The second annual Art of Brooklyn Film Festival, August 4-12, will feature 45 premieres from all over the world, all with links to Brooklyn. It will launch on Saturday the 4th with a free screening of Steven Seagal’s 1991 cult classic “Out For Justice,” complete with a Seagal look-alike contest. Movies will be screened at St. Francis College Theater, 180 Remsen Street, in Brooklyn Heights, a stone’s throw from Borough Hall.
Joseph Shahadi, executive director of the festival, says that the festival’s goal is to include everyone, from Boerum Hill to Bergen Beach, Fort Greene to the Flatlands, in a major industry event: “For us, it’s only Brooklyn when you count all of it. This isn’t about hipster bashing, but now that the borough has become an international center for art and culture, excluding some people because they live in the ‘wrong’ neighborhood is unacceptable,” he says. “Everyone is invited to this party.”
Also among the selections are a Turkish film inspired by Brooklyn’s diversity, an Italian documentary about a Hasidic rapper and a Claymation short by a young animator born & raised in Australia’s Brooklyn, in New South Wales. Celebrity hosts will emcee the screenings, including documentary filmmaker Annette Danto and actor Eric Mabius of “Ugly Betty” and “Resident Evil.”
“I have always loved Brooklyn,” Mabius says. “It is one of the most creative and productive environments in the world. The whole idea of bringing new and classic Brooklyn together, nobody else is doing that.”
Heather Quinlan, whose “If These Knishes Could Talk” debuted at last year’s festival, will be one of many award-winning female documentary makers on a panel discussing their film work. Special events will also include talkback with filmmakers, after parties featuring Brooklyn bands, nightly discounts at area bars and restaurants and more.
See the full schedule here.
