Nicolas Winding Refn, director of Drive, Only God Forgives and The Neon Demon, has announced he is helming a curated website that will be full of films, essays, music, video, photography and more art.
The website, byNWR.com, will be free for users, including the films made available online. Refn announced his new project on Oct. 17 at the Institute Lumiere, describing the project via Indiewire as “an unadulterated cultural expressway of the arts” that will “create a modern idea of what cinema will become.”
“byNWR shares Nicolas Winding Refn’s passion for the rare, the forgotten and the unknown, breathing new life into the culturally intriguing and influential,” the websites mission statement says. “Quarterly volumes of content divide into three monthly chapters, each featuring a fully-restored film. These revived cinematic gems inspire a wealth of original content, curated by special Guest Editors.”
The first volume is entitled “Regional Renegades: Exploitation Gems from the Southern USA.” The section will be guest-edited by author Jimmy McDonough, and will make available an unrecalled 1965 film called The Nest of the Cuckoo Birds — an obscure horror whodunit from director Bert Williams that takes place in a hotel called the Cuckoo Bird Inn.
Also available in volume one are 1967’s Shanty Tramp and Hot Thrills and Warm Chills. Refn’s site will also work with select theaters around the world to perform screenings of the restored films as well.
Volume two’s theme has also been announced, being named “Missing Links: Restored and Rediscovered Classics of American Independent Cinema.” The second round will feature Dennis Hopper’s acting debut in 1963’s Night Tide, 1967’s Spring Night, Summer Night, 1971’s If Footmen Tire You, What Would Horses Do? and 1974’s The Burning Hell.
Volumes three and four are said to be announced later this fall. In the meantime, you can sign up for a newsletter by visiting byNWR.com. The site will officially launch in February of 2018.
We can’t wait to check out The Nest of the Cuckoo Birds on Refn’s site. The project is an intriguing one and is bound to create a community of true cinephiles.
Let us know in the comments below what you think of the announcement and whether you’re going to partake in the totally free content that will be made available. And, just for fun, or if you're looking for more obscure film recommendations, check out this video in which Nicolas Winding Refn talks about his favorite movies: