2017 INWOOD FILM FESTIVAL

INWOOD FILM FESTIVAL

March 17 & 18, 2016

Campbell Sports Center

218th Street and Broadway

New York, NY 10034

2017 PROGRAMMING INFORMATION

$15 Single Tickets / $40 Festival Pass

Friday, March 17

SELECT SHORTS - Student and Senior Matinee Screening with post-screening conversation with filmmakers - Friday, March 17 at 11:30am - 50 minutes.

Featuring: cliff, LEAVES, Road Rage, The Beekeeper’s Keeper, The Tunnel, Un Trabajo Honesto (An Honest Job), This Burning House.

SHORT SHORTS –<5 min. Shorts Exhibition - Friday, March 17 at 7:00pm - 40 minutes

Featuring: Cliff, Leaves, Road Rage, The Beekeeper’s Keeper, Impressions of an Exhibition, Un Trabajo Honesto (An Honest Job), Gone, This Burning House

FEATURE FILM - Forbidden Cuba - Friday, March 17 at 8:05pm - 81 minutes - Featuring post-screening conversation with filmmaker Art Jones and guests.

AFTER PARTY - Following the screening of Forbidden Cuba, join filmmakers, film aficionados, and the Inwood Art Works team at Brown Sugar (5060 Broadway) to raise a glass to our Inwood community and its vibrant arts scene.

Saturday, March 18

LONG SHORTS – A <25 min. Shorts Exhibition – Saturday, March 18 at 5:00pm - 50 minutes

Featuring: BALDR, Caleb Vs. Trialagor, Mother’s House, Dime Short

LONG SHORTS – B <25 min. Shorts Exhibition – Saturday, March 18 at 6:05pm - 50 minutes

Featuring: Trouble Getting In, The Blue Zone, Buhoneros (Street Vendors), The Tunnel

LONG SHORTS – C <25 min. Shorts Exhibition – Saturday, March 18 at 7:05pm - 50 minutes

OFFICIAL SELECTIONS

(In alphabetical order)

BALDR

Director: Tim Ziegler

Synopsis: An aged astronaut laments the loss of his only friend--an octopus in a specimen jar.

Buhoneros (Street Vendors)

Director: Carla Franchesca

Synopsis: Street vendors face many problems in New York City. One of those issues is the cap that limits the number of licenses given to them since 1981, provoking a significant increase in black market deals. PASTORA has been selling underwear on the same spot for 25 years; BRAD sells used books; HUMBERTO sells horse saddles and NENA “LA RUBIA” has spent more than 20 years cooking a Dominican dessert called “Sweet Beans” and had established a well-known business along with several family members. All of them make a living in Inwood and Washington Heights. But, none of them have a license.

Caleb Vs. Trialagor

Director: Victor Verhaeghe

Synopsis: Caleb and Trialagor are superhero, battling to save Ft. Tyron Park.

cliff

Director: Richard Grunn

Synopsis: Follow the creative adventures of cliff during the night shift.

Dime Short

Director: Krista Gano

Synopsis: Dime Short is a glimpse into the world of so many Americas we never hear about. Bob Greene, a once successful real estate agent in rural Colorado, finds himself at a crossroads in life. His marriage, home and business were lost in the great recession of 2008. One more major setback could force him to live like Pete, the homeless war hero who sleeps down by the railroad tracks. One bright spot for Bob is his standing breakfast date with Donna, a waitress at the local diner. He finally has the courage to ask Donna on a real date but just when Bob is feeling better about himself, his world comes crashing down for all to see. There are those who show humility and those who just don’t get it.

Eggs and Soldiers

Director: Imelda O’Reilly

Synopsis: A single Irish Dad forgets the tree on Christmas eve. Ned the older son's humanity is challenged when he risks everything to give his younger brother Marco a real Irish Christmas.

Forbidden Cuba

Director: Art Jones

Synopsis: The first American feature made in Cuba since the revolution of 1959. Part 'Local Hero' and 'Hearts of Darkness,' it's a cautionary tale about capitalism and the state of the American soul. STORY: An American businessman travels to Cuba to retrieve an executive gone rogue, and finds his eyes opened to the beauty and vibrant culture of Cuba, challenging his corporate directives, his identity and everything he has known. As filmmakers, we've aimed to bridge the people of Cuba and the U.S., sparking discussion about how our two nations can create a new, just and sustainable relationship for the future. No permits, no Plan B. Defying rules, reason, and naysayers, “Forbidden Cuba” was covertly shot, guerilla-style, across Cuba over the course of three intense weeks - just before Obama announced a historic shift in America's belligerent relationship with its longtime Cold War enemy. Combining narrative and documentary filmmaking, our small team of five set out to reveal a timely, vibrant truth about today’s Cuba.

GONE

Director: Julia Bengtsson

Synopsis: A dance film in black and white. Inwood residents in the film team include Julia Bengtsson (dance and choreography) and Curtis Stewart (music)

Hunting in Wartime

Director: Samantha Farinella

Synopsis: 'Hunting in Wartime' profiles the incredible stories of Tlingit Native Americans from the village of Hoonah, Alaska who served in the Vietnam War. Their stories confront the complexity of serving a country that systematically oppressed them; from forbidding Tlingit language, to over logging, to laws that robbed returning vets of their ancestral trade of fishing. Many vets succumbed to the horrors of alcoholism, PTSD and suicide while some were able to climb back out to lead the next generation back to their Tlingit culture.

