BAM is presenting a selection of Brooklyn-made indies: to help celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Mayor’s Office of Film,
Theatre, and Broadcasting, as well as the publication of "Scenes from
the City: Filmmaking in New York, 1966-2006 (Rizzoli)"
Letter from Greenpoint with Williamsburg, Brooklyn 95min
Mon, Oct 23 at 7pm
Directed by Jonas Mekas
Arriving in Brooklyn after WWII, Mekas began shooting film diaries that would make him New York’s resident cinema-poet-laureate. This program spans his life in the borough, from 1949 Williamsburg streets scenes shot on 16mm to his recent move to Greenpoint, shot on newly embraced digital video.
She’s Gotta Have It (1986) 88min
Tue, Oct 24 at 4:30, 6:50, 9:15pm
› Buy Tickets
Directed by Spike Lee
With Tracy Camila Johns, Tommy Hicks, Spike Lee
“Lee’s first feature posed him as a rival to Woody Allen, nearly equaling him in psychological authenticity, perhaps bettering him in virtuosity and sheer creative glee.”—Chicago Reader
Lee’s breakthrough remains a touchstone for New York film, and the street humor and Brooklyn flavor come through in every frame. Johns plays Nola Darling, who must choose between three distinctly different suitors.
Love & Diane (2002) 155min
Wed, Oct 25 at 7pm*
*Q&A with Jennifer Dworkin
Directed by Jennifer Dworkin
“immerses you so intensely in the problems of the Hazzards, a troubled New York family living on public assistance, that by the end of its two and a half hours you feel almost like a member of the household.”—The New York Times
An epic documentary, filmed in East New York, that centers on three generations: Diane, a guilt-racked mother whose daughter, Love, was placed in foster care, and Love’s own newborn son Donyaeh. Dworkin’s film probes the emotions of this family, while also presenting a harsh view of race, class, and government bureacracy. Q&A with Jennifer Dworkin.
Blue In the Face (1995) 83min
Thu, Oct 26 at 7pm
Directed by Wayne Wang, Paul Auster
The flipside to Wang and Auster’s Smoke, Blue in the Face is a free-form tribute to the joys of Brooklyn. Filmed off-the-cuff for a week after Smoke wrapped, the film weaves together a string of vignettes and characters, including appearances from Harvey Keitel, Lou Reed, Madonna, Lily Tomlin, and Jim Jarmusch. NOTE: Q&A with Paul Auster has been cancelled.