''Sunday'' is a 1997 independent film directed by

Jonathan Nossiter Jonathan Nossiter (born 1961) is an American filmmaker. Early life and education Nossiter was born to a Jewish family Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, a borough of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, it is a dark comedy about an unemployed, homeless IBM functionary mistaken by an aging actress for film director Matthew Delacorta. The screenplay is an adaptation by Nossiter and James Lasdun of Lasdun's own short story "Ate, Memos or the Miracle" (published in his collection of stories, ''Three Evenings''). The two would later collaborate again on '' Signs & Wonders''. Starring David Suchet (who reportedly added 40 pounds for his role), as well as Lisa Harrow and

Jared Harris Jared Francis Harris (born 24 August 1961) is a British actor. His roles include Lane Pryce in the AMC television drama series ''Mad Men'', for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Seri ...

, it was shot on location in Queens and in an active homeless shelter, blending actors and non-actors.

Cast

* Arnold Barkus—Andy *

—Ray * Bahman Soltani—Abram * Willis Burks II—Selwyn (as Willis Burks) *

Joseph Sirola Joseph Anthony Sirola (October 7, 1929 – February 10, 2019) was an American commercial, film, television, theatre actor and theatre producer. Life and career Sirola was born in Carteret, New Jersey to Croats, Croatian parents Anton, a carp ...

—Joe Subalowsky (as Joe Sirola) * Henry Hayward—Sam * Kevin Thigpen—David * Chen Tsun Kit—Himself * Lisa Harrow—Madeleine Vesey *

Larry Pine Larry Pine (born March 3, 1945) is an American actor. A veteran of the Broadway stage, he began his career playing the role of Fop in the 1968 production of ''Cyrano de Bergerac''. He has since starred in film and television, with recurring roles ...

—Ben Vesey * Yeon Joo Kim—Suky Vesey *

Fran Capo Fran Capo is a motivational keynote speaker, comedienne, voice-over artist and author. She is the holder of 9 world records, most known as the Guinness Book of World Records Fastest Speaking woman, clocked at 603.32 wpm. She broke her 9th world reco ...

—Judy, Madeleine's Friend * Spencer Paterson—Johnny O *

Joe Grifasi Joseph G. Grifasi (born June 14, 1944) is an American character actor of film, stage and television. Grifasi was born in Buffalo, New York, the son of Patricia (née Gaglione) and Joseph J. Grifasi, a skilled laborer. Grifasi graduated from Bi ...

—Scottie Elster * Jimmy Broadway—himself * David Suchet—Oliver/Matthew Delacorta

Awards

The film won the 1997 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury prize for Best Film and Best Screenplay. It also won the

Deauville Film Festival The Deauville American Film Festival (french: Festival du cinéma américain de Deauville, link=no) is a yearly film festival devoted to American cinema, which has taken place since 1975 in Deauville, France. It was established by Lionel Cho ...

Grand Prize for Best Film and its International Critics' prize. It marked Nossiter's debut at

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. T ...

in the "

Un Certain Regard (, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films w ...

" section (his 2004 ''

Mondovino ''Mondovino'' ( it, World of Wine) is a 2004 documentary film on the impact of globalization on the world's different wine regions written and directed by American film maker Jonathan Nossiter. It was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 2004 Cannes ...

'' was in competition for the

Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

) and was also included in The

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

New Directors/New Films Festival The New Directors/New Films Festival is an annual film festival held in New York City, and organized jointly by the Museum of Modern Art and the Film Society of Lincoln Center Film at Lincoln Center, previously known as the Film Society o ...

References

External links

* 1997 films 1997 drama films Films based on short fiction Films directed by Jonathan Nossiter American independent films Films set in Queens, New York American drama films 1997 independent films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films {{indie-drama-film-stub