As the festival scene moves on, mostly virtual, the New York Film Festival has chosen its closing film. Azazel Jacobs’ French Exit, the story of a Manhattan socialite who abandons her old life for a new one in Paris, has been selected as the closing night feature of the 58th New York Film Festival.
Not only will the film close the festival, but it will make its world premiere at the festival, which is expected to be a mixture of physical and virtual events due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Plans are still being formalized by Film at Lincoln Center, but it’s expected that some of these screenings will likely take place outside.
Regarding the selection, Jacobs stated, “NYFF is the film festival I grew up attending. I remember seeing ‘Night On Earth’ for the first time, and waiting afterwards to hand Jim Jarmusch a fan letter. I remember that same year seeing Gus Van Sant’s ‘My Own Private Idaho’ and having my aim to become a filmmaker only more solidified. I’m grateful to the NYFF for allowing ‘French Exit’ to premiere in the city I was raised in, and love, and to all who are undoubtedly working tirelessly to make this event happen.”
New York Film Festival Director Eugene Hernandez added, “We’ve been watching New York filmmaker Azazel Jacobs for more than a decade since his film Momma’s Man screened in our New Directors/New Films festival in 2008. Now, we’re honored that he’ll make his NYFF debut with Closing Night selection French Exit, a tour-de-force collaboration with Michelle Pfeiffer that we can’t wait to share with audiences in NYC and beyond.”
