In conjunction with “Urs Fischer: Marguerite de Ponty,” Urs Fischer selects a group of films to be screened in the New Museum theater.

Cosmonaut Polyakov (2007) 110 min, Russian language with English subtitles, Dir. Dana Ranga
This highly acclaimed 2007 documentary directed by Dana Ranga (East Side Story, and Story). Cosmonaut Polyakov follows Russian cosmonaut Valery Polyakov, who holds the record of the longest trip into space: one year and two months. For the first time he speaks publicly about the KGB, being in exile, and the struggle of space travel.

Up The Yangtze (2008) Dir. Yung Chang, 93 min, English, Mandarin, and Sichuan with English subtitles
A luxury cruise boat motors up the Yangtze—navigating the mythic waterway known in China simply as “The River.” The Yangtze is about to be transformed by the biggest hydroelectric dam in history. At the river’s edge a young woman says goodbye to her family as the floodwaters rise towards their small homestead. The Three Gorges Dam—symbol of the Chinese economic miracle—provides the epic backdrop for this documentary on life in modern China. Official Selection Sundance Film Festival.