FilmClick

Good things often come in small packages, as this year’s BAFF certainly proves. In only its fifth season, the fledgling fest already feels perfectly at home in the Tribeca Cinemas building on the corner of Manhattan’s Varick and Laight Streets. Dozens of filmmakers and patrons, both local and visiting, crowded the lobby and the theater’s upstairs lounge, trading compliments and filling nearly every seat throughout last week’s four-day festivities.

The sold out shows were a frustration for many hoping to catch pieces, both features and shorts, that probably won’t make it to many more NYC screens this year. BAFF showcased almost a hundred low-budget, alternative, and unconventional-running-time works this year, earning it a special place in the hearts of indie-philes citywide. A couple behind me in the theater was surprised to learn that there were two shorts playing before the film they’d come to see. They told me their film’s running time was an hour. “Technically, that’s a short, too,” I replied.

Save Coney Island

When filmmakers and their cast and crew attend screenings, the energy is always tremendous, but often the crowd forgets to pay sufficient attention to the rest of the program. In one such occasion, we were lucky to begin with a short by Peter Lipera that immediately grabbed the fidgety audience’s attention, starting the program off with a poetic telling of The Playground of America’s desperate fight against an unrelenting development corporation and its backers in the mayor’s office. Save Coney Island is an in-depth look at Brooklyn’s most eclectic neighborhood, and its struggle to preserve its wonderful traditions. It’s a doc that evolves with Coney Island’s ongoing saga, and definitely my personal pick of the fest. Check it out next month at Anthology Film Archives.

The Beautiful Hills of Brooklyn

The program ended with a local favorite: Beyond Wiseguys: Italian Americans and the Movies, a fairly self-explanatory doc, but with some excellent moments (i.e. Ben Gazzara on choosing a stage name). Other films of note include The Beautiful Hills of Brooklyn, a gorgeously photographed piece, winner of BAFF’s Best Short Film award, based on the true-life retirement journal of a lifetime state worker in a crumbling Brooklyn neighborhood, and the opening night feature The Living Wake, directed by Sol Tryon and starring the NY Emerging Talent winner, Jesse Eisenberg.

The Project

For my money, the best emerging performance was from a young Jamie Proctor and the entire cast of the closing night feature, The Project. The film won BAFF’s special Cityscape award for its bold portrayal of inner city New York, but the performances themselves may be the best reason to check this one out. Keep your eyes out in the near future for Proctor and co-stars Bilal Bishop and Kevin Porter Young.

By Michael Prall, FilmClick staff, mprall@filmclick.com