Notes on the New York Film Festival

Notes on the New York Film Festival offers a compact, observational look at the ninth New York Film Festival in 1971, centered on on-camera conversations with two filmmakers who were presenting work that year. Peter Bogdanovich and Henry Jaglom talk about their films, the festival atmosphere, and their thoughts on contemporary filmmaking while host James MacAndrew guides the discussion. Molly Haskell appears as herself, adding critical perspective. The piece was produced as a television segment, so it mixes formal interview moments with informal, behind-the-scenes glimpses of panel interactions and audience response, without revealing any surprises about the films themselves.

Directed by John Musilli and created by Stephan Chodorov, the documentary was filmed around the 1971 festival and first aired on the television program Camera Three, bringing a festival scene to a broader public audience.

There are no records of major award nominations or wins tied to this short television documentary. It was made for broadcast and archival preservation rather than the festival awards circuit, so its recognition has stayed mostly within film study and preservation circles rather than mainstream prize lists.

As a contemporary record, the film preserves candid snapshots of two notable filmmakers at a live event, making it a useful primary source for historians and students of American cinema. Its value is largely archival: researchers and cinephiles who study festival history, critic-filmmaker relations, or early 1970s film culture will find authentic, on-the-spot material that isn’t widely reproduced elsewhere.

Critical attention has been limited and modern ratings are sparse, with one database entry listing it at 5.0 out of 10. The work focuses on themes like the role of festivals in shaping reputations, director intent versus audience reception, and the practicalities of presenting films to an engaged public. It functions as a snapshot of film discourse rather than a standalone feature intended for broad commercial viewing.