Impressions of an Exhibition – The Hut of Baba Yaga

Director: Stuart Diamond

Synopsis: Synopsis: "Inspired by the musical score of Modest Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition,” The Hut of Bab Jaga is one movement from a larger work entitled “Impressions of an Exhibition.” Mussorgsky’s work was originally written for piano, in tribute to his recently deceased friend and artist Viktor Hartmann. The work paints a musical description of walking through a gallery viewing Hartmann’s art. The Hut of Bab Jaga is the penultimate movement, portraying the home of Baba Jaga - one of the most distinctive, multi-faceted characters in Slavic European folklore. Mysterious and enigmatic, she is usually portrayed as a crone – who can be everything from benevolent forest spirit to fiendish, evil sorceress.

LEAVES

Director: Whit K. Lee

Synopsis: Two tree leaves meet and become lovers. What happens to the survivor when one is ripped to pieces?

Look Up! Visions from Under the Canopy

Director: Amala Lane

Synopsis: On a beautiful summer day, I lay on a bench in Ft. Tryon Park and became entranced with the patterns the tree canopy made. A year and a half later, after filming and photographing throughout the year, I bring you this short doc featuring naturalist and author Leslie Day. She shares the science of trees and her personal experience about the intrinsic worth of connecting with nature. She also touches upon the topic of w/not trees communicate with one another.

Mother's House

Director: Davis Hall

Synopsis: While emptying his late mother's rural home, Thomas and his wife, Catherine, discover increasingly disturbing secrets until the conflict between memory and truth threatens to destroy them both.

Road Rage

Director: Josh Liveright

Synopsis: Road Rage is part of WHAT IF, a series of three short films made by three concerned dads who combined efforts to offer an antidote to gun violence. What if we didn't have guns, what if we tried love?

Safe Words

Director: Turhan Caylak

Synopsis: A couple try to finish their film project while holding their relationship together.

The Beekeeper's Keeper

Director: Megan Rossman

Synopsis: Born and raised in Manhattan, Liane Newton always had a fantasy farm in her head. After the death of her father, she set out to make that fantasy a reality.

The Blue Zone

Director: Kevin Reynolds

Synopsis: The Blue Zone is a comedy about two seniors who meet in an assisted living center after a 50-year hiatus. Harmon and Irene had an unrequited crush on each other in college and finally find the time to explore it…but not always smoothly. The romantic foibles of youth live on, right through the golden years.

The Tunnel

Director: Dylan Tuccillo

Synopsis: Jake's first memory is waking up in an empty world, one completely devoid of life. Everything is made out of plastic. His life consists of daily rituals that keep him going, as he fakes a normal life of exercise and leisure. To stay busy, he obsessively tracks the schedule of freight trains that pass through town without stopping. He's searched for other signs of life, and for a way to escape, but has found neither. The only possible way out is a dangerous railroad tunnel, but this place fills him with abject terror. His first attempt to walk through the tunnel leaves him nearly dead. Even if he is able to pass through it, what's on the other side? Jake struggles with his two options: a safe, lonely life or the risk of death for the unknown.

This Burning House

Director: Rich Perez

Synopsis: Follow the journey of one girl's thoughts and feelings as her community changes.

Trouble Getting In

Director: Jared DiCroce

Synopsis: A seemingly routine day becomes a life-or-death test of skill when an agent arrives to work and, unbeknownst to him, the impromptu trial begins.

Un Trabajo Honesto (An Honest Job)

Director: Ben Sadoff and Yuby Hernandez

Synopsis: A short documentary highlighting the work, personalities, and community offerings of fruit vendors on the streets of Washington Heights.

Weequahic

Director: Jamie Ruddy

Synopsis: Four Jewish gangsters comically fail in their attempt to shake down the owner of their favorite diner in the Weequahic section of Newark, 1952.

FESTIVAL EVENTS

RED CARPET LOUNGE

Friday, March 17 and Saturday, March 18

The Red Carpet Lounge is for the exclusive use of all Film Festival ticketed patrons before and after each screening. The Red Carpet Lounge is a hip hub to connect filmmakers and audiences. Created to capture the spirit of our monthly Forums, come to connect with neighbors before the show, stay afterward to discuss the films, meet like-minded folk, and hob-nob with local movers n’ shakers.

POST FEATURE CONVERSATIONS

Friday, March 17 - Join filmmakers Art Jones, Joe Foley and special guests for a post-screening conversation about their adventurous journey in making Forbidden Cuba.

Saturday, March 18 – Join Inwood filmmaker Samantha Farinella for a post-screening conversation about her journey making Hunting in Wartime.

AWARD CEREMONY

Saturday, March 18 – 9:30pm - Following the post-screening conversation of Hunting in Wartime.

Join us in the Red Carpet Lounge on Saturday, March 18 for the announcement of the Inwood Film Festival’s Awards for Excellence in Filmmaking.

AFTER PARTIES

Friday, March 17

Following the screening of Forbidden Cuba, join filmmakers, film aficionados, and the Inwood Art Works team at Brown Sugar (5060 Broadway) to raise a glass to our Inwood community and its vibrant arts scene.

Saturday, March 18

Following the Awards Ceremony, join the Inwood Art Works team at Indian Road Café (600 West 218th Street) to celebrate the second annual Inwood Film Festival.

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