Category Archives: Film

Documentary Film Screening: NY Premiere of “Very Extremely Dangerous”

312812-250Venue: Wythe Hotel Screening Room’s View (80 Wythe Ave @ N. 11th, Brooklyn, NY 11249)
Date: Saturday, January 18, 2013
Time: 7pm
Ticket: $10

On Saturday, January 18th, Wythe Hotel Cinema is proud to host the New York premiere of the documentary Very Extremely Dangerous, produced by Robert Gordon and directed by Paul Duane. This film has earned Duane, who will be in attendance with Gordon, a spot on Variety’s recent “Ten Directors to Watch” list.

Very Extremely Dangerous is a thrill ride on the trigger finger of career criminal and one-time Sun Records recording artist Jerry McGill.

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Film Series: “Vengeance Is Shohei Imamura” from January 17 through February 1, 2014

Asia Society and Museum
725 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10021

January 17-February 1, 2014

One of the most recognized filmmakers in the history of Japanese cinema, Shohei Imamura (1926-2006) enjoyed a career that spanned over four decades and is one of only seven filmmakers ever to have been awarded the Palme d’Or twice (for The Ballad of Narayama, 1983 and The Eel, 1997). Displaying a particular interest in the lower strata of society — what Imamura considers the consciousness of Japan — the director populates the screen with impoverished women and social outcasts such as crooks, prostitutes, and pimps. Dark, messy, and bawdy, Imamura’s films observe the primal elements of human behavior and are quasi-anthropological studies of postwar Japan. This mini-series samples works made during the first three decades of the auteur’s career. While the selection highlights some of Imamura’s trademarks, it also presents the range of work that the director has accomplished.

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Documentary Film Screening: “Upaj: Improvise”…from the streets of Harlem to ancient India, a 32 year old and a 64 year old, rhythm, dance, magic!

UPAJTitle: Upaj: Improvise
Director: Hoku Uchiyama
Producer: Antara Bhardwaj
Show date: Monday, January 20, 2014 premiering on the PBS WORLD Channel
Time: 7pm (ET/PT)

Upaj: Improvise is a documentary that follows two dance masters, Indian Kathak guru Pandit Chitresh Das, and African-American tap star, Jason Samuels Smith, as they join forces for an extraordinary artistic collaboration. After receiving critical acclaim on the film festival circuit, Upaj: Improvise was chosen to be part of AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange,  the innovative documentary series bringing moving stories of contemporary life across the African Diaspora to public television audiences, which will be premiering on the PBS WORLD Channel.

”Upaj” means “improvise” in the Hindi language and this film explores the birth and journey of “India Jazz Suites,” a phenomenal East-meets-West collaboration featuring Indian Kathak master and guru Pandit Chitresh Das and tap star Jason Samuels Smith. Das is a 62-year-old artist who exemplifies the elegance and mathematical precision of Kathak, classical, storytelling dance of North India. Jason is a 28-year-old African-American tap dancer hailing from the freestyle, streetwise American tradition of contemporary tap. As the two join forces, an unlikely friendship develops that bridges continents, generations, cultures and communities. Soon Das’s and Smith’s poignant personal stories unfold—stories wrought with loss, struggle and perseverance. As the two artists tell their truths and come to terms with their demons, they show us that our struggles are worthwhile, and Upaj: Improvise paves the way for hope and redemption.

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Film Screening: Iranian New Wave 1960s-1970s (Film Series)

iranian_newwavev2lowresNovember 2-22, 2013

Asia Society and Museum
725 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10021

This film series features rarely screened films of the Iranian New Wave, an exceptional film movement that took place before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. During the cosmopolitan and yet turbulent period of the 1960s-1970s, an auteur cinema emerged and responded actively to the cultural, political, and social conditions of the time. Iranian New Wave is distinguished by its philosophical inclination, social critique, poetic disposition, and vigorous experimentation. This innovative spirit resonated with new cinematic trends sweeping across the globe at the time, from France and Czechoslovakia to Brazil and Japan. Collectively, the films present the artistic vision, humanism, and social consciousness of a generation of Iranian filmmakers. These films have left an important legacy and laid the groundwork for later generations. This series offers an extraordinary opportunity to survey these works and provides a window into Iranian life during this period. A documentary film about the Iranian New Wave is included in the selection.

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Video Screeing: Video By Night – Curated By Jeanne Wilkinson

(photo from

(photo from “Nugatory” by Augusta Palmer)

Date: Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Time: 7 – 9pm
Where: Creon Gallery (238 E. 24th St., NY)

Video By Night…Featuring artists who use video as an expressive tool, letting it develop out of their art practice in an integral way. Curated by Jeanne Wilkinson – Artists’ presentations at 7:30 (Stills on this email from Nugatory by Augusta Palmer) Continue reading →