 The 2019 Art of Brooklyn Film Festival has selected over 60 independent films and screenplays for its 9th Annual edition, which runs June 1-9 in venues in Brooklyn Heights, Bay Ridge, Sunset Park and Clinton Hill. AoBFF is the only film festival in the world exclusively devoted to work that emerges from the incredibly vibrant and diverse Brooklyn scene. Schedule and tickets at aobff.org FILMS:
All the Good Times 9 minutes | United States | 2018 | Short Narrative/Documentary/Experimental Directed by Bradly Dever Treadaway, Justin Randolph Thompson – US Premiere All the Good Times is a sound based video installation and performance examining transatlantic aspirations in land lock as a metaphor for generational divides and the fetishization of histiographies. Performative gestures that seek to reclaim dislocated fatherhood and recalibrated pride blend with archival footage shot by the artists’ respective grandfathers. Fleeting memories are punctuated with the rhythm and repose of staged theatricality. Immersed in a soundscape that transforms the traditional tune All the Good Times are Past and Gone into an aggressively celebratory jazz infused piece the gallery is peppered with tv stacks littered with repetitive inconclusive processions. The installation examines the role of nostalgia coupled with the legacies of creole cuisine and the Black Atlantic questioning the distancing of technology and spirituality. Animal Skins 15 minutes | United States | 2019 | Short Narrative/Experimental Directed by YAEL ZEEVI – US Premiere A woman consumed by her radical gaze, shameful but shameless, ensnares herself into an oppressive embrace Art Show 4 minutes | Canada | 2019 | Short Narrative/Short Directed by Claire Dub – US Premiere The legitimacy of an influential artist's work is called into question. Baggage 6 minutes | United States | 2018 | Short Narrative/Drama/Sci-Fi Directed by Stacey Maltin – US Premiere In a dystopian future where the government mandates happiness and people must cover their faces with smiling paper bags, two lovers discover what happens when real emotions are set free. Bobo Touch Helpline – Bushwick Tarzan 8 minutes | United States | 2018 | Short Narrative/Short Directed by Bobo Touch Neighborhood hero and iconic yoga instructor, Bushwick Tarzan, encounters a strange doctor and questions life and the meaning of love. Bobo Touch gets a call to go to Bushwick. Bubbles 5 minutes | United States | 2018 | Short Narrative Directed by Josh Steinbauer – US Premiere Fired from his job, Mr Mustache befriends a lobster. The two go on a philosophical exploration of their personal bubbles. Cavan 19 minutes | United States | 2018 | Short Narrative/Short Directed by Dave Solomon– US Premiere Mary's first day back. Chaim 4 minutes | United States | 2019 | Short Narrative/Documentary Directed by Kareem Atallah – US Premiere A day in the life of a tattoo artist who decided to go out into the world to find his passion. Circumambulation 14 minutes | United States | 2018 | Short Experimental Directed by Andrew Xue – US Premiere A man sees a compelling symbolic landscape in a dream and decides to pursue it in the open spaces of Siberia. In seeking this amorphous goal he faces both nature and himself. Clams Casino 10 minutes | United States | 2018 | Short Narrative/Student Directed by Pam Nasr – US Premiere The lives of four Latina women are uniquely interwoven. Crab Special 10 minutes | United States | 2018 | Short Narrative/Comedy/Dark Comedy/Romantic Comedy/ Directed by Matt Simon Two chefs, one who cooks crabs, and one who forages, meet on the beach the day they both lose their jobs. There's a connection, but can they bridge the gap between the way they work, and see the world? Dead Girl 27 minutes | United States | 2018 | Short Narrative/Drama/Comedy Directed by Rachel Sweeney Rachel dreams of performing Shakespeare on Broadway. Instead, she’s playing a corpse on television’s latest pulp-fest, Minds of Crime. Rachel is haunted by a deep dissatisfaction that threatens her relationship with her boyfriend David, and the experience of playing dead has her questioning the value of living. Doreen Garner’s Invisible Man Tattoo 7 minutes | United States | 2019| Short Narrative/Documentary Directed by Nick Ravich – US Premiere In early 2018, at the height of the excitement surrounding the film “Black Panther,” artist Doreen Garner hosts “Invisible Man