The Film Society of Lincoln Center announced today that Robert Zemeckis‘s The Walk will make its World Premiere as the Opening Night selection of the upcoming 53rd New York Film Festival (September 25 – October 11), which will kick off at Alice Tully Hall.
Based on a true story, the film tells the tale of Philippe Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), the French high-wire artist who achieved the feat of walking between the Twin Towers in 1974. The announcement coincides with the release of a brand new trailer for the film, which you can view below.
Along with Levitt the film co-stars James Badge Dale and Ben Kingsley and will hit theaters on Oct. 2.
Twelve people have walked on the moon, but only one man has ever, or will ever, walk in the immense void between the World Trade Center towers. Guided by his real-life mentor, Papa Rudy (Ben Kingsley), and aided by an unlikely band of international recruits, Petit and his gang overcome long odds, betrayals, dissension and countless close calls to conceive and execute their mad plan.
Robert Zemeckis, the director of such marvels as Forrest Gump, Cast Away, Back to the Future, Polar Express and Flight, again uses cutting edge technology in the service of an emotional, character-driven story. With innovative photorealistic techniques and IMAX 3D wizardry, The Walk is true big-screen cinema, a chance for moviegoers to viscerally experience the feeling of reaching the clouds. The film is a love letter to Paris and New York City in the 1970s, but most of all, to the Towers of the World Trade Center.
