Some nights are simply meant to beat on in the heart forever. Such was the case of the 2026 New York Philharmonic Spring Gala.
Stepping onto the red carpet at the 2025 New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center, I had the opportunity to interview the cast and several members of the creative team behind this year’s Sentimental Value, a film by Joachim Trier.
Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value is a beautifully crafted exploration of family, memory, and the fragile artistry that binds generations. It is one of the best films of this decade, if not ever.
“Fashion, Friendship & Felonies: ‘A Simple Favor 2’ Steals the Spotlight”
On March 3, Judith Pisar — the chair of the upcoming Young Concert Artists (YCA) Gala — hosted an intimate reception featuring performances from YCA alumni. The event honored Clive Gillinson, the Executive and Artistic Director of Carnegie Hall, who was also in attendance. The reception was a preamble to YCA’s 64th Annual Gala on April 17 at Jazz at Lincoln Center.
On Thursday, December 12 The Knockturnal joined an intimate gathering to honor the multifaceted rapper, actor, and philanthropist JoeyBada$$ who hosted in partnership with TresGeneraciones®Tequila, a celebratory dinner which marked the inaugural year of ImpactMENtorship. The evening radiated with warmth, connection and a shared commitment to the community.
During the last week of July, the Ballet Hispánico, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, and Dance Theatre of Harlem shared their passion for dance with the public through a free series of 20-minute performances.
As we know them, fairy tales often involve a protagonist lacking control over her or his fate. Snow White and Sleeping Beauty were driven into hiding, yet were doomed with a sleeping curse anyway—curses that could only be broken had their true love decided to awaken them. Rapunzel is locked away in a tower with no doors, needing a hero to rescue her. It’s exactly this what Siyu Liu set out to deconstruct in her directorial feature debut (and original screenplay) Flaming Cloud.
There are no villainous characters with wicked intentions to be found in Siyu Liu’s fairytale story, but Gods and Goddesses with voyeuristic tendencies and penchants for placing wagers pulling the strings. The story begins when two of the deities boldly place the most consequential wager any of them have ever witnessed—the existence of true love. Because of the wager, a randomly chosen baby, and the story’s hero, Sangui (played by Hu Xian Xu), is doomed to a curse of putting whoever he kisses to sleep, stripping him of agency over his destiny (or so we think?)
Branded a freak by his fellow villagers and socially ostracized at a young age, Sangui sets out on a hero’s journey, albeit one of a long period of loneliness, to the idyllic White Stone City. On his journey, he meets two women who represent fairy tale archetypes we’re well-acquainted with, each with their own wishes, but also unfulfilled needs.
Instead of making their own fairy tale wish come true, each character instead finds satisfaction in growing—by learning what they needed all along. For Sangui, this means finding the courage to confront his fears, and for the “wicked witch” character, who is very much the heart of this story, means facing her regrets. “Regrets can be curses too.” she whispers to Sangui in between exhausted breaths. In using surrealism, Siyu Liu reminds us that realizing what we needed all along can better than anything we can wish for.
Siyu Liu’s use of anachronisms in the costumes beautifully speaks to the timelessness of fairy tales, from 1920s flapper headbands to 1970s boho dresses—even the 1950s Philco Predicta televisions, which the Deities huddled around in sport to watch Sangui for a long period of his life. Combining the motifs and lessons of European fairy tales (and classic Disney films, by extension) and Chinese mythology, she masterfully tells a cross-cultural story, as seen from the moment the story begins with a kingdom of deities placing a wager on a “flaming cloud.”
Perhaps the biggest lesson of all from Flaming Cloud is that true love does indeed exist, but it does come to die one day—and yet, we all still reach for these stories for comfort. “Not everyone believes in true love,” Siyu Liu writes in the final frame of the film. “But we all long for that moment when it arrives with its magic.” Yes, yes we do.
Opera Lafayette kicked off their second annual Baroque Music Festival this past week here in New York City.
Are celebs just like you and me when it comes to pandemic travel? We caught up with a few you may know — and others you may not have heard of — to hear their travel tales.
Jacques Torres, celebrity pastry chef
I went to Bandon, a city between Toulon and Marseilles in Provence for five weeks in 2021. I grew up there. It’s famous for wine. I went to the beach. I enjoy the south of France for wineries and tastings. I felt safe traveling because this is a house I own.
Photo Courtesy of Facebook
Ben Johns, pro-pickleball player
No international travel. We go all around the US for tournaments. We don’t vacation. We just play pickleball. Even in 2021, there were full crowds. In July of last year, I played pickleball in Hawaii. October 2021, Las Vegas. I did go to Ecuador, but not too recently. I own a pickleball vacation company called Pickleball Getaways.
NOTE: Johns and his business partner, pro-pickleball player, Dekel Bar, have led trips to destinations including Riviera Maya, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic and Richmond, British Columbia.
Photo Courtesy of Facebook
Collin Johns, pro-pickleball player
A lot of times the pickleball tournaments are in locations where there are vacations. The PPA Masters November 2021 in La Quinta, California was like a hotel. It’s a nice area — essentially like a vacation. I go on all of the same tours as Ben. In the height of Covid-19, they were shut down for a couple of months, and there were travel restrictions.
Photo by Laurie Heifetz
Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada, artist
I did a trip from Barcelona to New York. We were in lockdown in Barcelona in the middle of the pandemic when no one was flying — May of 2020. I did an homage piece next to the Queens Museum to a Latino doctor who passed away. That flight was bizarre. It was a huge plane with two passengers. There was no food in the airport. The reason why the plane was larger was that it was used for cargo. It was filled with cars on the bottom floor!
Photo by Laurie Heifetz
Jet Tila, celebrity chef (“Food Network”)
I took my family to Hawaii in the height of Omicron, November/December of 2021. We were on the island of Oahu, which I love. We based ourselves at the Disney Resort, but we’d take day excursions. One callout excursion families need to know is Kamoauli, a 100-year old wooden canoe from Tonga staffed with teachers and native experts who tell the history. Basically, you’re whale watching, while they’re preparing native foods and teaching native history. It’s like a luau in a boat!
Photo by Laurie Heifetz
Photo by Pat Lambert
Deana Martin, singer-actor
My trip to Toronto last year was fantastic! I had light drinks — “sippy-poos,” as my dad would say — on the plane because you didn’t have to have your mask on. I did a debut of the documentary, “Dean Martin, King of Cool,” and won the IItalian Contemporary Film Festival (ICFF) Excellence Award. It was one of those experiences where you go to this party and this press conference. We had excellent meals in Toronto.
Interviewed in NYC at: “Taste of the Upper West Side”; “Live with Kelly & Ryan”; “The Hug” statue unveiling for me2music.org’s “Monumental Moments” at Lincoln Center; CAMP’s flagship store Visit California media event; and Frank Sinatra’s birthday party at Patsy’s Italian Restaurant.
The interviews have been condensed and edited for clarity.
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