Peter Hujar’s Day Trailer: Ben Whishaw and Rebecca Hall Engage in Dialogue in Ira Sachs’ Celebrated Drama

      Ira Sachs, known for directing Passages and Love Is Strange, made a return to the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year to present Peter Hujar’s Day, a drama featuring Ben Whishaw and Rebecca Hall. This film portrays a conversation recorded in 1974 between photographer Peter Hujar and writer Linda Rosenkrantz. As the film gears up for its premiere at the New York Film Festival and its release on November 7 through Janus Films, the first trailer and poster have now been unveiled.

      In his review, Kent M. Wilhelm reflected, “When I view Peter Hujar’s portrait of poet Allen Ginsberg, taken on December 18, 1974, it appears strikingly relaxed. Ginsberg stands on the sidewalk, one hand in his pocket and the other holding onto the straps of a bag draped over his shoulder. He gazes directly into the camera with an expression that says, ‘okay, you’re taking my picture.’ Ginsberg, one of the most recognized names from the beat generation of poets, has a look that makes him seem like anyone—he could be your friend Carl. Although the photo was commissioned by the New York Times, it lacks the polished and sophisticated feel of celebrity portraits seen in prominent publications today. The stark street beside him is located on the Lower East Side, an area now inundated with tourists, shops, and triviality. Just as Hujar’s photograph reflects a period of artistic rebirth in New York City, so does Ira Sachs’ Peter Hujar’s Day.”

      Here’s the synopsis: “Ira Sachs’s latest film, Peter Hujar’s Day, features Ben Whishaw and Rebecca Hall in a vividly cinematic portrayal of a conversation recorded in 1974 between photographer Peter Hujar and writer Linda Rosenkrantz. Their discussion revolved around a single 24-hour period in Hujar’s life, the remarkable and notoriously exacting artist who played a pivotal role in downtown New York’s iconic cultural scene during the 70s and 80s. Set entirely in Linda’s Manhattan apartment, the film creatively and imaginatively reconstructs that long-ago afternoon and the fascinating dialogue between these two unique individuals. As the photographer vividly recounts encounters with prominent cultural figures of the time, including Allen Ginsberg and Susan Sontag, along with the struggles of living with limited financial means in 70s New York, Peter Hujar’s Day unexpectedly evolves into a Bloomsday-like contemplation on the life of an artist and the nature of time itself.”

      Check out the trailer and poster below.