The West Side Spirit, Manhattan Media, 11/23/2006
She's a Star in Her Own Right: Insdorf, the film aficionado
behind Y's 'Reel Pieces' series, has a following of her own
On Thursday, November 16, after Dr. Annette Insdorf finished teaching her four-hour film class at Columbia University, she raced down and across town to the 92nd Street Y. There, she kicked off the new season of the Y’s five-week film series “Reel Pieces.”
Insdorf began “Reel Pieces” 20 years ago to probe the creative process of filmmaking. Over the years, she has interviewed a list of stars and artists that includes Glenn Close, Sean Penn, Robert Altman, Richard Gere, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Angela Bassett.
Subscribers purchase almost all tickets for “Reel Pieces” even before Insdorf is able to announce the upcoming season’s roster of celebrities, clips, and films. The series’ fans return year after year to see Insdorf elicit candor, wit, and warmth from the stars of moviemaking.
“I work from passion, not just appreciation,” Insdorf said about her dedication to the study of film, which began at Yale in the 1980s while she was earning her doctorate in English.
Insdorf currently directs the undergraduate film studies program and teaches in the graduate film division at Columbia, moderates the annual Telluride Film Festival panel, serves as a TV co-host with Roger Ebert on the Cannes Film Festival, and organizes and hosts the “Reel Pieces” series, part of the 92nd Street Y’s lecture program. She and the journalist Jeff Greenfield will both be honored on December 4 for their long-term contribution as guest hosts to the Y’s lecture program. Insdorf has also published many articles and two books about film and is presently writing her third. She lives in the East 50s.
Insdorf’s depth of knowledge about filmmaking enables her to focus a “Reel Pieces” evening on the lifetime work of an actor, editor, or director. She has also been able to introduce her sophisticated Manhattan audience to performers before they become famous, such as Liam Neeson before he starred in “Schindler’s List” and Alec Baldwin before “The Hunt for Red October” became a hit movie.
Her first series guest this year was the actor and director Ed Harris. During an interview before the event, Insdorf said she planned to screen a premiere of “Copying Beethoven,” in which Harris stars as the composer and show retrospective clips of Harris’s work that she has chose and compiled with the help of her husband, the actor Mark Ethan.
Then Insdorf said she’d settle into a chair on the 92nd Street Y’s stage to talk with the star. “I’m just as curious as the audience,” Insdorf said.
She always begins her “Reel Pieces” interviews with questions about the film that she and the audience have just seen to make her guests feel comfortable. Many artists have told her that she gives them a rare chance to answer substantive questions about their careers. Sometimes, her approach coaxes a reserved actor, such as Ralph Fiennes or Angela Bassett, to open up. Sometimes, it causes surprises.
Insdorf said she completely lost her own stage composure when Richard Gere, the only actor she has interviewed twice for the series, announced, “I’m here because of Cecile, Annette’s mother.” Cecile Insdorf, her daughter’s most ardent fan, had encouraged him to return.
The actor Javier Bardem, 2000 Golden Globe nominee for Best Actor in a Drama, was astonished by the research Insdorf had done to make a clip sequence of his acting career. He begged her for a copy to send to his mother.
The intimacy Insdorf establishes with her guests also creates her loyal audience of “Reel Pieces” subscribers.
Lois Ballon has subscribed to “Reel Pieces” for 15 years. “It doesn’t matter so much who the guest is,” Ballon said. “Insdorf is a knowledgeable interviewer who gets them to be forthcoming.”
Ella Moscaritolo, a series subscriber since 1998, said that one of her favorite series moments occurred last year at the Y when Insdorf interviewed Philip Seymour Hoffman, the star of “Capote.” Insdorf pointed out that Capote had given his first reading of “In Cold Blood” in the same place, in the same room.
“It gave me goose bumps,” Moscaritolo said.
Insdorf has no doubts about the value of her lifetime of work devoted to the study of film, which she describes as the art form of our time and place. “Filmmaking is immeasurably significant in terms of cultural awareness and how we perceive ourselves,” she said.
Insdorf began “Reel Pieces” 20 years ago to probe the creative process of filmmaking. Over the years, she has interviewed a list of stars and artists that includes Glenn Close, Sean Penn, Robert Altman, Richard Gere, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Angela Bassett.
Subscribers purchase almost all tickets for “Reel Pieces” even before Insdorf is able to announce the upcoming season’s roster of celebrities, clips, and films. The series’ fans return year after year to see Insdorf elicit candor, wit, and warmth from the stars of moviemaking.
“I work from passion, not just appreciation,” Insdorf said about her dedication to the study of film, which began at Yale in the 1980s while she was earning her doctorate in English.
Insdorf currently directs the undergraduate film studies program and teaches in the graduate film division at Columbia, moderates the annual Telluride Film Festival panel, serves as a TV co-host with Roger Ebert on the Cannes Film Festival, and organizes and hosts the “Reel Pieces” series, part of the 92nd Street Y’s lecture program. She and the journalist Jeff Greenfield will both be honored on December 4 for their long-term contribution as guest hosts to the Y’s lecture program. Insdorf has also published many articles and two books about film and is presently writing her third. She lives in the East 50s.
Insdorf’s depth of knowledge about filmmaking enables her to focus a “Reel Pieces” evening on the lifetime work of an actor, editor, or director. She has also been able to introduce her sophisticated Manhattan audience to performers before they become famous, such as Liam Neeson before he starred in “Schindler’s List” and Alec Baldwin before “The Hunt for Red October” became a hit movie.
Her first series guest this year was the actor and director Ed Harris. During an interview before the event, Insdorf said she planned to screen a premiere of “Copying Beethoven,” in which Harris stars as the composer and show retrospective clips of Harris’s work that she has chose and compiled with the help of her husband, the actor Mark Ethan.
Then Insdorf said she’d settle into a chair on the 92nd Street Y’s stage to talk with the star. “I’m just as curious as the audience,” Insdorf said.
She always begins her “Reel Pieces” interviews with questions about the film that she and the audience have just seen to make her guests feel comfortable. Many artists have told her that she gives them a rare chance to answer substantive questions about their careers. Sometimes, her approach coaxes a reserved actor, such as Ralph Fiennes or Angela Bassett, to open up. Sometimes, it causes surprises.
Insdorf said she completely lost her own stage composure when Richard Gere, the only actor she has interviewed twice for the series, announced, “I’m here because of Cecile, Annette’s mother.” Cecile Insdorf, her daughter’s most ardent fan, had encouraged him to return.
The actor Javier Bardem, 2000 Golden Globe nominee for Best Actor in a Drama, was astonished by the research Insdorf had done to make a clip sequence of his acting career. He begged her for a copy to send to his mother.
The intimacy Insdorf establishes with her guests also creates her loyal audience of “Reel Pieces” subscribers.
Lois Ballon has subscribed to “Reel Pieces” for 15 years. “It doesn’t matter so much who the guest is,” Ballon said. “Insdorf is a knowledgeable interviewer who gets them to be forthcoming.”
Ella Moscaritolo, a series subscriber since 1998, said that one of her favorite series moments occurred last year at the Y when Insdorf interviewed Philip Seymour Hoffman, the star of “Capote.” Insdorf pointed out that Capote had given his first reading of “In Cold Blood” in the same place, in the same room.
“It gave me goose bumps,” Moscaritolo said.
Insdorf has no doubts about the value of her lifetime of work devoted to the study of film, which she describes as the art form of our time and place. “Filmmaking is immeasurably significant in terms of cultural awareness and how we perceive ourselves,” she said.