Tattoo,” a pop-up tattoo shop in Brooklyn’s Recess art space. A noted sculptor and licensed tattoo artist, Garner swaps sculpture for skin and inks iconic Black American heroes and imagery on her Black friends and peers. With “traditional American tattoos, there’s always a void; there’s no Black presence,” explains Garner. In response, the artist creates a space steeped in the visual history of Black culture in the United States. Participants can select flash tattoos of James Baldwin or a cotton plant or propose a custom design that informs their Black identity. For many, tattooing can be seen as an aggressive act of body modification. But, in this case, Garner positions it as an act of self-care. “These tattoos are so celebratory of Black excellence and Black history, it’s kind of initiating a healing for Black people.” Dress Code 9 minutes | United States | 2018 | Short Narrative/Comedy/LGBTQ Directed by Melanie Notinger – US Premiere Dani, an introverted undergrad, struggles to meet the challenge of a poetry assignment that asks her to be extra vulnerable. She freaks when her effortlessly cool partner labels her as "high femme" and rebels by experimenting with the elasticity of her image. As the deadline approaches, she attends her BFF's drag show for inspiration but fails to settle on the right words or a comfortable look. Feeling the pressure to perform as either feminine or masculine, can she write an authentic poem that answers the prompt: "how do you identify?" Starring Lauren Lane (THE NANNY) and newcomer Sarah Danko. Drip 9 minutes | United States | 2018 | Short Narrative/Short Directed by Jillian Cantwell A leaking air conditioner incites a white Manhattanite to accidentally murder his neighbor and journey across town in broad daylight to dispose of the body. Dull Hope 2 minutes | United States | 2018 | Short Film as Art - Experimental/Non-Linear Directed by Brian Ratigan Suppressed memories reach a boiling point. An animated tale of longing. Family Obligations 1 hr 22 minutes | United States | 2019 | Feature Comedy/Drama Directed by Kenneth R. Frank – US Premiere In trying to settle affairs after his father’s sudden death, Peter Steele finds himself the unlikely caretaker of his long-forgotten Uncle Frank. As Peter shuffles Frank to and from doctors, he meets neighbor Melanie, a single mother who shows him how to look for opportunities instead of excuses in the people in his life. Through ups and downs, lighthearted moments and devastating news, Peter begins to see that relationships might just be worth the effort after all. Fumero-ism: The Grafstract 16 minutes | United States | 2018 | Short Narrative/Documentary Directed by Keith Aronowitz Fumero-Ism, The Grafstract, profiles the well-known NYC street artist and muralist known as Fumero. The film examines his interest and growth in art from childhood to present, reveals his process, and what motivates him to keep putting out incredible work at a high rate, from canvas to street. Fumero is intense, real and one of a kind, all of which is revealed in this film short. Horatio 1hr 26 minutes | United States | 2018 | Feature Narrative/LGBTQ/Latinx Directed by Mathias Mangin “Horácio” is a tragicomic film, where improbable events connected to the getaway of an eccentric cigarette smuggler gather to create chaos. The old, homosexual crook, the oppressed daughter, the desperate hooker, the goon in love, the merciless loneshark, the mysterious transexual and the compulsive gambler are characters that may seem ludicrous, almost archetypical in the crime universe, but they become unique and relatable on account of the traumas that define them. It is these strange, vulnerable beings that build Horacio’s world, a universe of crime, detached from everything else, and inexorably set to explode. The few hours during which the story builds itself, the concise geography of the movie which moves between the hideout and the picturesque streets of Bixiga, a neighborhood in downtown São Paulo, and the use of fragile, perverse anti-heroes transforms the movie into a myth that portrays a metaphorical Brazil. How to Fold a Fitted Sheet 8 minutes | United States | 2019 | Short Narrative/Short/Student Directed by Tony Clemente Jr – US Premiere Bellamy's having a bad day. Watch her make it worse. Hysterical 1hr 30 minutes | United States | 2018 | Feature Narrative/Documentary Directed by Paul Higbie and Seth