SATURDAY – Maysles Cinema

SATURDAY – SEPTEMBER 13
MAYSLES CINEMA
343 Malcolm X Blvd / Lenox Ave
(Between 127th and 128th Streets)

 

Hi Noon – 12 PM
YOUTH PROGRAM
A TEEN’S GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING AND COMMUNICATING WITH PEOPLE WITH AUTISM
Alexandra Jackman (US, 15 min)
2013
A primer on how individuals can better relate to those with Autism. The goal of the film is to help typically developing teens learn about Autism and increase acceptance of their autistic peers. Autism experts, people with Autism, parents of people with Autism as well as teens and adults not on the Autism spectrum give us their insights in concert with real life examples, dramatizations, graphics, interviews and narration. “A Teen’s Guide to Understanding and Communicating with People with Autism” helps us to identify with what it may be like to think and behave like an Autistic person and as a result, reduce fear, increase compassion and encourage understanding.
BALANCING ACT
Kristine Stolakis (US, 8 min)
2014
A circus artist brings to life a forgotten history of African-American performance.
HOUSE IS BURNING DOWN
David Paleologos (US, 4 min ) Music Video 
2013
Based on personal experience, this music video written by singer/songwriter Angy describes a sequence of bullying incidents and its impact on a young man in middle America. At the climax, Angy examines the options of the victim and weighs reconciliation, disconnect, rejection, or retaliation. The bully must resolve that – some day – he or she may need the victim in a life or death situation and must accept losing control of when a victim is prepared to resolve the painful accumulation of childhood abuse.
PERFECT DAY
Derrick L. Sanders (US, 17 min)
2013
Desmond, an intellectual loner, is thinking today about two things, how to steer clear of the chaos in his high school and how to get the attention of Aasha, the class beauty. When he discovers he has his own secret admirer, the day becomes a race to the possibilities of love.

Watch the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU0iLgBodIM

ROADSIDE AMBANIS
Kamal Sethu (India, 19 min)
2011
A life below the poverty line…A Dream beyond the poverty line…

Watch the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tp46ak5PLQc

UNDER PRESSURE
Asa Minter (US, 14 min ) New York Premiere
2014
Two teenagers find themselves in a touchy situation when one of their bags gets switched on the subway.
UNDER THE TABLE
Grace McLoed (US, 19 min)
2014
A family of self-proclaimed liberals is forced to address underlying hypocrisy in this contemporary comedy about privilege and tolerance set on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
WALK WITH ME
Timothy Offor (US, 5 min) New York Premiere
2013
A young African American college student attempting to overcome stereotypes ironically falls victim to them.
ZUGZWANG
Yolanda Centeno (Spain, 9 min)
Pedro is an intelligent teenager who is a wiz at chess and math.   When Ariadna, the girl of his dreams, comes for help with her homework, Pedro tries to use the same principles from chess in order to woo her.   It also comes in handy having a chess timer that can stop time, much like the pause button used on the remote control in the Adam Sandler comedy Click.  Pedro uses the timer to assess Ariadna’s moves in order to make the best possible next move.
Q & A with the filmmakers follows

 

1:45 PM
SHORT SEGMENT II
BERXEN KULEK
Yunus Yildirim (Turkey, 12 min) New York Premiere
2014
Journey of a Kurdish nomad who has to make a difficult decision about his deceased brother’s wife and child in order to provide for his horde in the tough Kurdish geography of eastern Turkey.

Watch the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uVSQjSzZg4

BUOYANCY
Mozell Miley-Bailey (US, 24 min) World Premiere
2014
A dancer makes it into a renowned dance company only to have her chance suddenly taken away. A drummer, who’s living on the streets, struggles to keep his music alive. These bodies of music and motion and the weight of desires and dreams become exerted by forces around them that unravel in a NY moment.
FRANK AND AZALEE AUSTIN
Zachary Kerschberg (US, 10 min)
2013
A green card interview breaks down changing three lives forever.

Watch the trailer: http://vimeo.com/88925300

MOLLY
Craig Elrod (US, 13 min)
2014

It’s about a guy who, after a breakup with his girlfriend, plans to have a complicated breakdown.
MR. CHAVAN
Edward Shieh (US, 6 min)
2013
The film, created in 72 hours, introduces us to an isolated elderly man and his dedicated young home-care aide who is burdened by an unexpected and heavy responsibility.
NEW ENDINGS
David Lee (US, 10 min) World Premiere
2014
Connor Hanlon is a tough and troubled urban youth who spends his time hanging out, mugging and robbing people with his three other friends. This film follows a typical day in the life of Connor and his crew; however, on this particular day, he begins to notice the vicious cycle of inner city life that transcends generations.

