CUNNINGHAM

CUNNINGHAM
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY ALLA KOVGAN
Opens Friday, December 13

12:30   2:30   4:40   7:00   9:10

Alla Kovgan’s CUNNINGHAM makes elegant use of 3D technology to bring to life the work of legendary choreographer and dancer, Merce Cunningham (1919-2009) in this, his centennial year. Not unlike Wim Wenders’s approach to Pina Bausch, the film embraces 3D to great effect, featuring stunning excerpts from iconic Cunningham dances, performed by the last generation of his dancers. On camera, some of his original acolytes (notably Carolyn Brown) accompany archival footage that features Merce, composer John Cage (his partner in life as well as in creation), and their collaborator Robert Rauschenberg who designed costumes, sets, and lighting for such dances as Interscape, Summerspace, and Crises. CUNNINGHAM is a thrilling tribute to a man The New York Times described in his final years as “the world’s greatest living choreographer” and the “American modern dance equivalent of Nijinsky.” – Alastair Macaulay

Presented with support from the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation Fund.

FRANCE/GERMANY/USA    2019    93 MINS.    MAGNOLIA PICTURES

“A definitive study of choreographer Merce Cunningham turns the air itself into something tactile, sliced by angular, precise movements. Your takeaway is a tangible appreciation for an innovator of both mind and body.”
– Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out New York

“A knockout. Uses 3D to thrilling effect. What Kovgan's utterly transporting film does, through a thoughtful and dynamic combination of curated material and new performances, is radiate the rapturous power of dance. A rich, intricate collage. The director fluidly interweaves the archival material — some of it never seen publicly until now — with inspired reimaginings of pieces that debuted between 1942 and 1972… performed by the last generation of the troupe, bringing this unconventional and unexpectedly moving portrait full circle.”
– Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter

“Moscow-born filmmaker Alla Kovgan’s CUNNINGHAM is what an artform celebrating the very nature and a practitioner of another artform should look and feel like. Demand[s] to be seen on the largest screen possible. Shot in glorious 3D that makes the technical mode feel indispensable… Kovgan’s ode to choreography master Merce Cunningham is sensational in every sense of the word. A piece of filmmaking so euphoric in its purpose that you could almost imagine it making Cunningham beam.”
– Tomris Laffly, Variety