Pompi – US Premiere On the fringe of the New York stand-up scene, there are characters no comedian could make up. At open mics, they do effortlessly fascinating comedy which sometimes only makes sense to them. Two outsider comedians (Gary Marinoff and Alan Shain) let us deep into their lives, which are even more surprising and peculiar than their acts. Keep Going Joon 25 minutes | United States | 2019 | Short Narrative/Short Directed by Cedar Daniels – US Premiere Juniper, a middle-aged father, severely injures himself playing his favorite Tuesday night pick-up basketball game. After surgery to repair his torn ACL, he goes through a tedious rehab to get back to his beloved pastime; only to injure himself again ... and then again. Each surgery causes him to confront his love for the game and his wife’s hope that he’ll stop playing. Mandatum 5 minutes | United States | 2019 | Short Experimental Directed by Bradly Dever Treadaway – US Premiere Mandatum draws it title from a gesture carried out for thousands of years throughout diverse geographies and religions: the act of washing another’s feet. Historically performed as a sign of humility, service, devotion, gratitude, piety or submission, here the exchange is recontextualized for a familial exchange, demonstrating an intergenerational breakdown between parents and child. While mother and father tend to one another with aged hands and feet, child performs this domestic ritual unattended. Mandatum novis do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos. Marcel Dzama: Organizing Chaos Minutes | United States | 2018 | Short Narrative/Documentary Directed by Ian Forster– US Premiere Shown at work in his Brooklyn studio, renowned artist Marcel Dzama discusses the evolution of his drawings, from his time growing up in his native Winnipeg, to his move to New York in 2004, to his more recent responses to U.S. politics and media. Fascinated by childhood monsters, like the Wolfman and Dracula, Dzama ruminates on his early drawings, often populated by human, animal, or hybrid figures set against isolated white backgrounds and inspired by Winnipeg’s snowy winters. Turning to dance magazines as a way to conceive of his drawings as still images of stage productions, Dzama began to organize the chaos of figures into stylized formations and moved away from animal figures, in favor of humans or human figures in animal costumes. Characterizing his drawings as having, “one foot in the subconscious,” the artist describes his practice of working at night, during a “witching hour,” when his most uncensored ideas can flow and anything feels possible. Matryoshka 10 minutes | United States | 2019 | Short Narrative/Horror Directed by Manny Serrano – US Premiere On Halloween night, a group of friends play a game, with a supposedly haunted Matryoshka doll, which unleashes more than a few tricks or treats... Me Time 11 minutes | United States | 2019| Short Comedy/Romance/Drama Directed by Iyabo Boyd After a long work week, Deborah is exhausted and needs to relax. One part of her psyche, Sexy Deb, appears and tries to bully her into going out to a bar for a hook-up. Soulful Deb also shows up- she lights some incense and tries to guide her into some self-care stroking. Then Scaredy Deb pops in and whines that she just wants to eat oatmeal and watch Gilmore Girls. When they finally rally together to get-it-on solo, Scaredy Deb questions aloud if they've ever truly had an orgasm, undermining each aspect of the Debs and threatening to derail their whole plan. Through laughter and introspection, ME TIME explores women's sexuality, self-care, and highlights the richness of our inner lives. Meant to Be Broken 1 hr 30 minutes | United States | 2018 | Feature Narrative Directed by Jonathan Zuck – US Premiere A guy who has never broken a rule finds out he only has a short time to live. He teams up with a con man and travels down the east coast breaking as many laws as they can. Monkey 10 minutes | United States | 2015 | Short Narrative Directed by Janet S. Kim – US Premiere Sean arrives at a last-minute temp assignment expecting chaos. He is greeted by an empty office and his only source of direction from Jeannie, who treats him more like a nuisance than a help. When he indulges in his secret passion for office supplies, he and Jeannie form an unlikely bond. Morse 3 minutes | United States | 2018 | Short Animation, Experimental, Short