The place in New York that secretly shows Woody Allen or Polanski films, and where even Timothée Chalamet has gone

When it is said that reality sometimes exceeds imagination, it is not said just for the sake of saying it, but because it is. Reality has shown us why, and it has done so in one of the most bizarre cases that has lingered in memory for a long time, almost since the so-called “Cinematographer” was shown in a series of places in Paris almost secretly, with the audience leaving. For fear of seeing a moving train. Well, history hasn't exactly repeated itself but there is a secret, secret side to all of this.

We are talking about the network of secret shows that take place in it New YorkThis has a lot to do with the veto imposed there Roman Polanski – who since 2016 has been unable to enter the country due to his accusation of sexual assault – or above all Woody AllenThe former City That Never Sleeps genius, who was accused of sexually assaulting his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow, was denounced by his ex-wife and her actress mother. Mia Farrow. Although the Woody Allen issue never became mainstream, public opinion toward him has taken sides since the movement's arrival. #Me too boss Annie Hall And Manhattan had become Unwanted person Within New York.

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But Woody Allen and Roman Polanski are one thing, and their films are something else entirely, as those who defend the separation of the work from the author say. Clearly there are some people in New York who share this trend, which is why secret screenings of some Woody Allen films, which have not been distributed in the United States, have begun to be organized in recent years. His latest films, A stroke of luckhas been completely removed from the exhibition circuit in the United States, but not in most parts of Europe, such as Spain, where it was first shown last September.

Writing in The Hollywood Reporter, journalist Jordan Hoffman describes the surreal process he had to undergo to get a copy A stroke of luck And to be able to see it in the United States. “I asked a friend who works in independent film distribution if he knew of any links. He didn't take long to show me one, but then told me it was in French and without subtitles. Soon after, a second link appeared, taken from a DVD with French to Dutch subtitles, and that someone Which used an artificial intelligence program to translate it from Dutch to English. A few days later, a cleaner version appeared. One was uploaded by a cinephile/linguist known as “Fergus,” who apparently “used the Dutch translation as a starting point” and “carefully reviewed it line by line.” After another, he made many adjustments and corrections while watching the film several times,” the journalist describes, but the odyssey does not end there.

Because Fergus's “work” didn't stop there. As the journalist reveals, a venue in New York's East Village is hosting secret screenings of the film A stroke of luck: “She showed me a photo of a handwritten sign (with a cute caricature of the Empire State Building and Eiffel Tower) directing customers “this way” to the secret room and announcing that evening entertainment would be provided by Woody Allen and “Friends Movie”. Although the author cannot reveal the exact location, he adds that this is not the first time that this type of secret screening has been organised, and that on other occasions there has been another Roman Polanski film. the palaceor the earlier works of Woody Allen, all of which aim to “liberate art.”

Specifically in one of those predictions it was shot down Timothée ChalametWho knows if it was with the intention of being another spectator or simply because he was passing by. Whatever it is, the actor appears Sand dunes It coincided with the “premiere” of a movie Rainy day in New YorkCoincidentally, a Woody Allen film in which he himself starred. Both Chalamet and the other participants in the film like Rebecca Hall They later disavowed the film, and the actor announced that he would donate his fees to charity, a gesture that Woody Allen himself described as hypocritical and self-interested. Naturally, sources who saw him enter the building also indicate that there was a problem with the film and the actor eventually left the room, but the story stayed there.