brooklyn academy of music Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Last night I had the pleasure of attending the opening night premiere of American Teen (in theaters July 25) as part of the third annual Sundance Institute at BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music). The Sundance fav launched an eleven-day festival of sorts, showcasing the best of the best from this year's Sundance Film Festival; 22 features and 36 shorts in total, plus filmmaker Q&As, parties, art installations and tons of Brooklyn hipster-watching.

The screening itself was completely sold out and held inside the gorgeous BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, where, conveniently, free popcorn and bottles of water were handed out at the door. And as my wife pointed out after we sat down: "They're smart -- free things always put a person in a good mood before a film." Indeed! Before the curtain rose on American Teen, a number of folks approached the mic for some words, while the crowd cheered every time 'Brooklyn' was used in a sentence. The speakers included BAM President Karen Hopkins, Sundance executive director Ken Brecher, Brooklyn Borough President (and an awesome guy) Marty Markowitz, Katherine Oliver, Commissioner of the NYC Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre & Broadcasting, BAM Cinema Club Chairs Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard, and, finally, American Teen director Nanette Burstein (sporting a very pregnant belly) and one of the film's teenage stars, Hannah Bailey (pictured above).

Check out a gallery from the premiere, the film and the prom-themed after party below -- then head after the jump for my thoughts on American Teen. (All pictures courtesy of the fine folks at the Sundance Institute and Paramount Vantage.)

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.