BAM Tagged Articles at Cinematical

For an emerging filmmaker, the Sundance Film Festival provides a starting point for the life span of a feature-length work. There's a far greater sense of immediacy, however, for the filmmakers involved in the shorts program, where a wide variety of material tends to begin circulating the festival world before fading into complete obscurity. That's why the short films that screened yesterday as part of the third annual Sundance Institute at BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) signified the most important aspect of the two-week event: With few exceptions, the films on display received the kind of exposure that helped validate this frequently neglected format. While some of the titles are available on iTunes, many that were shown to a packed house finally got the long-delayed reception they deserved.

Animated efforts almost always offer the best ingredients in any shorts program, since it's here that you'll find a combination of inspired side projects from gainfully employed studio animators and the works of struggling independent artists. The latest program couldn't beat the sheer brilliance of cult animator Don Hertzfeldt's short Everything Will Be Ok in last year's showcase, but two particularly memorable films left distinct impressions this time around.

For the third year in a row, Sundance is partnering up with the Brooklyn Academy of Music to present the "Sundance Institute at BAM" series, where flicks from this year's film festival will play for New York audiences May 29-June 8. It's just like going to Sundance, only without the snow and ice. Oh, and Brooklyn is actually big enough to handle large crowds. So maybe it's nothing like going to Sundance, except for the movies.

The movies -- 22 features and 36 shorts -- include several must-see titles, some of which have not played anywhere yet except for Sundance. Hot-buzz documentary American Teen (pictured) is on the schedule (complete with a prom-themed BAM party!), as is the soldier drama American Son. Anvil! The Story of Anvil was one of the most popular films at this year's fest, and the heavy metal band featured in it will perform live at BAM. There's the Chuck Palahniuk adaptation Choke, Stacy Peralta's L.A. gang doc Made in America, the South American cannibalism doc Stranded, and award-winning documentaries Trouble the Water and Man on Wire. If you've been paying attention to the indie/film-fest scene this year, you've probably heard of some of these, so it's pretty cool that the Sundance/BAM partnership will give wider audiences a chance to see them.

Tickets for the "Sundance Institute at BAM" series go on sale to BAM members on April 21, and the general public on April 26. Neither Sundance nor BAM has the complete info on its website yet, but here's the BAM page to keep your eye on.

As Erik reported back in January (Can you believe it's already April?), the Sundance Institute will bring its indie mojo to the east coast next month with a series at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). For eleven days, starting on May 11, BAM will be featuring not only films from this year's Sundance festival, but also Q&A sessions with filmmakers, discussions on independent cinema, and chances to see and hear works from the Sundance composers lab and new works of musical theater.

Among the 14 films that will screen at BAM are Iraq in Fragments (look for a review from Kim in the next couple of days), artsy porn flick Destricted, Wristcutters: A Love Story, Sherrybaby, and screenwriting award winner Stephanie Daley. Also, as an added bonus for you The Usual Suspects fans (it premiered at Sundance in 1995), screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie will be featured at a special event, discussing the development of his film and showing "never-before-seen uncut footage straight from [the]...set." Yeah, you suddenly want to go to Brooklyn, don't you?

Tickets for most screenings go on sale next Monday, so get your calendar out and starting making some plans.

To mark its 25th anniversary, The Sundance Institute, along with Robert Redford and the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) have teamed up to host what they're labeling, Creative Latitude: Sundance Institute at BAM. The latitude part refers to the fact that Park City, UT and Brooklyn, NY share a 40.6 degree of latitude.

From May 11th through May 20th, 2006, the organization will screen a dozen feature films from the upcoming Sundance Film Festival at BAM, along with an assortment of different programs including script readings, panels, a Sundance theater lab showcase, and an evening of film music. Specifics won't be announced until after the festival, but you can start clearing your schedule now.

For those of you not in New York City, Sundance will also be celebrating the big 25 by going on tour, bringing a little bit of the festival to different parts of the country, while also promoting its Sundance Film Festival Collection DVD box set. So far the only cities mentioned were Nashville, TN, Ann Arbor, MI, and Orlando, FL. More details for the tour will be announced at a press conference on the opening day of the Sundance fest.