Directed by Tom Bessoir– US Premiere A very brief history of Morse code. Mutiny 15 minutes | United States | 2018 | Short Narrative/Horror Directed by Alanah Rafferty A young reporter in NYC discovers the presence of a terrifying disease that spreads through social media. Nana’s Room 11 minutes | United States | 2018 | Short Narrative/Short Directed by Kaye Tuckerman – US Premiere When Mia loses her Nana (grandmother) after a lengthy illness she realizes that her loss runs deep. Caring for her Nana had become Mia’s main priority in her life. In doing so Mia has lost her confidence and drive – she has let fear take over. In the wake of Nana’s darkness Mia fights to find a bright light to walk in her purpose. Narmin’s Birthday 18 minutes | United States | 2018 | Short Narrative/Documentary Directed by Lydia Cornett, Jenny Groza – US Premiere NARMIN’S BIRTHDAY is the story of 15-year-old Narmin and her 84-year-old grandmother Ismat, who share a bedroom in their family’s tiny Sheepshead Bay apartment. Though their nights are spent no more than four feet away from each other on parallel beds, the cultural identities they’ve each chosen are worlds apart. As Narmin plans her very American sweet sixteen birthday party, Ismat observes a world that is unfamiliar to her and wonders if someday Narmin will appreciate her heritage. Panorama: Jamming to the Top 1hr 13 minutes | United States | 2018 | Feature Narrative/Documentary Directed by Christine Shaw A feature length documentary about a passionate community of pan players fighting to keep steel pan alive in Brooklyn, NY. The documentary follows a vibrant community of people in Brooklyn, NY who love steel pan and are fighting to keep it alive in Brooklyn. Through their preparation for an annual steel band competition, known as Panorama, we see how their love and passion helps them to overcome several challenges and obstacles facing the pan community in Brooklyn. This documentary captures what it means to be part of a steel band and sheds light on why so many people eat, sleep, and play steel pan music. It showcases a Caribbean tradition in Brooklyn that is underrepresented, underreported and often overlooked. Paper Boats 1hr 12 minutes | United States | 2019 | Feature Narrative/Drama/Comedy/Family/Latinx Directed by Yago Muñoz – US Premiere Mexican - American indie film that tells the story of Jorge, a man who seems to have lost it all that recovers his will to live in the face of a tragedy, deportation. A story about the meaning of love, family and the pursuit of happiness. Plants 18 minutes | United States | 2018 | Short Narrative/Short Directed by Mike Suchmann – US Premiere Plants is the story of Amy, a weed dealer in New York City, dealing to make ends meet. She’s never been failed by her trusty referral system, until she gets a text from Mark, one fateful summer afternoon. Rockaway Sunset 15 minutes | United States | 2019 | Short Narrative/Short/Drama Directed by PJ Landers – US Premiere When a feisty woman is diagnosed with a terminal illness, she resolves to reach a family milestone only to be sidetracked by a chance meeting with a stranger who nearly kills her. Sandwiched 18 minutes | United States | 2018 | Short Narrative/Documentary Directed by Omar Al-Fotihi – US Premiere SANDWICHED is a short documentary film about Abdulmotaleb, who lives in two realities at the same time: on the surface, he’s the friendly neighborhood bodega guy, but he’s also a refugee from Yemen’s civil war whose wife and children are still stuck back home. Shadow Puppet 11 minutes | United States | 2018 | Short Narrative/Short Directed by Daniel James McCabe – US Premiere Will and Leda met two years ago. Shortly after, in a state of heavy inebriation, Leda was sexually assaulted by multiple male assailants. Since her recovery, Leda has carried the burden of her victimhood in silence and solitude. Some time after the assault, she began a loving, intimate relationship with Will. Over time, she built up the trust in him to reveal her hidden trauma, and has regretted it ever since. Their love now stands on the verge of collapse beneath the weight of this terrible tragedy. Six Variations on Waking/Not Waking 7 minutes | United States | 2018 | Short Experimental/Student Directed by Eric Trenkamp – US Premiere Inspired by the works of Hollis Frampton, three shots that convey the states of waking, dreaming and