Celluloid Heroes

March 21, 2018

You can see all the stars as you walk down…Cabrini Boulevard? Well, sometimes, if by stars we mean the actors and filmmakers who comprised the third annual Inwood Film Festival. Over St. Patrick’s weekend the Gazette binged on a ton of films at Columbia U’s Campbell Sports Center on 218 Street. The programs had everything from short shorts to features, plus the chance to hob nob with some of the creatives who made it all happen.

Throughout, the Festival’s omnipresent Executive Director Aaron Simms introduced film programs, led post screening discussions, promoted Inwood Art Works other activities (including Summer Films Alfresco in Inwood Park and a ‘culture hub’ in a former nightclub at 202nd Street and 10th Avenue), and hosted an after party at Indian Road Cafe on Saturday night. Simms said he redesigned the schedule this year so it wouldn’t sell out, dividing the films up into eight programs accessible to more viewers and ticketed at an affordable price. The All Access Festival Pass was a bargain at just fifty bucks. Final numbers were still pending on Saturday, but Simms was confident that there were more views this year than last.

Michael Manese, Director, The Pleasure of Being Served.

A frame from The Pleasure of Being Served.

IG: It’s such a lovely movie! I loved that shot in the subway, she’s so tired she fell asleep on the other passenger’s shoulder. It really conveyed how hard she works, and in a beautiful, subtle way. And many other scenes as well… sending money & little gifts home, the sneaker showdown. So how’d you come to tell this wonderful story?

MM: Well actually, the story was the last part. I know a little Tagalog and i wanted to use subtitles. And I wanted to do the film mostly in one location, in that apartment. Then I had some props I wanted to include. The furry handcuffs, romance novels. So I came up with a story that fit all that.

IG: Are you staying for the next program?

MM: No, I’m off to meet some friends. We’re going to the Quad to watch Serpico!

IG: Awesome, thanks!

Convo with team from Idol Worship. Maureen, Mahdi, Director Devin Klos, Amy & Simms.

Blaise Lanzetta, Idol Worship.

Kristy Hanson, star of The High Wire.

Joe Foley, Director, The High Wire; DP, Brief Reunion.

JF: This week I am working on a short Art Film called ‘Simon’s Agony’. We are shooting for 4 days in the abandoned convent on West 33 Street at the Church Of St Michael’s. It is the story of an older sculptor who feels compelled to create even though he has no funding and his body is beginning to give out. He goes to great lengths to finish his masterpiece only to have it destroyed.

James Cataldi, Miku Otagiri, For the Birds.

James Cataldi, “The Birdman” of Inwood, NYC will take on anybody and anything to protect the birds who depend on the garbage-ridden North Cove. He goes toe to toe with several tons of garbage, and with MTA workers, developers, City Hall, more garbage, and now, his own body. Because he’s determined to save that one little nook of “the web of life.” *

Director Susan Austin, This American Death.

Since the death of her mom, filmmaker Susan Austin has been obsessed by what experts call the Good Death. A gold standard in dying. But this wasn’t Susan’s experience with her mom. So, she sets out to interrogate this Good Death and explore the perplexing situation wherein many hope for this idealized death, but few experience it. As Susan reflects on her own experience, she comes to appreciate all we’re up against in America: a medical system that often keeps people fighting for their lives, doctors ill-equipped to guide the dying, and a culture that simply doesn’t know what to do. The film leaves viewers wondering what they will do in these situations and lets us off the hook where we might fall short.*

Pablo Caviedes

In Pablo Caviedes – On the Map, the film maker PH Daniel Sanchez follows Inwood-based Ecuadorian artist, Pablo Caviedes, in his process of creating a monumental series of works inspired by the phenomenon of the American Identity and the role of immigration in development of the country.*