BAMcinématek announces special events and shorts for the seventh annual BAMcinemaFest, Jun 17 28 20th anniversary Larry Clark s Kids with Clark, Harmony Korine, Leo Fitzpatrick, Chloë Sevigny, and Rosario Dawson in person NY Premiere 2K Restoration of Penelope Spheeris The Decline of Western Civilization with Spheeris in person NY Premiere 2K Restoration of Les Blank s long-lost A Poem Is a Naked Person Free outdoor screening Richard Linklater s Slacker in Brooklyn Bridge Park The Wall Street Journal is the title sponsor for BAMcinemaFest, BAMcinématek, and BAM Rose Cinemas. Brooklyn, NY/May 13, 2015 BAMcinématek announces special events and shorts for the seventh annual BAMcinemaFest (Jun 17 28). On Thursday, June 25, BAMcinemaFest presents a 20th anniversary screening of Larry Clark s Kids (1995), featuring Clark, screenwriter Harmony Korine, and cast members Leo Fitzpatrick, Chloë Sevigny, and Rosario Dawson in person at BAM Rose Cinemas. One of the most controversial movies of the 1990s, Kids screening in 35mm follows teenage skaters Telly (Fitzpatrick) and Casper (Justin Pierce) as they drift aimlessly through downtown Manhattan in the single-minded pursuit of sex and drugs. But all the while, the specter of AIDS hangs ominously in the background. This startlingly raw, vérité portrait of urban adolescence features the breakout roles of Sevigny and Dawson and was hailed by The New York Times as a wake-up call to the world. Twenty years later, it has lost none of its impact. BAMcinemaFest presents the New York premiere of a 2K restoration of Penelope Spheeris The Decline of Western Civilization (1981) on Friday, June 19, at BAM Rose Cinemas. The ultimate record of LA s 80s punk subculture, this documentary captured the essence of the scene, providing a front row seat to the mosh pits, violence, humor, and anti-establishment view of the world, as well as unparalleled access to some of the most influential and innovative musicians and groups of all time, including X, Circle Jerks, Black Flag, Fear, and Germs. Largely unknown to the mainstream world at the time, many of the punk bands first seen here have become legendary. This time capsule of a singular moment in rock history is highly-celebrated and has been in demand for decades by fans worldwide. Spheeris will appear in person for a Q&A, followed by an LA punk after-party at Rough Trade NYC. The Decline of Western Civilization is a Bleeding Light Film Group release.
Following BAMcinématek s Les Blank retrospective last fall and an outdoor screening of select shorts in the 2014 festival, BAMcinemaFest is proud to present the New York premiere of Blank s restored and rediscovered A Poem Is a Naked Person (1974) on Saturday, June 27, at BAM Rose Cinemas. One of the most versatile and voracious chroniclers of American life, Blank turned his camera on future Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Leon Russell for his first feature-length documentary. Unreleased since its completion in 1974, this intimate portrait of the country-folk-rock singer-songwriter ( A Song for You, Tight Rope, This Masquerade ) at the peak of his creative powers interweaves mesmerizing performance footage, candid observations of Russell and his band around the Shelter Records compound in his native Oklahoma, and exchanges with fellow music royalty like George Jones and Willie Nelson. This raw 16mm-shot treasure trove transcends the music doc trends of its era by bringing vanished landscapes of rural American culture back to vivid life. A Poem Is a Naked Person is a Janus Films release. The festival moves outdoors on Thursday, June 25, with a free screening of Richard Linklater s Slacker (1991) at Pier 1 in Brooklyn Bridge Park. Linklater put Austin, Texas, on the map as Weirdo Capital, USA with this charmingly lo-fi, shot-on-16mm comedy about oddballs and underachievers living on the fringes of society. Featuring a cast of over 100 of the director s friends and fellow Austinites, Slacker bounces giddily between a dizzying array of storylines involving conspiracy theorists, anarchists, and a woman trying to sell a Madonna pap smear. Freewheeling, funny, and still fresh, this Gen X classic is a touchstone of 90s indie filmmaking. The event will also feature food vendors curated by Smorgasburg and a DJ spinning from 7pm until the screening begins at dusk. Slacker is co-presented by Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy. BAMcinemaFest announces a shorts program and a selection of shorts paired with main slate features, including nine New York premieres and three world premieres. The shorts program features Owen Kline and Andrew Lampert s