Curator Aziz Rahman, director of the Brooklyn Film and Arts Festival, just called to tell me about his new series called "Brooklyn in Film." Great topic, don't you think? Tonight is the first event at 7 p.m. at the Brooklyn Public Library (central branch) in our all time favorite space, the Dweck Center.

This will be an ongoing series presented by the  Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival in partnership with the Brooklyn Public Library’s Brooklyn Collection Department. The program is titled “Brooklyn in Film” and all screenings are at the Brooklyn Public Library main branch at Grand Army Plaza.

These remarkably compelling films have been selected by Aziz Rahman, director of the Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival from the BPL’s own Brooklyn Collection. The Brooklyn documentaries being screened vividly convey Brooklyn’s uniquely complex and vibrant cultural heritage through several decades, ranging from the 1960’s to 1980’s.

When:  Wednesday, June 24th, 2009, at 7:00pm – 8:45 pm.
Where:  Dweck Center for Contemporary Culture Brooklyn Public Library main branch at Grand Army Plaza

Trinidad in Brooklyn   -  (1985)   Experimental film shot by Sol Rubin in a hypnotic style documents the fervor of the Caribbean Day Parade in Crown Heights interspersing joyous celebrants, enthralled observers, local Hasidim and intermingled communities taking in the festivities.

Who Grows in Brooklyn  – (1969) Follows a bookmobile and the dedicated librarians who bring books to the inner city. Shows people of all ages using the bookmobile and becoming knowledgeable about the Brooklyn Public Library system.

Incident on Wilson Street  – (1964)  A special education teacher, Pegi Gorelick at P.S. 16 in Brooklyn and her fifth-grade students face a crisis when one of the students, a girl, assaults another teacher. The girl, who has a cleft palate, is often hurt by cruel remarks by other children. The story involves parents, teachers, and students as they gain an understanding of the causes of the crisis, and work to improve the situation.

 I Remember Barbara -  (1981) Director Kevin Burns  connects with Brooklynites of all stripes as they weigh-in on the legendary Barbra Streisand they once knew. Opinionated hairdressers, former schoolmates, music aficionados, beachgoers, cops, look-alikes, and others analyze and speculate about Barbra, and the influence of her Brooklyn roots on her persona.