Rooftop Films Heads to the Bronx: Status – FREE SHOW
Rooftop Films returns to the Bruckner Bar and Grill for a special FREE screening of short films from the inner-city. You’ll meet princesses and ex-cons, follow a girl from the Bronx as she travels to Africa to explore her legacy and a rapper from Africa who heads to the Bronx to track down the roots of Hip Hop. Featuring films by Charlie Ahearn (Wild Style), an award winning short from Yoni Brook and Musa Syeed, and a sneak preview of a new film by YouTube stars the Internets Celebrities, this program will change the way you look at your neighbors and think about your city. WHEN:
Thursday, January 6, 2011
7:00 Doors Open
7:45 Films begin
9:00 Q & A with the filmmakers WHERE:
Indoors at the Bruckner Bar and Grill (South Bronx)
1 Bruckner Blvd., Bronx, NY 10454
Subway: Take the 4, 5 to 138 St. Grand Concourse or the 6 to 138 Street 3rd Avenue The Films:
BRONX PRINCESS <http://rooftopfilms.com/2010/films/215-bronx-princess> (Yoni Brook and Musa Syeed | Bronx, NY | 38 min.)
Bronx Princess follows headstrong 17-year-old Rocky’s journey as she leaves behind her mother in New York City to reunite with her father, a chief in Ghana, West Africa. Filmed during the tumultuous summer between high school and college, this funny and touching documentary tells Rocky’s coming-of-age story. By confronting her immigrant parents’ ideas of adulthood, Rocky reconciles her African heritage with her dream of independence. Bronx Princess is the hub of an outreach campaign to improve access to educational resources for urban youth and bridge the educational divide in immigrant families. The filmmakers’ goal is to remove the obstacles that immigrant and low-income youth face when seeking post-secondary education. Bronx Princess is an effective way of promoting dialogue within immigrant families and guiding youth toward post-secondary education.
BONGO BARBERSHOP <http://rooftopfilms.com/2010/films/217-bongo-barbershop> (Charlie Ahearn | Bronx, NY | 8 min.)
An East African MC, Balozi Dola, wanders into a Bronx barbershop on his pilgrimage to find “the real hip-hop.” The barber, Flash’s original partner DJ Easy Mike, calls out Grand Master Caz, who spits a rhyme on how we are in the place of hip-hop’s origins. Shop sweeper DOA adds vocal percussion to the mix and Balozi Dola rhymes back in his native African Swahili. “Bongo” is the Swahili expression for “brain” used in local hip-hop slang. Brought to you by the director of the hip-hop classic “Wild Style.”
BROTHERS FANTASTIC <http://rooftopfilms.com/2010/films/218-brothers-fantastic> (Charlie Ahearn | Bronx, NY | 7 min.)
Set in the Bronx home of two MC’s from The Fantastic Five from Wild Style, Master Rob and Waterbed Kevie Kev. Rob has recently returned home from a six year stretch in an upstate correctional facility to resume his creative life. The brothers trade classic harmonies and rhyme about their frustrations and their dreams for the future.
Please join A&E IndieFilms and Rooftop Films as we present one of the most critically acclaimed documentaries of the year, The Tillman Story.
An exclusive screening at 7pm EST on Thursday, January 6, 2011 at BAM Rose Cinemas, will be followed by a special Q&A with director Amir Bar-Lev, moderated by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Morgan Spurlock.
To RSVP for the reception, please email tffr...@aetn.com <mailto:%[email protected]> . WHEN:
Thursday January 6, 2011
7:00 PM Film Begins
8:30 Q and A with the Filmmakers
9:00 Reception following the screening WHERE:
Indoors at BAM Cinematek (Fort Greene)
30 Lafayette Ave., Brooklyn NY 11243
Subway:
2/3/4/5/B/Q to Atlantic Ave or D/M/N/R to Pacific St.
When Pat Tillman gave up his professional football career to join the Army Rangers in 2002, he became an instant symbol of patriotic fervor and unflinching duty. But the truth about Pat Tillman is far more complex, and ultimately far more heroic, than the caricature. And when the government tried to turn his death into propaganda, they took on the wrong family. From her home in Northern California, Pat’s mother, Dannie Tillman, led the family’s crusade to reveal the truth beneath the mythology of their son’s life and death. The Tillman Story resounds with emotion and insight, and goes beyond an indictment of the government to touch on themes as timeless as the notion of heroism itself.
“Succeeds on so many levels that its full impact doesn’t hit you until you have time to register its aftershocks.” - Peter Travers, ROLLING STONE
“‘The Tillman Story’ is a masterful, unsettling documentary.” - Ann Hornaday, WASHINGTON POST
WINNER Best Documentary 2010 SAN FRANCISCO FILM CRITICS CIRCLE AWARDS
Best Documentary 2010 FLORIDA FILM CRITICS CIRCLE
Best Documentary 2010 ST LOUIS FILM CRITICTS
Filmmaker/journalist Palmer embedded with the U.S. three times. He captured the terror as well as the tedium of the U.S. occupation, moments when U.S. troops, trained to fight who speak no Arabic, move among Iraqi civilians hunting for elusive enemies. The results are often benign and sometimes tragic.Screening followed by Q&A with filmmaker and reception.Co-presented with Black Documentary Collective as part of the Harlem Stage Partners Program.
