Captivating Cinema: 2016 Brooklyn Film Festival
If you live in NYC, there’s really no excuse for every uttering the words, “There’s nothing to do this weekend.” And thanks to us, you have yet another reason to get off your couch and explore all the arts, sights and sounds the city has to offer. The Brooklyn Film Festival kicks off this weekend, and there are all kinds of treats for the eager cinephiles lurking in all of us.
The 19th Annual Brooklyn Festival kicks off this weekend, and it runs until June 12th. This year’s festival truly spans the globe, showcasing 107 diverse features and documentaries from 31 countries and 6 continents. It includes 20 world premieres, 18 US bows, and 30 East Coast debuts. There is something here for everyone, but below are the films/documentaries that really piqued our interest.
Crooked & Narrow:
In this new movie, a young woman returns to hometown of Philadelphia after 10 years to visit her ex-cop, current-con father and to join a stick-up crew. After a job gone wrong, the cop who put her dad in prison gets on her trail. This promises to be a gritty and quick-paced thriller that will keep viewers on the edge of their seats. Watch trailer here.
Forbidden Cuba:
Forbidden Cuba is a dramatic comedy that follows an American businessman sent on a covert mission to Cuba. He is sent to locate a rouge executive and plant the seeds for future business expansion. On arrival, he quickly gets swallowed in the unknowns of Havana. After traveling deeper into the island, he’s stripped of his routines, gadgets and bearings, and finds his eyes opened to the beauty and vibrant culture of Cuba. Watch trailer here.
Deprogrammed:
Deprogrammed is a feature-documentary about the rise of Ted ‘Black Lightning’ Patrick’s deprogramming technique and anti-cult crusade. Deprogramming, as a form of cult intervention, started in 1971 and quickly snowballed into a vast underground movement composed of concerned parents, ex-cultist-turned-deprogrammers and some sympathetic law-enforcers whose mission was to physically and mentally remove individuals from groups referred to as “cults.” Watch trailer here.
Remittance:
The main character in this film, Marie, takes a job as a maid in Singapore to support her family in the Philippines. She trades one set of hardships for another, and after being betrayed by her husband, she begins to build a new life for herself. As she gets caught up in the new life she is building in Singapore, she is forced to choose between her personal aspirations and family responsibilities back home. Watch trailer here.
China’s 3Dreams
During the stringent communist days of China, the people had only 3 dreams: own a radio, watch, and a bicycle. These days those 3 dreams have been replaced to the following: the quest for a wealthy China, the hope for a better life and the pursuit of a meaningful existence. In this stirring documentary, a young woman searches for that deep & meaningful existence. This journey leads her deep into China’s hidden history – a fractured line that runs just beneath the surface of contemporary life. Watch trailer here.
Viewings will be held at several venues including The Wythe Hotel and Windmill Studios in Greenpoint. To see all the films along with their respective showtimes, visit the Brooklyn Film Festival website here.
