Gearheads are headed to New York City this month for the inaugural Jalopnik Film Festival, presented by Gran Turismo 6 Sept. 18-19. It’s a chance to see Ron Howard’s new Formula One epic Rush before it hits theatres nationwide Sept. 27, and to try your hand at the upcoming Gran Turismo 6, slated for release December 6.
The festival revs up Wednesday, September 18 with an opening panel and party held at the swanky Classic Car Club Manhattan. You’ll rub elbows with film execs and celebs, and bigwigs in the automotive and racing industry including top drivers. In fact, you may have to elbow a few of them out of the way for a turn at one of the GT6 simulators.
Thursday brings more GT6 simulators, plus a day of films at the BAM Rose Cinemas in Brooklyn. Among the lineup:
- Rush: Ron Howard’s new film chronicling the merciless 1970s rivalry between Formula One rivals James Hunt and Niki Lauda. The film stars Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Brühl and Olivia Wilde.
- Senna: A documentary chronicling the tragic story behind legendary driver Ayrton Senna. It’ll make the toughest car guy cry. And that’s okay.
- Grand Prix: A 1966 drama starring James Garner, Eva Marie Saint, and a host of actual real life F1 racing drivers. It’s directed by noted car enthusiast John Frankenheimer and uses actual racing footage from the era.
- Easier Said Than Done: A crowdfunded independent documentary that started as a piece on the first all-American team to run in WRC Rally Finland, but since has become a full-fledged comprehensive view of rallying.
- Black Air: A documentary about the strange and curious misfit of the Buick family, the Grand National – the boxy, brutish car with a mediocre chassis and an undersized engine that somehow became the quickest production car in America in its final year of production, hitting 60mph in just 4.7 seconds.
Haven’t got your tickets yet? Unfortunately, Jalopnik Film Festival is sold out. If you’re attending, do us all a solid and post your pics on the E3 Spark Plugs Facebook Fan Page.