching her. (See trailer below).



The film, which won the best director award in the drama category for SD at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, is scheduled for a limited release in the United States on 21 Oct.

Other screenings and events today at NYFF include “Pigs and Battleships,” “HBO Films Directors Dialogues: Abel Ferrara,” “To Union or Not to Union: Casting & Working with Actors in Low Budget Indies,” and “Intentions of Murder.”

Visit http://www.filmlinc.com/nyff2011/schedule to learn more about the 49th New York Film Festival: including schedule, repeat screenings, ticket and venue information.

Day 10 NYFF: Beauty of Monotony in ‘The Turin Horse’

Janos Derzsi and Erika Bok in "The Turin Horse." Photo from Cinema Guild.

FOR nearly 2½ hours, viewers will watch as a man and his daughter, saying next to nothing, repeat the same ritual day after day after day in a very confined space.

Welcome to the world of “The Turin Horse,” Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky’s captivating meditation on the outcome of a chance encounter between Friedrich Nietzsche and the titular horse.

At the beginning of the film, making its U.S. debut today at the 49th New York Film Festival, the narrator gives the viewer to know that FN comforted the horse, which was being whipped by its driver. The philosopher subsequently collapsed and spent the final years of his life in silence in the care of his mother and siblings. But what of the horse? (See trailer below).

It seems the horse, too, was affected by either the beating or the meeting or both. The animal won’t eat, drink or lead the carriage that holds the goods the family trades for its survival.

The carriage driver (Janos Derzsi) is the horse’s owner. He lives on the harsh, barren, windy plains of Eastern Europe with his daughter (Erika Bok). Theirs is a life of ascetic sameness.



Each day the daughter rises, collects water for washing and cooking, boils potatoes, dresses her father, sets the table, plates the potatoes, clears the table. Afterward, father and daughter repair to the barn where the daughter feeds and waters the horse who does not eat or drink before hitching it and it goes nowhere. Father and daughter unhitch the horse, close the barn doors, return to their spare hut where daughter undresses father. They go to bed.The camera records it all in b&w, accompanied by a funereal one-movement soundtrack.

“The Turin Horse," which won the Silver Bear at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival, is a beautiful piece of filmmaking and storytelling. BT’s camera doesn’t have much in the way of scenery to work with but makes much of the images at its disposal in the hut, yard and barn. The viewer's eye never tires of the scenery, for the director presents the environs from different and unexpected angles. Where the soundtrack should grate, it ingratiates itself, coaxing the viewer into this sad, strange place.

BT has said eight (films) is enough. “The Turin Horse” is to be his last. One can only hope he will reverse himself.

“The Turin Horse,” is in Hungarian with English subtitles.

Michelle Williams Is an Icon in 'My Week with Marilyn'


“MY Week with Marilyn” is based on two works by Colin Clark. The writer and filmmaker met the famous actress in 1957 when she journeyed to the United Kingdom to star in “The Prince and the Showgirl” opposite Laurence Olivier. The film chronicles a week that CC spent with MM spent when her third husband, Arthur Miller, left the country on personal business.

Eddie Redmayne, Dougray Scott and Michelle Williams in “My Week with Marilyn.” Photo by Laurence Cendrowicz for The Weinstein Company.

“My Week with Marilyn” has its world premiere today at NYFF. It opens wide in the United States on 4 Nov. and on 18 Nov. in the United Kingdom. A review will be published to coincide with the U.S. release. Meanwhile, enjoy the interview above with Michelle Williams at an actor’s roundtable with Annette Benning, Natalie Portman, Colin Firth and others. She plays MM in the film.

'Twenty Cigarettes' & Smokers in Director's Latest Time Travel
JAMES Benning’s “Twenty Cigarettes” has been compared widely with Andy Warhol’s “Screen Tests,” but the film may have more in common with a previous work by JB.

AW shot his subjects in "Screen Tests" – many of them celebrities or those he believed to have star potential; many of them members of his Factory – for several unbroken, silent minutes. The photographer's aim was to create film portraits. In “Twenty Cigarettes,” which makes its U.S. debut tonight in “NYFF Views from the Avant-Garde,” JB films a score of individuals making no sound except what escapes from them while they smoke a cigarette. The film lasts as long (99 minutes ) as it takes this diverse group to finish their smoke. Similarly, in JB’s “RR” (2007), each shot lasts as long as it takes each in a series of trains to cross the frame. (See trailer below in which the director talks about casting the film).



Watching 20 different people – most of them unfamiliar – smoke a cigarette might potentially hold the same amount of interest one might have in watching paint dry. The director’s latest exploration of time also takes place in a single frame. The lone frame holds subject, cigarette and simple background. The eyes don’t have much to work with or do they?

The act of inhaling and exhaling smoke from a cigarette, as well as extinguishing a cigarette butt is quite involved. A smoker may squint or move a shoulder just so; smokers exhibit different degrees of head-tilt when they take a pull. She may replace an errant or imaginary lock of hair. His eyes may dance or look anywhere except at the camera; a smoker may stare frankly or blankly at the camera – unaware of it to varying degrees.

A smoker in "Twenty Cigarettes." Photo from 49th New York Film Festival.

While “Twenty Cigarettes” is not addictive, it slowly breaks down the viewer's resistance, overcoming any objection one draw at a time.

Other screenings and events today at NYFF include “Shame,” “Till We Meet Again,” “The Pettifogger,” “Take Aim at the Police Van,” and a talk with Béla Tarr, (director of “The Turin Horse”),

Visit http://www.filmlinc.com/nyff2011/schedule to learn more about the 49th New York Film Festival: including schedule, repeat screenings, ticket and venue information.