July 7, 2000

THE FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER ANNOUNCES LARS VON TRIER'S DANCER IN THE DARK WILL BE THE OPENING NIGHT FILM AT THE 38TH NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL

The 38th New York Film Festival is Sponsored by Grand Marnier.

The Film Society of Lincoln Center announced that Lars von Trier's DANCER IN THE DARK, the film that won the Palme d'or at the Cannes Film Festival this year, will open the 38TH NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL on September 22, 2000. This will be the film's North American premiere. An emotional cinematic roller coaster with innovative musical numbers, DANCER IN THE DARK stars the internationally acclaimed pop artist Björk in an unforgettable performance.

For the fifth consecutive year The 38th New York Film Festival is sponsored by Grand Marnier. DANCER IN THE DARK will be released in the United States by Fine Line Features.

DANCER IN THE DARK is about a mother's unconditional love for her son in the face of impending tragedy. Selma (Björk) is a single mother who is losing her eyesight and is determined to save her young son from the same fate. A Czech immigrant working in a factory in a rural American town, Selma finds salvation and hope in her passion for music, specifically the all-singing, all-dancing numbers found in classical Hollywood musicals.

Like Lars von Trier's Breaking the Waves, which astonished audiences with its raw vitality and profound insight, DANCER IN THE DARK is a film about transcendence. At its core is a dark narrative suffused with unexpected hope and Björk's inimitable voice, which floods the soundtrack with an uncommon ecstasy and joy.

DANCER IN THE DARK also stars international screen legend Catherine Deneuve and David Morse, who has given superb performances on stage and screen, notably in How I Learned to Drive (stage) and The Green Mile, opposite Tom Hanks. The choreography, an integral part of the drama, is by Vincent Paterson, whose credits include the films Evita and The Birdcage, Madonna's Blonde Ambition and Michael Jackson's Bad tour, and the Broadway musical Kiss of the Spider Woman.

Lars von Trier is widely regarded as one of Europe's most gifted filmmakers. His groundbreaking television series The Kingdom I (1994) and The Kingdom II (1997) were presented at the Film Society's Walter Reade Theater in 1995 and 1997, respectively. His most recent film The Idiots premiered at Cannes in 1998 and had its New York premiere at the Walter Reade in March 2000. As the central force behind Dogma 95, a group dedicated to reinventing and redefining filmmaking, von Trier eschews many of the standard tricks of the trade in an effort to recapture the truth, spontaneity, and inventiveness of the medium.

DANCER IN THE DARK was produced by Vibeke Windelov, who also produced von Trier's The Kingdom II, Breaking the Waves, and The Idiots. The soundtrack to DANCER IN THE DARK will be released by Elektra Records on September 19.

The dates for the 38th New York Film Festival are September 22 through October 9, 2000. Press screenings for the festival begin on Monday, September 18 at the Walter Reade Theater.

The New York Festival is sponsored for the fifth consecutive year by Grand Marnier, which continues its commitment to film with the Grand Marnier Film Fellowships (awarded during the Festival), publication of the Grand Marnier Dailies presenting an insider's view of the participating NYFF films, and the support of Film Society Donor Screenings.

For further information on the film, go to www.dancerinthedarkmovie.com. For more information about the 38th NYFF and additional Film Society programs, visit www.filmlinc.com

For additional information, contact Genevieve Villaflor at 212-875-5625 or
gvillaflor@ filmlinc.com, or InŽs Aslan at 212-875-5625 or iaslan@filmlinc.com.