Brooklyn is the little film festival that could, it's bounced all over its confines, always outlasting any trouble that has gone it's way, such as the closing of various venues that it once found a home in. Outside of the festivals that I had been going to prior to starting Unseen Films, Brooklyn is the festival I've covered the most. Every year since I discovered it Unseen has provided some form of coverage.
What keeps us coming back is the excellent selection of films. Brooklyn is a festival is beautifully programmed with some of the best films you'll see in any film year. Almost every year the festival throws up films that end up on our year end lists. In addition to everything else it has an animation track that is absolutely killer.
This year our coverage is going to be a little less comprehensive as we might have liked. Life is interfering and making it difficult to fully submerge ourselves in everything that we would like to. However both Nate and myself are going to do what we can and get you the low down on as amuch as possible.
Since there are a few days until the festival starts I know you are wondering what films do we recommend? Here is a quick list based on what we've seen so far:
JUDAS COLLAR- stunning wordless short film about camels in the Australian Outback.One of the coolest films you'll see all year. An amazing visual experience I would put money down on it being an Oscar finalist.
SANCTUARY- Hands down one of the most important films of 2019. It is the story of a mother who seeks sanctuary in a church in upper Manhattan in the hope that ICE and Trump don't deport her or her family. It makes a very real problem understandable to everyone.
SILENT FORESTS - a portrait of the efforts to save the elephants that live in the forests of the Congo Basin. While not wall to wall pretty pictures it is a great portrait of the people fighting to save a very endangered group of animals.
LUISTA PHOTO STUDIO - portrait of the sisters who ran a legendary Buenos Aires photo studio that took pictures of anyone who was anyone. It is my favorite films at the film festival.
DONS OF DISCO- excellent portrait of the voice behind a legendary singer (ala Milli Vanilli) who is trying to get his place in the sun.
I should note that while full reviews of every film I’ve seen are coming, I am not going to do a full review of THE LOST FOOTAGE OF LEAH SULLIVAN. The lack of a full review is not because I didn’t like the film, rather it is simply not my kind of a film. A good found footage thriller, it suffers because I am not a fan of genre. I find that unless I absolutely love the film I end up picking apart the internal logic of the film, with the result the film seems to be less than it is. With THE LOST FOOTAGE that’s really not fair since on its own terms it’s quite good. If you love found footage films, and would like to see one that isn’t a straight up horror film (as most seem to be) give this film a go.
And with that I'm going to sign off and go watch some movies. There is a ton of times to see and a short time to see them. If I were you I would go to the website and pick out some films and go. Having seen a number of the films I can honestly say they are all good.
For tickets and more information go here.
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