New York Film Festival 2019 – Critic’s Choices
Senior Film Critic Kurt Brokaw selects five narrative dramas, two documentaries and two shorts as top recommends from the 57th annual NYFF, held Sept.27-Oct.13 in Lincoln Center.
Features
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Keep it in the Light: “Always in Season”
Courtney Gardner reveals insights from her conversation with filmmaker Jacqueline Olive about her award-winning documentary Always in Season, which will air on PBS on February 24, 2020. During her conversation Courtney learned about who Jacqueline is and what drew her to the film’s story, about America’s persistent history of lynching, about how silence limits the ability for restoration in communities, and about the responsibility we all share to change the status quo.
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Checking Out “The Celluloid Paper Trail,” the Ultimate Guide to Screenplays
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.
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Gavin Hood and Martin Bright Discuss Loyalty, Law, and Journalism in “Official Secrets”
The Independent’s Evan Crean sits down with writer/director Gavin Hood and journalist Martin Bright for an engaging conversation about the rich themes of loyalty, law, and journalistic integrity, and how they’re reflected in their film Official Secrets.
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Leave Your Hat On: An Interview with Producer Ed Polgardy
“What exactly does a producer do?” People outside the movie industry always want to know. So The Independent’s Rebecca Reynolds finds out from one the most prolific producers she knows: Ed Polgardy, the quintessential indie producer who has independently financed large and small films outside the studio system in a plethora of genres, all while wearing his signature black hat.
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New Documentary: “Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am”
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.
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Tribeca 2019 Features & Docs Films: Critic’s Choice
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.
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New Directors/New Films 2019 (March 27-April 7)
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.
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Going for The Jugular: Actor/Writer/Director Camille Hollett-French
Ever doubt your sanity after selling your condo and moving halfway across the country? Meet Camille Hollett-French, writer, director, and actor of Her Story (In Three Parts): No. 3 In the Absence of Angels. Despite doubts and financial obstacles, her efforts were awarded when was selected to screen at the 2019 Slamdance Film Festival, the Park City film festival focused on emerging artists and low-budget independent films. In this piece, Courtney Gardner writes from a conversation with Hollett-French about the use of film to discuss sexuality and shame, and about what it means to go for the jugular.
