Bronx Council On The Arts (BCA) is proud to partner with Bronx World Film for a film screening day at BCA headquarters on Saturday, August 26, 2023, between the hours of 02:00 p.m. and 07:00 p.m.
At this free event, attendees will enjoy a full day of contemporary world cinema featuring a curated selection of 15 films by young filmmakers of color, women, and Bronx creators. Top filmmakers from the Bronx, Africa, the Arab world, Europe, India, Pakistan, Central America, Asia, and beyond share the marqueé showcasing genres like animation, dance, romance, comedy, experiment, inspiration, sci-fi / fantasy, and documentary.
Screening Schedule
02:00 p.m.
Good Things About the End of the World
Screenwriter and Director Matt J. Weber, USA, 2023. Color, animation, comedy, 15:00 minutes.
Milo bites his tongue. Marisol forgets her reusable shopping bags. But it is not the end of the world. Unless it is.
After the Equinox
Screenwriter and Director Álvaro Franco. USA, 2021. Comedy, 06:00 minutes.
Manuel does spiritual work in the community. Phil (formerly known as Filiberto) is a seemingly successful entrepreneur. By chance, they both happen to meet in the same park, and exchange pleasantries. As the conversation goes on, however, Manuel begins to doubt Phil’s success story, and tries to find a way to extricate himself from being recruited into any suspicious activity.
Veganize It!
Screenwriter and Director Khalid Salim, Qatar, 2015. Comedy, 06:44 minutes.
Bakr has made a life-changing decision. Little does he know that his newly founded decision is going to shake the very core of his relationships with the people around him forever.
The Star
Screenwriter and Director Kevin Mavakala, DRC, 2022. Color, comdey, 12:41 minutes.
With the means at hand, a director does everything possible to make his film shoot a success. Unfortunately for him, he falls on an actress who does not facilitate his task. In French and Lingala, with subtitles in English.
Cherry On Top
Screenwriter and Director Mark Cabaroy. USA, 2014. Color, animation, comedy, 04:00 minutes.
After being gifted a cherry a man loses it and goes to great lengths to get it back.
03:00 p.m.
Lone Soldier Rising
Screenwriter and Director Jurne Smith. USA, 2021. Dance film, 08:36 minutes.
Part of a bigger project, Mandatory Volunteer, this film delves into the psyche of Josephine Boyd, an African American high schooler chosen to desegregate all-white Grimsley High School in Greensboro, NC. Inspired on historical and present-day protests over racial inequality in the USA, and Dr. Karen Meadows’ Pedagogy of Survival, it is a modern recounting and commentary on youth’s place in activism, resistance, and politics. Shot at the historical Dudley High School.
Sagittarius
USA, 2019. Music video, 03:37 minutes.
This short film was made for recording artist Quilla by s/n (Jennida Chase and Hassan Pitts) along with University of North Carolina Greenborough film majors, and funded in part by the Office of Undergraduate Research.
Abel
Screenwriter and Director Petya Atanasova, Bulgaria / Portugal, 2022. Poetic documentary, 18:35 minutes.
Abel has the makings of the perfect dancer, but weaknesses, youthful mistakes, drugs, and childhood traumas change his direction and offer another journey. He comes from a dark place. His mother was raped at 17 and did not know she was pregnant until giving birth to him in the bathroom at midnight. His childhood was a nightmare of abuse and neglect by an evil stepfather. At 17, he was in a professional ballet company and ran away from home. At 18, he went into a mafia gang, flying in planes and smuggling large amounts of ecstasy, and the next couple of years were very dark. Fortunately, By 21, he moves to NYC to be a dancer again and start his training as a healer. World premiere.
03:45 p.m.
Record. Play. Stop.
Screenwriter and Director Neeraj Bhattacharjee. India, 2023. Sci-Fi, animation, 07:00 minutes.
We follow a lone probe as it collects music amongst the infinite fields of sounds, in a quest to find its place among the stars. The probe is eons old and has probably outlived its makers. Yet, it still tries to send back songs of the aging universe around it. It leaves a trail of waves behind it, hoping they will find a way back home, unaware of something that looms in the horizon.
The Stream XII – II
Screenwriter and Director Hiroya Sakurai, Japan, 2022. Color, experimental, 05:00 minutes.
Human beings act on nature in order to keep their lives. From their activities, several streams are generated and landscapes are transformed. I focus on the beauty of transformation created through the relation between human activities and nature, and want to express the beauty as a kind of visual ballet. NYC premiere.
A Nap in Fluoroscopy Buses
Screenwriter and Director Lei Lei. China, 2022. Color, animation, drama, 06:00 minutes.
A fluoroscopy bus carries the crowd from the center to the edge of the city. In the fixed and crowded carriage, some passengers just boarding the bus collide with each other, and some passengers are taking a nap at the seat. Director statement: It uses symbolism to compare a closed system to a bus, and depicts a society under alienation and surveillance from a microscopic perspective. NYC premiere.
Horologist
Screenwriter and Director Jared Lee, Malaysia, 2023. Color, fantasy, thriller. 06:15 minutes.
Obsessed with time, Sand found a way to sell time itself. While his rich customers stay young, they never question Sand’s discovery and the source of their youth. Find out in Horologist. NYC premiere.
05:00 p.m.
¿Where is Bela?
Screenwriter and Director Amanda Carrera. Guatemala 2022. Color, animation/ drama, 08:00 minutes.
Matilde is a curious 7-year-old girl who lost her grandmother. This loss transforms the lives of Matilde and her mother, Ana. Matilde, eager to see her grandmother again, decides to take the urn without telling her mother. This little act of mischief will take mother and daughter on an emotional journey where they will discover how to survive grief. In Spanish. World premiere.
Kalashnikov
Screenwriter and Director Mehroz Amin, Pakistan, 2021. Color, 18:31 minutes.
A one-take film reflecting an artist’s journey from rise to fall, the story revolves around an actor from yesteryear, a suppressed actress, and a boy who sells eggs on the streets. Part melodrama, comedy and tragedy, a tribute to the golden age of Pakistan’s film industry and the superstars of 1980’s “Lollywood.” In Urdu and Punjabi, with English subtitles.
05:30 p.m.
*Bristol Fashion
Screenwriter Pierre Guillet and Timothy John Foster, Director Pierre Guillet. USA, 2022. Color, drama / magic reality, 103:00 minutes.
Christina, a young trans woman fleeing her past, buys a broken-down boat from Esteban, who lets her stay on an abandoned barge while he helps fix the boat. Soon they arre navigating the sometimes messy waters of a straight man falling for a trans woman. She finds the ramshackle barge, rickety boat, and grocery shopping soothing, slowly shedding the life that haunts her, moving past obstacles between her and her freedom.
*This film features adult themes.
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About Bronx Council On The Arts
Founded by visionary community leaders in 1962, the Bronx Council on the Arts (BCA) is dedicated to advancing cultural equity in Bronx. From creative placemaking and arts advocacy to the provision of services for artists and arts organizations, as well as programming for children and seniors, BCA was the first organization in Bronx to focus equally on supporting local artists, serving the community, and catalyzing relationships between the two.
Since its founding, BCA has focused on the work of underrepresented groups, especially artists of color, women, and members of the LGBTQ community. We provide direct services to over 1,000 artists and 250 community-based arts groups each year, and thanks to our granting programs, we are able to touch the lives of over thousands of audience members.
Location:
Bronx Council On The Arts
2700 East Tremont Avenue
Bronx, NY 10461
Tel.: 718-931-9500
E–mail: contact@bronxarts.org
