still from Waterland

1992 / 95 min
Director: Stephen Gyllenhaal / Screenwriter: Peter Prince, based on the novel by Graham Swift
Cast: Jeremy Irons, Sinéad Cusack, David Morrissey, Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey, Grant Warnock, John Heard, Pete Postlethwaite, Cara Buono, Maggie Gyllenhaal
Courtesy of Warner Bros.

Screening followed by Q&A with director Stephen Gyllenhaal, moderated by Columbia Film professor Jack Lechner.

Tom Crick (Jeremy Irons) is a British school teacher now living in Pittsburgh. In order to connect with his students, he begins telling stories about his youth in the Fens, a remote area in England. The stories uncover the emotional wounds of his marriage and the tragedy that they are both still recovering from. The fine cast includes several young performers who would go on to notable careers – Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey, Cara Buono, and the director’s own daughter, Maggie Gyllenhaal. (Ira Deutchman executive produced and distributed the movie while at Fine Line Features.)

This screening is part of NY Indie Guy: Ira Deutchman and the Rise of Independent Film

On September 14-16 and September 20-23, 2018, Columbia University’s Lenfest Center for the Arts will host a retrospective exhibit honoring the career of Film Professor and Producing Concentration Supervisor Ira Deutchman. Since 1975, Deutchman has been a leader in distributing, marketing, and producing American independent films, international films, and arthouse films. He is perhaps best known for founding and running the distribution companies Cinecom, Fine Line Features, and Emerging Pictures. Deutchman has taught at Columbia since 1987.  

This retrospective will screen essential motion pictures from various points in Deutchman’s career, such as The Brother From Another Planet; Diva; Harlan County USA; sex, lies, & videotape; Swoon; and A Woman Under the Influence. Many showings will feature Q&A talkbacks with filmmakers or performers. The celebration will also include panel discussions and an extensive exhibit covering Deutchman’s impact on cinema.  

Sponsors

The Art House Convergence
Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard
Film and Media Studies, Columbia University School of the Arts
The Society of Fellows and Heyman Center for the Humanities at Columbia University
The Institute for Research on Women, Gender, and Sexuality at Columbia University
The University of Michigan Library