Dixon Place (Block One)

Bowery Film Festival is proud to screen the following selections:

• For While

  Directed by Jess Irish
  

  Inspired by Emma Lazarus’s famed poem welcoming immigrants to the United States, this experimental video short captures small moments of humanity within the quotidian carriage of the NYC subway. Titled in reference to a computational “for” loop, the video poem speaks to the holding pattern we occupy and take passage through—equal in our anonymity, hurriedness and small sufferings. Amid this current era of nationalist scapegoating, we persist in the quiet ethos of multiplicity. We (us) are greater than US in the lived experience of equality and freedom.

• Quarantween

  Directed by Daniel James McCabe
  

  The only trick-or-treater to brave the streets during the pandemic.

• Environmental Racism | PSA By Nathan Goswick

  Directed by Nathan Goswick
  

  In this film, I connect the idea of eco-racism to military weapons to show more clearly how the environment can be used against minorities.

• The College FKA Calhoun at Yale

  Directed by Robert Menefee
  

  Calhoun Residential College at Yale University was named for John C Calhoun, a leading proponent of slavery. On June 13, 2016, Corey Menafee, an African American kitchen worker at Calhoun Dining Hall, smashed a racist stained glass window depicting slaves in a cotton field. Mr Menafee’s act led to New Haven community protests which started out small, but over time grew to marches of hundreds of people. After more than thirty demonstrations, over eight months, on Feb.11, 2017, Yale University renamed Calhoun College. The name is now Grace Hopper College. The university held a name change celebration, but the New Haven activists were not invited or acknowledged.

• Writing on the Wall

  Directed by Miya Lee
  

  “Writing on the Wall” documents the transforming streets of Soho, New York City during the Black Lives Matter protests in June and July 2020. After the neighborhood's high-end stores boarded up their windows and doors, two artist-led activist groups quickly saw an opportunity: Using the stores' plywood boards as blank canvases, they spent weeks painting murals in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. The film is organized by the musical performance of Sean Bennett, A.K.A. “Yozart,” playing Mozart Violin Concerto No. 4 on the corner of Spring Street and West Broadway.

• Giannis and Identity

  Directed by Johnny Sweet
  

  A short film that explores the background of NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, through his rough childhood days in a racist environment in Athens, Greece.

• Girls Are Strong Here

  Directed by Scott Burkhardt
  

  A Syrian auto mechanic's faith in his new country is put to the test when Callie, an American teenager, and her mother are stranded at his service station overnight.

• ETERNAL

  Directed by Nicolai Sagasser
  

  What if we could live forever? Eternal life sounds marvellous but what if we think further? In this film we follow a young man who is confronted with these exact questions. He is part of a mysterious ritual which triggers deeply rooted emotions about life, death and the meaning of it all. "With this film I tried to make people think about philosophical questions that always fascinated me. But I don't like answering these questions for anyone. I can't. These types of questions everyone has to answer for themselves. The challenge was to ask these questions in a way they have never been asked before. In a beautiful way." Nicolai Sagasser (Director)

• Hungry Ghosts

  Directed by Mark Borkowski
  

  Frank Duffy searches for his missing wife who has relapsed on heroin and disappeared. As Frank's obsession drives him closer to the edge, he is forced to confront his own demons or die with hers. Set in the drug infested badlands of Philadelphia, "Hungry Ghosts" shines a light on the city's opioid crisis while exploring a family torn apart by addiction.

• Hudson Falls

  Directed by Elias Plagianos
  

  The secrets of a small upstate town that revolve around an eccentric scientist (William Sadler) begin to unravel when a private eye from the city (Richard Kind) takes on a seemingly mundane job in an effort to rekindle a relationship with his ex wife (Jessica Hecht).

• Message From The Future

  Directed by Dano Johnson
  

  A time traveler tries to save the future -- things don't work out.