Rebecca Hall, Tessa Thompson, Ruth Negga André Holland on Passing, NYFF59

Director Rebecca Hall and actors Tessa Thompson, Ruth Negga and André Holland discuss Passing, a Main Slate selection at NYFF59, with NYFF Director Eugene Hernandez. A cornerstone work of Harlem Renaissance literature, Nella Larsens 1929 novel Passing is adapted to the screen with exquisite craft and skill by writerdirector Rebecca Hall, who envelops the viewer in a bygone period that remains tragically present. The films extraordinary anchors are Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga, meticulous as middleclass Irene and Clare, reacquainted childhood friends whose lives have taken divergent paths. Clare has decided to pass as white to maintain her social standing, even hiding her identity from her racist white husband, John (Alexander Skarsgård); Irene, on the other hand, is married to a prominent Black doctor, Brian (André Holland), who is initially horrified at Clares choices. As the film progresses, and resentments and latent attractions bristle, Hall creates an increasingly claustroph