Bill Cunningham New York
Encyclopedia
Bill Cunningham New York is a 2010 documentary film
directed by Richard Press and produced by Philip Gefter
. Bill Cunningham New York is distributed by Zeitgeist Films
and was released in theaters on March 16, 2011.
. The Bill in question is New York Times photographer Bill Cunningham
. For decades, this Schwinn-riding cultural anthropologist has been obsessively and inventively chronicling fashion trends and high-society charity soirees for the Timess Style section in his columns "On the Street" and "Evening Hours".
Full of uptown fixtures (such as Wintour, Tom Wolfe
, Brooke Astor
, David Rockefeller
—who all appear in the film), downtown eccentrics and everyone in between, Cunningham’s enormous body of work documents its time and place as well as individual flair. Bill Cunningham New York portrays the man at work (on the street and at the office) and at home (a Carnegie Hall studio).
from March 16 to 29, 2011 before opening in theaters in a limited release around the United States.
. The Hollywood Reporter
described Bill Cunningham New York as a "Fascinating doc about a photographer surveying the highs and lows of New York society." New York Magazine chose Bill Cunningham New York as one of their Critics' Picks. Roger Ebert
gave the film his highest rating of four stars, writing "This movie made me happy every moment I was watching it."
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
directed by Richard Press and produced by Philip Gefter
Philip Gefter
Philip Gefter is an American author and photography critic. He was on staff at The New York Times for over fifteen years, notably as the Page One Picture Editor and as a Senior Picture Editor for Culture. He began writing about photography for the paper in 2003 and continues to write about the...
. Bill Cunningham New York is distributed by Zeitgeist Films
Zeitgeist Films
Zeitgeist Films is an American independent film distributor based in New York City founded in 1988 by co-Presidents Nancy Gerstman and Emily Russo. Films distributed by Zeitgeist are strongly auteur-driven by directors such as Christopher Nolan, Guy Maddin, Atom Egoyan, Todd Haynes, Nuri Bilge...
and was released in theaters on March 16, 2011.
Synopsis
"We all get dressed for Bill", says Vogue editor Anna WintourAnna Wintour
Anna Wintour, OBE is the British-born editor-in-chief of American Vogue, a position she has held since 1988. With her trademark pageboy bob haircut and sunglasses, Wintour has become an institution throughout the fashion world, widely praised for her eye for fashion trends and her support for...
. The Bill in question is New York Times photographer Bill Cunningham
Bill Cunningham (photographer)
William J. Cunningham is a fashion photographer for The New York Times, known for his candid and street photography.-Life and career:...
. For decades, this Schwinn-riding cultural anthropologist has been obsessively and inventively chronicling fashion trends and high-society charity soirees for the Timess Style section in his columns "On the Street" and "Evening Hours".
Full of uptown fixtures (such as Wintour, Tom Wolfe
Tom Wolfe
Thomas Kennerly "Tom" Wolfe, Jr. is a best-selling American author and journalist. He is one of the founders of the New Journalism movement of the 1960s and 1970s.-Early life and education:...
, Brooke Astor
Brooke Astor
Roberta Brooke Astor was an American philanthropist and socialite who was the chairwoman of the Vincent Astor Foundation, which had been established by her third husband, Vincent Astor, son of John Jacob Astor IV and great-great grandson of America's first multi-millionaire, John Jacob...
, David Rockefeller
David Rockefeller
David Rockefeller, Sr. is the current patriarch of the Rockefeller family. He is the youngest and only surviving child of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, and the only surviving grandchild of oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, founder of Standard Oil. His five siblings were...
—who all appear in the film), downtown eccentrics and everyone in between, Cunningham’s enormous body of work documents its time and place as well as individual flair. Bill Cunningham New York portrays the man at work (on the street and at the office) and at home (a Carnegie Hall studio).
Awards
- 2010: Opening Night Film New Directors/New Films
- 2010: Won Audience Award for Best Documentary Film at Sydney Film FestivalSydney Film FestivalThe Sydney Film Festival is an annual film festival held in the Australian city of Sydney and is held over 12 days in June. The competitive film festival draws international and local attention, with films being showcased in several venues across the city centre and includes features,...
- 2010: Won Best Documentary at Nantucket Film FestivalNantucket Film FestivalThe Nantucket Film Festival is a film festival founded in 1996 to promote the cultural awareness and appreciation of the art of screenwriting in the world of cinema. Nantucket Film Festival screens a world-class program of independent, studio-produced, foreign, documentary, and short films in every...
- 2010: Won Best Documentary Audience Award at Melbourne International Film FestivalMelbourne International Film FestivalThe Melbourne International Film Festival is an acclaimed annual film festival held over three weeks in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1951, making it one of the oldest in the World....
- 2010: Won Best Documentary at Abu Dhabi International Film Festival
Release
Bill Cunningham New York played at New York City's Film ForumFilm Forum
Film Forum is a nonprofit movie theater located at 209 West Houston Street in New York City. It began in 1970 as an alternative screening space for independent films, with 50 folding chairs, one projector and a US$19,000 annual budget. Karen Cooper became director in 1972 and under her leadership,...
from March 16 to 29, 2011 before opening in theaters in a limited release around the United States.
Reviews
The film was critically well-received, garnering 97% on movie review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
. The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
described Bill Cunningham New York as a "Fascinating doc about a photographer surveying the highs and lows of New York society." New York Magazine chose Bill Cunningham New York as one of their Critics' Picks. Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave the film his highest rating of four stars, writing "This movie made me happy every moment I was watching it."