7:30 pm at Harlem Stage Gatehouse, 150 Convent Avenue (at West 135th St.) Tickets: $25 at www.HarlemStage.org or 212.281.9240, ext.19 or 20. 7:30pm mixer; 8:30pm Jesse Boykins III; 9:00pm Eric Roberson; 10:30pm DJ set.
Grammy nominated artist Eric Roberson brings soul to Harlem Stage marrying music from his latest album Music Fan First to some of his favorite classic albums. DJ Reborn wows the audience on the turntables for the night. (This performance is Standing Room Only)
5:00pm at Harlem Stage Gatehouse, 150 Convent Avenue (at West 135th St.)
Tickets: $3 for teens, $5 for adults (Tickets will only be sold atthe door.)
Uptown Open is a monthly open mic series for teens held on the 3rd Thursday of each month. It is a safe, uncensored space for poets, spoken word artists, emcees, scholars, and activists to share their powerful and important voices. These events are run by youth for youth, with youth DJs, youth hosts and a monthly featured poet. Arrive early to sign up for the open mic list.
DOOMED LOVE AND THE DEVILLES
Spectacularly failing romances, including an alcoholic comedy, some stunning facts about the sexuality of one of the founding fathers, and a luscious documentary about a stripper / punk rocker husband and wife duo.
When:
Friday, August 6th
8:00 Doors Open
8:30 Live Music by Solanin
9:00 Films Begin
11:30 After-party at Matchless (557 Manhattan Ave) courtesy of Radeberger Pilsner and Sailor Jerry Rum
Where:
On the lawn of Automotive High School
50 Bedford Ave. at North 13th St. (Williamsburg, Brooklyn)
L to Bedford Ave. or G to Nassau Ave.
HORI SMOKU SAILOR JERRY
Hori Smoku Sailor Jerry is a feature length documentary exploring the roots of American tattooing through the life of its most iconoclastic figure, Norman “Sailor Jerry” Collins. Considered by many the foremost tattoo artist of all time, Collins is the father of modern day tattooing, whose uncompromising lifestyle and larger than life persona made him an American legend.
This show is free! Just email [email protected] to reserve a spot on the guest list.
When:
Saturday, August 7th
8:00 Doors Open
8:30 Live Music
9:00 Film Begins
10:30 After Party in the courtyard, courtesy of Sailor Jerry Rum
Where:
On the roof of the Old American Can Factory
232 3rd St. at 3rd Ave (Gowanus/Park Slope, Brooklyn)
Take the R to Union or the F or G to Caroll St.
The festival starts tomorrow so be sure to consult their schedule. Join us in checking out Children of Invention, which we missed last month at the BAMcinemaFEST (covered by Kristin here). There are a variety of genres (documentary, shorts, experimental) from the U.S. and abroad to choose from. Short on cash? Volunteering is a sure way to get into one or two.
Hey movie lovers! If you’re trying to figure out which movie(s) to see this weekend, look no further. This week I have a fun and sweet comedy to recommend, as well as a must-see series that you should definitely check out.
For those of you who I haven’t met, this is the Bruce Springsteen of Queens. But who I am isn’t important. What is important is that you see the new movie, Slumdog Millionaire.
From the pen of Simon Beufoy, based on the novel by Vikas Swarup and directed by the notorious Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire did something to me that a movie hasn’t done in a long time: kept me in almost constant surprise. If you don’t know the story, let me catch you up . . .
Despite my borderline pathetic love of vampires, I’ve been skeptical of this adaptation ever since the inane posters started cropping up all over town. I’m no graphic designer, but I could have slapped those two pasty, sexually-ambiguous teenagers together in photoshop better after guzzling a box of wine. Not even the edgiest advertising could make this film look like anything more than angst-y, adolescent, suburban crap created by Mormons because, having just returned from a curiously sold-out show at Union Square, I can say with confidence that’s exactly what it is.
While it’s no masterpiece, it’s certainly a cozy, Sunday movie. And since it’s a cozy Sunday, it felt appropriate to pay homage to this New York classic, which pays homage to classic New York.
Award-winning screenwriter, Charlie Kaufman‘s directorial debut is endlessly impressive. And I mean endless. Let’s start with the title, a play on words for New York City and Schenectady, using the literary term, “synecdoche,” which refers to the use of a word that denotes a part of something for the whole – like when cads say, “skirts” in reference to women. (I realize very few people are that politically incorrect anymore, but it was the first example that popped into my head.)
Perhaps it’s this dismal weather, but today I feel vaguely nostalgic for something I can’t quite put my finger on. I want to submit to my fetal inclinations under the covers and watch myself a rom-com.
I need Tom Hanks’ stiff dance moves, choreographed musical numbers, a car chase, a straight dude in drag and maybe a show-down in Coney Island after a long, perilous, subway journey. For those of you who find that kind of thing appealing, I’ve compiled a list of New York comedies that wouldn’t necessarily be on Roger Ebert’s recommendation list – overlooked treasures, if you will, to keep you entertained while you stay dry. Enjoy.
