Tribeca Film Festival: Representing BK to the Fullest

By Dominga Martin

The Tribeca Film Festival kicked off its 17th year this week, and while it is a hop skip and a jump away from Brooklyn, we thought these BK-themed short films would be worth the trip!

Iconic visuals of the city that never sleeps and a birds-eye view inside the lives of people who are the fabric of this great city [and] borough are just a few of the many highlights found in this selection of compelling and artistic short films/documentaries.

Here's the run down, by short film program.

PROGRAM: NY SHORTS, HOME MADE:

1. I HEART NY

A fitting title and documentary that captured my attention the moment Mr. Milton Glaser began his voice over, coupled with touristic images of this bustling city.  If you have not heard of Milton Glaser before, you have definitely seen his work.  He is noted as one of the greatest graphic designers of our time, for one simple reason — he came up with the iconic image seen on every souvenir in this city: I?NY.  In as quick as a "New York Minute" he tells his story.  Run Time: 6 Minutes.  Directed by Andre Andreev, written by Dan Covert. (USA) - World Premiere.  Screening 4/20:https://www.tribecafilm.com/filmguide/i-heart-ny-2018

2. Saul's 108th Story

Well if his name is Saul, he must be from Brooklyn right?! I did not know what to expect with this tale, told to an audience by Saul himself — staging the scene on a day in 1950's Brooklyn, when he was just 15 years old and did not want to go to work because he didn't want to work with glass.  However, he was forced into a day's pay, leaving his neighborhood to head across the bridge, and into the City.  His destination?  The Empire State Building, where he finds himself on a makeshift swing, 108 stories above ground without safety equipment, installing glass windows above the observation deck.  The wind blows him away, and well, you'd have to see the rest to believe it! 6 minutes.  Directed and written by Joshua Carlon (USA).  This documentary screens 4/20 https://www.tribecafilm.com/filmguide/shorts-ny-shorts-homemade-2018

3.  Into My Life

Cassandra Bromfield shares intimate moments of family memories through photos and video, which began being documented on her 5th birthday, from her late mother Elaine.  One of the only black/hispanic families in their Brooklyn neighborhood to have a Super 8 camera, which her mother put to great use — filming and photographing every moment of their life since 1964, when the family settled in Brooklyn's Lindsay Park Housing Cooperative, by way of Puerto Rico.  I really enjoyed seeing the style and the classic cars of the era and throughout time.  Such a darling short of a family's visual history.  15 minutes.  Directed by Sarah Keeling, Grace Remington, Ivana Hucikova. (USA) - World Premiere. 4/20 https://www.tribecafilm.com/filmguide/shorts-ny-shorts-homemade-2018

PROGRAM: LOOSE ENDS

4.  Salam

This narrative, fictional short takes us into the day of a LYFT driver who was born in Syria and raised in the Bronx.  She finds herself in limbo after bombs have gone off in her homeland.   She is left without contact with her family who still lives there.  While on her night shift, she picks up a stranger in Brooklyn who has problems of her own.  Together they keep each other company while driving through the night, as they both await news that can be either welcomed or unpleasant.  14 minutes.  Directed and written by Claire Fowler (USA, Wales) - World Premiere.  English with Subtitles. Starts screening 4/19https://www.tribecafilm.com/filmguide/shorts-loose-ends-2018

PROGRAM: ANIMATED SHORTS CURATED BY WHOPPI GOLDBERG

5.  Brooklyn Breeze

This quick 4 minute animation is one of a few shorts curated by The View host, Whoopi Goldberg.  In quick, snippy images, the animator takes the viewer on a journey through Brooklyn, by way of a crane.  That's right, a crane that has built everything from The Coney Island Wonder Wheel, to The Brooklyn Bridge, passing The Domino Sugar Factory and many attractions both past in present, paying homage to the borough.  Cool stuff!  Directed and written by Alex Budovsky (USA).  Screening 4/21 https://www.tribecafilm.com/filmguide/shorts-animated-shorts-curated-by-whoopi-g-2018

PROGRAM: LIGHTEN UP!

6.  So You Like The Neighborhood

The least of my favorite, this narrative short film documents a young naive woman in Williamsburg, caught in the cross hairs of gentrification.  She is having the worst day of her life, waking up to the news of a bad break up, and the reality of an eviction.  She finds herself at a mobster bar, getting drunk and sharing her woes with mobsters.  Soon she is entangled in mafia business.  Too dense to be a comedy, and too cheesy to be a drama, this felt more like a satire of the mob.  With typical mob names like: "Carmine" and "Johnny, The Finger".  Definitely felt like a "new Brooklyn" perspective of the "old neighborhood." 17 minutes.  Directed and written by Jean Pesce. (USA) - World Premiere.  Starts at 10pm on 4/21 https://www.tribecafilm.com/filmguide/shorts-lighten-up-2018