New York City fairy tale Jazzy for Joe, starring radio legend Joe Franklin; Swimming in Your Skin Again, a musical meditation on rites and rituals directed by Terence Nance (An Oversimplification of Her Beauty); and two shorts by BAMcinemaFest alumni: Jennifer Reeder s chronicle of the psychic turmoil surrounding a prom, Blood Below the Skin, and Joe Callander s no-holds-barred portrait of a Vietnam vet in Bangkok, Gary Has an AIDS Scare. BAMcinemaFest also presents the world premieres of C. Mason Wells Super 8-shot vacation drama Judy Judy Judy; Michael Almereyda s Mondo Cane, a portrait of photographer Thomas Roma; and Sam Fleischner and Iva Gocheva s sun-drenched snapshot of lost love Porcupine, each paired with features. Two documentary shorts screen in their New York premieres: Pacho Velez s (Manakamana) Maryland Public Television Interviews the Reagans, navigating little-known events from the president s term; and Dan Schoenbrun s The School Is Watching, a found-footage assemblage of high school morning announcements videos. Also screening with features are narrative shorts Muck, about an aspiring comic from the outer boroughs directed by Bruce Smolanoff; Jeremy Hersh s Actresses, which witnesses the relationship between an aspiring actress and an off-broadway star; and Michael Mohan s Pink Grapefruit, which won the Jury Award for Best Narrative Short at SXSW. As a follow-up to BAMcinemaFest, BAMcinématek presents Indie 80s (Jul 17 Aug 27), a sprawling, 50+ film snapshot of the decade between the golden age of 70s New Hollywood and the indie boom of the 90s, showcasing precursors to today s independent film landscape. Full lineup to be announced. Indie 80s is co-presented by Cinema Conservancy. For press information, please contact Lisa Thomas at 718.724.8023 / lthomas@bam.org Hannah Thomas at 718.724.8002 / hthomas@bam.org Short Film Descriptions Shorts Program
Blood Below the Skin (2015) 33min NY Premiere Narrative Directed by Jennifer Reeder. Social ambiguity and mother-daughter tension set the stage for Jennifer Reeder s meditation on the psychic turmoil surrounding an impending prom. Gary Has an AIDS Scare (2014) 16min NY Premiere Documentary Directed by Joe Callander. BAMcinemaFest alum Joe Callander returns with a subtly crafted portrait of a destructive Vietnam vet living in Bangkok. Jazzy for Joe (2014) 14min NY Premiere Narrative Directed by Owen Kline and Andrew Lampert. Radio legend Joe Franklin stars as an aging entertainer who takes in a wayward orphan and teaches her the business of show in this honest-to-goodness New York City fairy tale. Swimming in Your Skin Again (2015) 23min NY Premiere Narrative Directed by Terence Nance. Set in Southern Florida, this intensely musical meditation on rites and rituals, both explicitly religious and ostensibly secular, is a collaboration between Nance and his brother, musician Norvis Jr. Shorts with Features Actresses (2014) 12min NY Premiere Narrative Directed by Jeremy Hersh. Witness the awkward origins, foibles, and vagaries of a relationship between a young aspiring actress and an off-broadway star. Screens with Unexpected. Judy Judy Judy (2015) 8min World Premiere Narrative Directed by C. Mason Wells. Shot entirely in Super 8, Judy Judy Judy captures a tense vacation and the fallout of an irreversible decision with the intimacy of a home movie. Screens with Henry Gamble s Birthday Party. Maryland Public Television Interviews the Reagans (2015) 5min NY Premiere Documentary Directed by Pacho Velez. Ronald, Nancy, and Rex perform for the camera in one of the more unusual television appearances of their White House tenure. Screens with Best of Enemies. Mondo Cane (2015) 12min World Premiere Documentary Directed by Michael Almereyda. Almereyda trains his camera on acclaimed photographer and lifelong Brooklynite Thomas Roma as he describes his iconic images. Screens with Jason and Shirley. Muck (2015) 15min NY Premiere Narrative Directed by Bruce Smolanoff. An aspiring comic from the outer boroughs tries to make her mark while seeking companionship among a crew of less-than-receptive male peers. Screens with Uncle Kent 2. Pink Grapefruit (2015) 11min NY Premiere Narrative Directed by Michael Mohan. A young married couple bring two of their single friends to Palm Springs for a long weekend; it does not go as planned. Winner of the SXSW Jury Award for Best Narrative Short. Screens with The Invitation. Porcupine (2015) 8min World Premiere Narrative Directed by Sam Fleischner and Iva Gocheva. On a gorgeous summer day, a woman tries to reclaim lost love via voicemail while pacing around her sun-drenched apartment. Screens with Krisha.
