Although John Waters has never had one of his own films screened as part of the New York Film Festival, the cult icon (aka the Pope of Trash) has designed the poster for the 58th annual event, which was revealed September 3.
“Since none of my films were ever chosen to be in the New York Film Festival, I was thrilled to be asked to design this year’s poster,” the director says in a statement via the Lincoln Center. “I always knew I’d get my ass in there somehow!”
In the statement, Waters also explains the origins of the poster’s style, adding: “What better way to show my respect and irreverence for this prestigious event than to bring along Globe Poster, Baltimore’s famous press that promoted the best rock-and-roll shows all over America for decades?”
“Trashy? Classic? Maybe it’s all the same in 2020 when we have to reinvent moviegoing itself.”
Founded in Waters’ hometown of Baltimore in 1929, and running until 2010, Globe Poster used brash colours and bold type to advertise the likes of James Brown, Tina Turner, and the Beach Boys. The NYFF design substitutes these for Martin Scorsese (captioned: “You know who he is!”), Pedro Almodóvar, Jean-Luc Godard, Barry Jenkins, and Agnès Varda (“We’ve got women too!”).
Characteristically, Waters has also contributed a “shock-epic double feature” to the festival, titled Art Movie Hell at the Drive-In, and featuring a double bill of Gaspar Noé’s Climax (Waters’ top film of 2019) and Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom.
View the new poster design in full below.