It may only be July, but already news is beginning to filter out about one of the major events of the Fall film season. The Film Society of Lincoln Center announced that THE SOCIAL NETWORK, the newest fiilm from Oscar-nominated director David Fincher has been selected as the Opening Night film for the 48th Annual New York Film Festival.

The Festival will open at the recently refurbished Alice Tully Hall on the evening of Friday September 24th. The announcement is the first in a series of highly anticipated news proclamations that will be made over the next few weeks, as this year's prestige event takes shape.  

THE SOCIAL NETWORK, with a screenplay by celebrated film and television screenwriter/producer Aaron Sorkin, stars Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, and Justin Timberlake.  The film is produced by Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, and Ceán Chaffin and is based on the book "The Accidental Billionaires" by Ben Mezrich. It will be released theatrically by Sony Pictures Entertainment on October 1, 2010. The New York Film Festival runs September 24th - October 10th, 2010.

The film tells the timely story of the creation of the internet social networking site, Facebook, that has not only led to different methods of interaction but has also been instrumental in broadcasting events that cannot be fully censored by repressive governments, including last year's street protests in Iran.

However, the film is more about the ingenuity of the internet sensation's founders. Beginning in 2003 in a university dormitory room, Facebook became the brainchild of Harvard undergraduate and computer programming genius Mark Zuckerberg. From that humble beginning, Facebook has signed up nearly 500 million customers and has become a major social and political force, making its founders very rich in the process.  
 
"It's exceptionally rare to discover a film that so powerfully captures the spirit of its time", Richard Pena, the longtime Program Director of the Film Society of Lincoln Center stated in the published press release. "David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin are a director/writer team, like Lumet and Chayefsky before them, that make this movie not only of the moment, but reflective of larger cultural issues as well."

The announcement comes the same week as tongues are wagging about the replacement of contentious Film Society Director Mara Manus, who has been in her present position for less than two years. Manus, whose brusque management style was criticized as being too severe for the rather congenial and low key arts organization, is being replaced by Rose Kuo, a veteran programmer and film festival specialist, most recently with the AFI Los Angeles Film Festival. Her strong association with filmmakers and funders should give her the skills needed as the Film Society attempts to close a $40 million funding gap for its expansion efforts, which include two additional theaters and a restaurant-cafe.

For more information on current and upcoming programs at the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the New York Film Festival, visit: www.filmlinc.com

Sandy Mandelberger, Film New York Editor