The School Is Watching (2015) 7min NY Premiere Documentary Directed by Dan Schoenbrun. The awkwardness of adolescence finds its apotheosis in this rough-and-tumble found-footage film comprising high school morning announcements videos. Screens with Here Come the Videofreex. About BAMcinématek The four-screen BAM Rose Cinemas (BRC) opened in 1998 to offer Brooklyn audiences alternative and independent films that might not play in the borough otherwise, making BAM the only performing arts center in the country with two mainstage theaters and a multiplex cinema. In July 1999, beginning with a series celebrating the work of Spike Lee, BAMcinématek was born as Brooklyn s only daily, year-round repertory film program. BAMcinématek presents new and rarely seen contemporary films, classics, work by local artists, and festivals of films from around the world, often with special appearances by directors, actors, and other guests. BAMcinématek has not only presented major retrospectives by major filmmakers such as Michelangelo Antonioni, Manoel de Oliveira, Shohei Imamura, Vincente Minnelli (winning a National Film Critics Circle Award prize for the retrospective), Kaneto Shindo, Luchino Visconti, and William Friedkin, but it has also introduced New York audiences to contemporary artists such as Pedro Costa and Apichatpong Weerasethakul. In addition, BAMcinématek programmed the first US retrospectives of directors Arnaud Desplechin, Nicolas Winding Refn, Hong Sang-soo, and Andrzej Zulawski. From 2006 to 2008, BAMcinématek partnered with the Sundance Institute and in June 2009 launched BAMcinemaFest, a 16-day festival of new independent films and repertory favorites with 15 NY feature film premieres; the seventh annual BAMcinemaFest runs from June 17 28, 2015. About The Wall Street Journal The Wall Street Journal is a global news organization that provides leading news, information, commentary and analysis. Published by Dow Jones, which has nearly 2,000 journalists in more than 75 bureaus around the world, The Wall Street Journal engages readers across print, digital, mobile, social, and video. Building on its heritage as the preeminent source of global business and financial news, the Journal includes coverage of U.S. & world news, politics, arts, culture, lifestyle, sports, and health. It holds 36 Pulitzer Prizes for outstanding journalism. Credits The Wall Street Journal is the title sponsor of BAMcinemaFest, BAM Rose Cinemas, and BAMcinématek. Steinberg Screen at the BAM Harvey Theater is made possible by The Joseph S. and Diane H. Steinberg Charitable Trust. Delta Air Lines is the Official Airline of BAMcinemaFest. Toll Brothers City Living is the supporting sponsor of BAMcinemaFest. Brooklyn Brewery is the preferred beer of BAMcinemaFest. Pepsi is the official beverage of BAM. Indie Circle Members: Jeanne Donovan Fisher, Chair; Gabriel & Lindsay Pizzi, Chairs; Dan Klores; Jonathan F.P. & Diana Calthorpe Rose; and David Liu & Carley Roney. BAM Rose Cinemas are named in recognition of a major gift in honor of Jonathan F.P. and Diana Calthorpe Rose. BAM Rose Cinemas would also like to acknowledge the generous support of The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, The Estate of Richard B. Fisher, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, Brooklyn Delegation of the New York City Council, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, Bloomberg, and Time Warner Inc. Additional support for BAMcinématek is provided by The Grodzins Fund, The Liman Foundation, and Summit Rock Advisors. BAMcinemaFest is programmed by Nellie Killian, David Reilly, Ryan Werner, and Gabriele Caroti, with assistance from Jesse Trussell. Special thanks to all participating filmmakers and their creative teams. Additional thanks to: John Sloss/Cinetic Media; Alison Hughes/Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy; Brian Block/Bleeding Light Film Group; Peter Becker, Brian Belovarac & Emily Woodburne/Janus Films; Charlie Olsky & Sara Sampson/Cinetic Media; Harrod Blank; Smorgasburg/Eric Denby. General Information BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, BAM Rose Cinemas, and BAMcafé are located in the Peter Jay Sharp building at 30 Lafayette Avenue (between St Felix Street and Ashland Place) in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn. BAM Harvey Theater is located two blocks from the main building at 651 Fulton Street (between Ashland and Rockwell Places). Both locations house Greenlight Bookstore at BAM kiosks. BAM Fisher, located at 321 Ashland Place, is the newest addition to the BAM campus and houses the Judith and Alan Fishman Space and Rita K. Hillman Studio. BAM Rose Cinemas is Brooklyn s only movie house dedicated to first-run independent and foreign film and repertory
programming. BAMcafé, operated by Great Performances, offers a bar menu and dinner entrées prior to BAM Howard Gilman Opera House evening performances. BAMcafé also features an eclectic mix of spoken word and live music for BAMcafé Live on Friday and Saturday nights with a bar menu available starting at 6pm. Subway: Train: Bus: Car: 2, 3, 4, 5, Q, B to Atlantic Avenue Barclays Center (2, 3, 4, 5 to Nevins St for Harvey Theater) D, N, R to Pacific Street; G to Fulton Street; C to Lafayette Avenue Long Island Railroad to Atlantic Terminal Barclays Center B25, B26, B41, B45, B52, B63, B67 all stop within three blocks of BAM Commercial parking lots are located adjacent to BAM For ticket information, call BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100, or visit BAM.org.