Take a look below for the feature lineup, and click over to the official website at brooklynfilmfestival.org for ticketing and more information.
NARRATIVE FEATURES:
“Are You Glad I’m Here” – NEW YORK PREMIERE
Dir. Noor Gharzeddine, Lebanon, 85 min.
A millennial American girl befriends a Lebanese housewife and disrupts her ordered life; one night they become accidental partners-in crime.
“Birds Without Feathers” – NEW YORK PREMIERE
2018 Slamdance Film Festival, Spirit Award Winner
Dir. Wendy McColm, USA, 92 min.
Unable to make a human connection, six broken individuals will give everything away in an attempt to receive love.
“Brothers” – USA PREMIERE
Dir. Bram Schouw, The Netherlands, 106 min.
When Alexander suddenly leaves on a road trip to France, Lukas decides to join him as he’s been trailing his charismatic brother for his entire life. But during this journey he discovers that he finally has to go his own way, not knowing this decision would be so all-encompassing.
“Can Hitler Happen Here?”
Dir. Saskia Rifkin, USA, 74 min.
Meddling neighbors, ambitious social-workers and real-estate vultures conspire to torment an eccentric old lady. Or maybe they’re just trying to help.
“Golnesa” – EAST COAST PREMIERE
Dir. Sattar Chamani Gol, Iran, 94 min.
Golmammad and Golnesa, a young Afghan couple, are illegal immigrants who are working in a traditional brick making kiln in Iran. Following the events happening to them, their lives undergo changes.
“Ice Cream” – WORLD PREMIERE
Dir. Saba Riazi, Iran, 63 min.
Maryam, a 30-year-old woman in Tehran, having lost her job and apartment, is forced to move in with her grandmother. She is trying hard to make things work and
in doing so, she faces herself, eating ice-cream. This funny, semi-autobiographical film seamlessly combines animation and live action into a poetic meditation about identity and belonging.
“Life is Fare” – WORLD PREMIERE
Dir. Sephora Woldu, USA, 61 min.
An experimental Tigrinya/English musical movie exploring three wildly different perspectives on the East African nation of Eritrea.
“My Country” – EAST COAST PREMIERE
2017 Route 66 Film Festival Audience Award Winner
Dir. Giancarlo Iannotta, USA/Italy, 78 min.
Two brothers – one American, one Italian who’ve never met – take a road trip from Rome to the unknown picturesque region of Molise on a journey to spread the ashes of their late father in the small town where he was born.
“Nosotros”
Dir. Felipe Vara de Rey, Spain, 93 min.
“Nosotros” follows a group of five friends during the weekend of the Spanish presidential election held in December 2015, probably the most important one in Spain’s recent history due to the deep political and financial crisis in Southern Europe.
“One Bedroom”
Dir. Darien Sills-Evans, USA, 83 min.
Writer-director Darien Sills-Evans combines humor and drama to create a portrait of a relationship at the end of its journey. Set in a gentrifying Brooklyn neighborhood, and told through vivid flashbacks, the audience is taken through the whirlwind tale of Melissa and Nate’s courtship. Melissa and Nate have been through a lot together, but sometimes Black Love gets broken.
“Prison Logic” – NEW YORK PREMIERE
Dir. Romany Malco, USA, 91 min.
Released from prison and placed on probation, Tijuana Jackson sets out to fulfill his dream of becoming a world renowned motivational speaker but fails to comply with strict orders from his no-nonsense probation officer.
“Room For Rent” – EAST COAST PREMIERE
Chicago Comedy Film Festival, Best Feature Winner
Dir. Matt Atkinson, Canada, 89 min.
When a broke thirty-two year old ex-lottery winner (Mark Little, “Space Riders: Division Earth”) convinces his parents to rent their spare room to save from downsizing, a creepy stranger (Brett Gelman, “Lemon,” “Stranger Things”) with a hidden agenda moves in. Co-stars Mark McKinney (“Superstore”) and Stephnie Weir (“My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”).
“Tommy Battles the Silver Sea Dragon” – EAST COAST PREMIERE
2018 Toronto International Spring of Horror and Fantasy Film Festival, Best Feature & Performance Winner
Dir. Luke Shirock, USA, 110 min.
When a man finds himself on trial in a courtroom haunted by his own demons, he must reckon with the guilt of his mother’s death before it destroys him and the one he loves. A musical film directed by and starring Luke Shirock.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES:
“Active Measures” – USA PREMIERE
Fresh off its World Premiere at Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival
Dir. Jack Bryan, USA, 100 min.
Relying on expert testimony and existing footage, “Active Measures” documents the surprisingly interconnected rise of two men, Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin. Features unprecedented access with interviews including Hillary Clinton, John McCain, James Woolsey, Michael McFaul and more.
“Afghan Cycles” – EAST COAST PREMIERE
Dir. Sarah Menzies, USA, 90 min.
Following a new generation of young Afghan women cyclists, “Afghan Cycles” uses the bicycle to tell a story of women’s rights – human rights – and the struggles faced by Afghan women on a daily basis, from discrimination to abuse, to the oppressive silencing of their voices in all aspects of contemporary society.
“My Name is Pedro”
Dir. Lillian LaSalle, USA, 96 min.
This film explores what public education meant to South Bronx Latino maverick educator, Pedro Santana, and what he, in turn, meant to public education. Infectious in his optimism, Santana becomes one of the most influential public school teachers and then administrators in the New York public school system after turning his troubled Bronx middle school, MS 391, around.
“Nos Llaman Guerras”/“They Call Us Warriors” – NEW YORK PREMIERE
Dirs. Jennifer Socorro, Edwin Corona Ramos & David Alonso, Venezuela, 81 min.
After becoming undefeated champions of the South American Women Under-17 Championship and overcoming one of the worst social and economic environments for sports practicing, the Venezuelan team takes a chance to win the first World Cup for their country, having the chance to give a voice to women football in their country and perhaps in all of South America.
“Street Fighting Men” – NEW YORK PREMIERE
Dir. Andrew James, USA, 104 min.
Facing dwindling public services, growing inequality and escalating violence, three Detroit men must fight to build something lasting for themselves and future generations.
“The New Man” – INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE
Dir. Josh Appignanesi and Devorah Baum, United Kingdom, 96 min.
A creative documentary about becoming a parent…and how to reconceive yourself. Fiction director Josh Appignanesi turns the camera on himself and his wife as they undergo the ordeal of becoming parents in the era of man-children and assisted reproduction.
“Working in Protest” – NEW YORK PREMIERE
Dir. Michael Galinsky & Suki Hawley, USA, 74 min.
BFF alums Michael Hawley and Suki Galinsky (“Battle for Brooklyn”) have documented protests for over 30 years as observers rather than journalists or activists. Starting in North Carolina in 1987 and ending in DC in 2017, the film captures the discourse of modern political protest.
