'Lymelife' to open Gen Art film festival

NEW YORK, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- "Lymelife," a movie starring Alec Baldwin, Cynthia Nixon and Timothy Hutton, has been selected to open the Gen Art Film Festival in New York, organizers said.

The 14th annual festival, slated to run April 1-7, will showcase seven features and seven shorts from emerging filmmakers, which are followed by seven premiere parties.

"The festival allows film lovers to experience a movie premiere like a true insider. Each night of this cutting edge festival is an interactive experience, allowing filmmakers, media, and the audience to share in the excitement," organizers said in a news release.

The festival will take place at SVA, the redesigned, state-of-the-art Visual Arts Theater on West 23rd Street between 8th and 9th avenues in Manhattan.

Executive produced by Martin Scorsese and Leonard Loventhal and co-starring Jill Hennessy, Emma Roberts, Kieran Culkin and Rory Culkin, "Lymelife" was co-written by two Gen Art alums, brothers Derick Martini and Steven Martini. It is Derick's directorial debut.

The fraternal duo previously co-wrote "Goat on Fire and Smiling Fish," which premiered at the 2000 GAFF.

"It is incredibly exciting to continue to support our alumni filmmakers as they grow in their careers and as artists," Film Division Vice President Jeffrey Abramson said in a statement. "We are not only thrilled to have the Martinis back as our opening night filmmakers, but their film 'Lymelife,' which is set in New York, strikes a deep chord with audiences who are seeking honesty and reflection on core values during these difficult times."