Brooklyn International Film Festival 2007

Brooklyn International Film Festival

Opening Night

Friday, June 1, 2007

Contributing notetaker A.M. Peters and I attended the opening night festivities of the 10th annual Brooklyn Independent Film Festival (BiFF) at Steiner Studios in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Jad Abumrad, host of WNYC's Radio Lab, introduced the night's films which began with the shorts Raymond and Dog Days, followed by the feature Made in Brooklyn, "a film about the neighborhood" with "four stories woven together by a cute little girl selling lemonade on a corner." The cast includes Michael Rispoli, Peter Dobson, Costas Mandylor, Vince Curatola and Richard Portnow. Luca Palanca wrote and produced the film that was directed by Gregory Alosio, Sharon Angela, Jeff Mazzola, Joe Tabb, and Palanca. When the film was over, Palanca said during a Q&A, "It's fitting we premiered here because it was a Brooklyn film."

After the screening, I met filmmaker Nimrod Amitai outside of Steiner Studios. Amitai's short film Golden Wedding screen at BiFF on Monday, June 4 at 1pm and Wednesday, June 6 at 3:30pm at Cobble Hill Cinema.

Nimrod Amitai (Director, Golden Wedding, and girlfriend)

Stanley Cuba After Party

Saturday, June 2

Nicole Taylor and Jerry Less, who appears as Robert in Stanley Cuba

I missed the screening of Stanley Cuba at BiFF today, as I was watching the new David Gordon Green film Snow Angels, which was part of the Sundance Institute at BAM. (Click here for notes from the Q&A). Luckily, I was able to hop over to the Stanley Cuba after party in Cobble Hill where I met up with A.M. and her roommie Boris Cifuentes, who worked on the film. Directed and written by Per Anderson, Stanley Cuba is described in its synopsis as "A rectangular black obelisk, intellectual property lawyers from hell, the most gratuitous lesbian kiss ever, five Brooklyn bands, aesthetic transcendence through selling out, something about Stanley Kubrick, and Mike Birbiglia." Also at the party was actor Al Burgo. I also ran into Jerry Less and Nicole Taylor whom I worked as the publicist on a reading of the play "L.O.L." last year that Jerry directed and starred Nicole. See picture above. Nicole next appears in a reading of the play "Cattaraugus Crick" at the Workshop Theater Company on June 10th.