falling asleep are combined in every possible variation to create new contexts for each other and subtext to a stream of consciousness voice over that represents the wandering thoughts of commuters drifting through the space between consciousness and unconsciousness. Space Trash 10 minutes | United States | 2018 | Short Narrative/Comedy Directed by Alex Ptak – US Premiere Three rapscallions living on a corporate mars colony decide to rob their town's 3D printing factory for stamps. Will rapscallion antics ensue? Yes. Suzy Hotrod: Roller Derby Star 1 hr 7 minutes | United States | 2018 | Feature Documentary Directed by Leon Chase – US Premiere Meet Suzy Hotrod, the last original member of New York City’s Gotham Girls Roller Derby league—and one of the most famous names in modern roller derby. The Art of Parenting 8 minutes | United States | 2018 | Short Narrative/Short Directed by Aliyah Warr – US Premiere Mom is a recovering alcoholic taking Oxycodone, broken and paranoid. She truly does not want her daughter Lola to leave and has no idea of the effect she is having on Lola’s future. She is consumed by her addiction, and unable to care for herself, so everything falls on Lola. The Hummingbirds 13 Minutes | United States | 2018 | Short Narrative/Short/Latinx/LGBTQ Directed by William D. Caballero – US Premiere As Brandon, a young boy with long hair and feminine features, explores his own sexual and gender identity, he is oblivious to the plight of David, his father and diabetic dialysis patient. After Brandon’s mother leaves the two to go to work, Brandon’s father graciously confronts him and asks about Brandon’s orientation. Brandon ignores him, as David starts to feel ill. David vanishes, leading Brandon to experience a flashback that took place years ago when a healthier version of David underwent his first day of dialysis treatment. He witnesses his transformation into “Hummingbird Man,” a winged superhero. David tells him that only by adapting the core traits of the hummingbird (small size and immense strength) was the only way he could survive dialysis treatment. He also tells Brandon that he knows of his secret queer identity, and that he too is a hummingbird. The More I Draw 13 minutes | United States | 2017 | Short Narrative/Documentary Directed by Chalkley Calderwood – US Premiere 'The More I Draw” tells the story of renowned illustrator B. B. Cronin’s journey to New York and shift from his long career in editorial illustration to creating acclaimed children’s books. Showcasing Cronin’s brilliant artwork and animation, the film combines observational footage in Cronin's Brooklyn home and studio with brutally honest interviews. Though highly opinionated Cronin doesn’t trust himself to speak in public: here, candidly, he talks about his eccentric upbringing in his family’s 1970’s Dublin rooming house (where nobody read to him as a child) and argues every creative should quit their employed positions to freelance. This Isn’t Me 19 minutes | United States | 2018 | Short Narrative/LGBTQ Directed by Adrian Elliot – US Premiere Unemployed and in the throes of self-destruction, Fred gets hired by an atypically empathetic owner of a tutoring company. On his first day on the job he must manage the demanding parents of a cross-dressing eighth grader, all the while trying to fit into his busy schedule a rendezvous with an impatient fetishist. In both situations Fred’s instincts backfire spectacularly, though his quick thinking as a tutor ultimately brings about a minor redemption. Longing to be the person he was “meant” to be, Fred ends the day facing a choice between taking a step towards being that person, and staying exactly where he is. Thread 21 minutes | United States | 2018 | Short Narrative/Short Directed by Max Rosen – US Premiere A young woman working as an office assistant at a culture website comes down with a strange illness. Thursday Fields 20 minutes | United States | 2018 | Short Narrative/Documentary Directed by Harry Zernike A surprisingly diverse cast of characters gathers every Thursday evening at a defunct airport in Brooklyn. Native New Yorkers and new immigrants, Wall Street traders and construction tradesmen, they come to race bicycles on Floyd Bennett Field’s crumbling, windswept tarmac. The competition is merciless. The rewards are many. Thursday Fields is a portrait of New York City’s current-day melting pot in