Kurt Brokaw joined The Independent in 2010 as Senior Film Critic, covering New York’s six major film festivals and reviewing individual features and shorts of merit. He was Associate Teaching Professor at The New School for 33 years, and has taught courses on film noir, early lesbian fiction and Jewish-themed cinema at The 92nd Street Y for 15 years. His memoir, The Paperback Guy, was published in 2020.
Could your screenplay one day be worth enough to display in Royal Books’ high-end collectors window in Baltimore? Owner/scholar Kevin Johnson’s new book, The Cellluloid Paper Trail, is the first definitive examination of movie scripts in the 20th century–their provenance and value from story scripts through the myriad drafts that follow. Senior film critic Kurt Brokaw deconstructs this landmark study.
Senior Film Critic Kurt Brokaw reviews the insightful documentary Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am, a chronicle of the author’s life and work told mainly from her perspective in eye-to-eye interviews.
Senior Film Critic Kurt Brokaw reviews his picks for short films from the 18th Annual Tribeca Film Festival—Carlito Leaves Forever directed by Quentin Lazzarotto; The Neighbors’ Window directed by Marshall Curry; The History of White People in America: These American Truths directed by Ed Bell, Clementine Briand, Pierce Freelon, Jon Halperin, Aaron Keane, and Drew Takahashi; and Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (if you’re a girl) directed by Carol Dysinger.
Senior Film Critic Kurt Brokaw reviews his picks for feature and documentary films from the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival—Gay Chorus Deep South directed by David Charles Rodriques; The Apollo directed by Roger Ross Williams; Georgetown directed by C.Waltz; and Other Music directed by Puloma Basu.
The 48th annual edition of ND/NF, curated by The Film Society of Lincoln Center and Manhattan’s Museum of Modern Art, spotlights 35 features and shorts from promising directors worldwide. Senior film critic Kurt Brokaw examines five dramas and documentaries, including Chinonye Chukwa’s Opening Night prison drama, Clemency, premiering in New York just 13 days after California’s governor granted temporary reprieves to over 700 inmates on the state’s death row.
Rendez-Vous With French Cinema unreels in Lincoln Center February 28-March 10. The 24th annual edition, co-sponsored by The Film Society of Lincoln Center and UniFrance, presents nearly two dozen new French dramas, most having their US or New York premieres. Senior film critic Kurt Brokaw viewed everything available and selects Invisibles (above), Paul Sanchez Is Back!, and Raising Colors as favorites. Read those reviews here.
Immigrant artisan, insatiable curator, preservationist, fearless exhibitor who got the world to understand that raw and unruly “underground” cinema could be classic independent moviemaking —Jonas Mekas did it all, passing away January 23 at age 96. Senior film critic Kurt Brokaw salutes the life and work of the pioneer who built Anthology Film Archives in lower Manhattan, proudly calling himself a filmer and not a filmmaker.
Senior Film Critic Kurt Brokaw offers recommendations from the 28th edition of the New York Jewish Film Festival (32 features, 6 shorts, most US, World, or New York premieres). The festival, which runs from January 9th through the 22nd, is co-sponsored by the Jewish Museum and the Film Society of Lincoln Center. Check through January 22nd for updates!
