A CONVERSATION WITH PAUL SIMON

A Conversation With...
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Panels and Events 2023 | English | 60 minutes


During his distinguished career spanning seven decades, musician Paul Simon has produced an unparalleled body of work, including timeless masterpieces such as "Bridge Over Troubled Water," "Sounds of Silence," and "Graceland." Venerated as one of the greatest songwriters of all time and “popular music’s premier poet of the human condition,” Simon has received 16 Grammy Awards and has been twice inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors, and was presented the Library of Congress’ inaugural Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, which recognizes the profound and positive effect of popular music on the world’s culture.

Simon was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2011, and in 2012 named laureate of the prestigious Polar Music Prize along with Yo-Yo Ma. In 2019, Paul Simon was the first musician to be presented the Great Americans Medal by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. His song “Mrs. Robinson,” from the film THE GRADUATE, was named in the top ten of the AFI’s 100 Years, 100 Songs.

Paul Simon’s philanthropic work includes the co-founding of the Children’s Health Fund, which brings health care to low-income children and their families around the United States. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation, which is committed to stopping the species extinction crisis through conservation. Over his career, Simon has raised millions of dollars for worthy causes, and in 2018 made a $1 million gift to the NYC Department of Education and Fund for Public Schools, to invest in music and art programs.


Moderated by David Fear, a senior editor and film critic at Rolling Stone, and the former film editor of Time Out NY. His work has been published in The New York Times Magazine, The Village Voice, Esquire, Spin, New York Daily News, San Francisco Bay Guardian, Moviemaker, Nashville Weekly, and numerous other publications. He lives in Brooklyn, as all writers must.


IN RESTLESS DREAMS: THE MUSIC OF PAUL SIMON, from Academy Award-winning director Alex Gibney, will screen as the HIFF Centerpiece on Friday, October 6.




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