action. Tina 9 minutes | United States | 2019 | Short Narrative/Experimental Directed by Gayatri Bahl After undergoing self-transformation therapy, a successful career woman is visited by an Indian classical dancer, forcing her to confront herself in a way she never expected. Trip 3 minutes | United States | 2018 | Short Narrative/Animation/Experimental Directed by Nick Nazmi – US Premiere “Trip”, or “Safar” in Farsi, is about more than just traveling. It is about crossing borders and finding the courage to let go of attachments in search of meaning. A father's poem interpreted in hand-drawn animation and video by his son. Unveil 18 minutes | United States | 2018 | Short Narrative/Documentary Directed by Joy Ernanny At a time of rising Islamophobia, Muslim women in New York have found a safe haven in a beauty salon. Le’Jemalik is the city’s first female-only parlor, where clients can remove their headscarves and indulge in halal beauty services brought to them by a resilient American Muslim businesswoman. Uranium Derby 1 hr 22 minutes | United States | 2017 | Feature Narrative/Documentary Directed by Brittany Prater – US Premiere Uranium Derby is a feature-length documentary about a young woman’s look into an experiment gone wrong—the American nuclear experiment. The story, centered in Ames, Iowa, begins with a curious native filmmaker (Brittany Prater) casually looking into her hometown’s highly secretive involvement in the Manhattan Project. Interrupting this history of World War II heroics is Dr. Johanshir Golchin, an Iranian-American environmental engineer who tells of a youth sports complex contaminated with radioactive waste. A story of controversy and cover-up unfolds much like a chain reaction as the film builds to its national story of unintended environmental consequences. Voice of the Monolith 13 minutes | United States | 2018 | Short Narrative/Short Directed by Bryan Edwards – US Premiere Voice of the Monolith is a musical short film about gentrification in rapidly changing Crown Heights, told through the voices of a Black punk rocker new to the neighborhood, and a Brooklyn raised rapper with a chip on his shoulder. With the pressure coming at all sides O.G. begins to crack and unleashes his feelings in the climactic song De-gentify. Waterline: In the Studio with Frances B. Ashforth 6 minutes | United States | 2018 | Short Narrative/Documentary Directed by Chloe Lee – US Premiere Waterline explores the beauty and power of nature through Frances B. Ashforth’s mono print-making process. Nuanced imagery of water, land, and sky remind us of the importance of taking pause to appreciate the earth around us. What if? 4 minutes | United States | 2018 | Short Narrative/Short Directed by Sara Alize Cross – US Premiere What If? is a series of character-driven short films based on Craigslist Missed Connections that each capture a moment in two people’s lives: memorable to one, possibly memorable – possibly unnoticed - to the other. Where’s Lili?! 18 minutes | United States | 2018 | Short Narrative/Short Directed by Michelle Martinez – US Premiere After LIlli gets lost in New York City she cross paths with a doubtful clown, unbeknownst to Lilli she helps the clown find a little bit of confidence. You Look Great 26 minutes | United States | 2018 | Short Narrative/Short Directed by Justin Andrew Davis– US Premiere Using dark comedy, You Look Great is an unflinching, intimate look into our addictions, obsessions, and self-consciousness. Our narrative follows Peter -- an everyday guy struggling with his weight -- over the course of 24 hours, offering a realistic insight into a strangely unrepresented story: that of a man fighting to hide his unhealthy relationship with his body. SCREENPLAYS: A Brooklyn Love Story Written by: Chiara Giannini Been Too Long (Brooklyn) Written by: Laura DeBar Cyclone Written by: Francisco Solorzano Headcase Written by: Christopher Jones Hudson River Crossing Written by: Demetra Kareman Just Juliana Written by: Demetra Kareman “Mania” Written by: Greg Mania Taking Down the Met Written by: Andrea Forrest The Comforter Written by: Cory Davis Trolls Written by: Jordan Friedberg Us Written by: Shavon Meyers You People Written by: Grayson Johnson |
Categories
All
Archives
June 2024
|
RSS Feed
The Art of Brooklyn is a 501c3 non-profit dedicated to the independent film, media and art of Brooklyn, New York and beyond.
|
|
|
|
|
|