Start your engines, film fans, as Film at Lincoln Center has today announced that Michael Mann‘s “Ferrari” will close out this year’s New York Film Festival.
The Enzo Ferrari biopic starring Adam Driver in the titular role will celebrate its North American premiere on October 13 at Alice Tully Hall, with this year’s NYFF running from September 29 through October 15. The film is already set for its world premiere at this year’s Venice Film Festival, and Neon will release it in theaters on December 25, and will be distributed internationally thru STX Entertainment and its partners.
Per the festival’s official release, “Mann brings his astonishing command of technique and storytelling to bear on this emotional, elegantly crafted dramatization of the life of the legendary race car manufacturer and entrepreneur Enzo Ferrari at a professional and personal fulcrum. It’s 1957, and the marriage of Enzo (Adam Driver, in an artfully internalized performance) and Laura (Penélope Cruz, a ferocious revelation) has begun to irrevocably fracture as a result of his philandering and the tragic recent death of their young son. Their unsettled domestic world is on a collision course with his work life as Enzo faces a pair of major turning points: financial pressure to increase productivity, which means going against his long-standing desire to only produce race cars, and preparations for the treacherous cross-country open-road Mille Miglia race.”
The festival’s official announcement adds, “Dovetailing these narrative strands, Mann effortlessly shifts gears between elegiac and spectacular, climaxing in an exhilarating and terrifying race across the Northern Italian landscape — a visual and aural wonder of revving machinery against bucolic splendor — that ranks with the greatest set pieces of the director’s career. Aided by a magnificent cast, which also includes Shailene Woodley, Gabriel Leone, Patrick Dempsey, and Jack O’Connell, and glorious on-location shooting in Ferrari’s hometown of Modena, Mann has constructed a marvel of classical cinema.”
“Michael Mann has made many remarkable movies but perhaps never one as simultaneously thrilling and moving as ‘Ferrari,’” said Dennis Lim, Artistic Director of the New York Film Festival, in an official statement. “Not just a feat of virtuosity, this is a grand and striking evolution of his career themes and his most deeply personal work. We are honored to welcome him to the festival for what I’m sure will be a Closing Night for the ages.”
Added Mann, “It’s a great honor to close the esteemed New York Film Festival with ‘Ferrari.’”
Mann directed the film from a script by Troy Kennedy Martin (“The Italian Job”) based on Brock Yates’ book “Enzo Ferrari – The Man and the Machine.” Mann also produced via his Moto Pictures banner alongside P.J. van Sandwijk and “Birdman” producer John Lesher, as well as Marie Savare, John Friedberg, Lars Sylvest, Thorsten Schumacher, and Gareth West.
Lim, along with Florence Almozini, Justin Chang, K. Austin Collins, and Rachel Rosen, select the NYFF Main Slate. Todd Haynes’ “May December” was previously announced as the Opening Night selection for the festival, while Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla” will serve as the Centerpiece screening.
Limited quantities of tickets and passes are on sale now. NYFF61 single tickets will go on sale to the general public on Tuesday, September 19 at noon ET, with pre-sale access for FLC Members and Pass holders prior to this date.
