There are worse ways to be introduced, when you’re about to unveil your new film as the Opening Night selection of the New York Film Festival, than as “one of the great living American filmmakers.” But that’s exactly what Artistic Director Dennis Lim said as he brought Paper Tiger director to the stage at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall on Friday evening. Gray has a long history with the festival, having closed it with The Lost City of Z and marked its anniversary with a special screening of Armageddon Time. But still, this felt different — as Gray himself noted in his moving introductory remarks, reflecting on growing up a few miles…