Watch the trailer: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10203500612187054&set=o.601204613289909&type=2&theater

THE PERFECT SACRIFICE
Tiffany Littlejohn (US, 20 min)
2014
Mississippi, 1955: After her son is kidnapped and brutally murdered, a mother fights to have an open-casket funeral in order to expose the ugly racial problems facing the country.

Watch the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GnkxEUTAO0

WAITING FOR GEORGE
Nathaniel Lezra (US, 6 min) East Coast Premiere
2014
Two aspiring comedians loiter in front of a laundromat known for being frequented by a local comedy legend. Their plan: pitch him their ideas, get him laughing, make it big.
Q & A with the filmmakers follows screening
 
3:30 PM
SI-O-SE POL
Henrik Peschel (Germany, 82 min) New York Premiere
2013
Facing death, terminally ill Parvis Karimpour wants to reconcile with his daughter Nasrin. He and his fellow African travellers are dumped from a boat by the Spanish coast at dawn. He makes his way to Madrid where he believes his only child, who fled from Iran years ago, may now live.

Watch the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DY_UfewXZ_U

Preceded by
ANIMATION HOTLINE
Dustin Grella (US, 5 min) Animation/Manhattan Premiere
2013
Animation Hotline is a series of micro-animations that use crowd-sourced voice-mail messages for content. There have been over 100 of these made since 2011 and this is a “best of” selection (according to the director). The project is ongoing and is still collecting new stories.  If you have a story that you think should be a part of the project, call +1 212-683-2490!
Q & A follows with the filmmakers follows screening
 
5:00 PM
BROWN BREAD:  THE STORY OF AN ADOPTIVE FAMILY
Sarah Gross (Germany/US, 87 min)
2014
In the hills of Northern California, an unusual family gathers for their reunion. As they join hands around the table, their colorful mix of races looks like the American dream of integration.
It started with a vision. The grandparents recall how in the 1970s they began to adopt. Scenes from the week-long reunion are intercut with images from their adult children’s daily lives. A professor at Stanford, a manual day laborer, an entrepreneur in debt, …these portraits show radical differences in class and identity.
Their ability to laugh and to love across boundaries of social and racial division made this family possible. But their differences still drive them apart. A personal documentary about what it means to grow up in an adoptive family.

Watch the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-GSytuiJc4

Preceded by
MILK AND HONEY
Daniel Pfeffer (US, 23 min)
2013
On her fifteenth birthday, Maya Rivera makes the ultimate decision to run away from her abusive foster home. She confesses her escape plans to her loyal boyfriend, Josiah, but little does she know her crazed and jealous stepbrother, Johnny, is hot on their trail.

Watch the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKPBpUu1gyk

Q & A with the filmmakers follows

 

7:00 PM
TAMARA W.
Marko Vuorinen (Finland, 53 min) East Coast Premiere
2014
Tamara W. is an honest, stripped-down look into the world of voguing, the escort business, ecstasy addiction, sexual abuse and being a transgender girl. The documentary film is a compassionate portrait of Tamara Williams, a 23-year-old Bronx girl with fire in her heart, and too much life experience on her shoulders for her years.
Tamara tells her life’s story openly and candidly. The disturbing experiences of her life have not been able to dispirit Tamara. British style icon i-D Magazine lists Tamara among its ’30 under 30′ New Yorkers shaking up the City.

Watch the trailer: http://www.tamara-w.com/

Preceded by
THE WAY YOU LOVE
Lydia Darly (US) New York Premiere
2014

The Way You Love is about unconditional love and forgiveness of the past in order to be.  It takes tremendous courage to love and forgive another.  But doing so can lead to redemption and ultimate freedom.  Sarah needs to forgive her mother, father and godmother in order to find the courage to live her life freely.  Marie needs to let go of her past and forgive herself in order to risk to love again.

Watch the trailer: http://vimeo.com/80849376

Q & A with the filmmakers follows screening

 
8:00 PM
SET ME FREE
Big Spence (US, 118 min)
2013
Four boys now men still living in their neighborhood. The community has transformed and what remains is the ‘hood.’ Each man negotiates his way through the day surviving the hood and each one has a plan to be set free.

Watch the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EyB4-9q9sw

Preceded by
AGHAYE PAST / MR. MEAN
Kajeh Mehrizi, Taravat Khalili, Hajar Moradi, Vahid Fazel (Iran, 4 min) Animation/New York Premiere

Mr. Mean is a typical story of a parasite in society.  This short stop-motion animation artistically depicts some of the issues our society faces today.
Q & A follows

 

10:00 PM
JAMMED
Yedidya Gorsetman (US, 72 min) New York Premiere
2014
The Epic Concept is the jam band to watch, and Rachel, an inexperienced filmmaker, wants to document their rise to stardom. She attends a three day jam band festival, bringing her buttoned-up boyfriend Evan along to run sound.
When Rachel’s camera and equipment goes missing, Rachel tries to make the most of their weekend and enjoy all the music–and recreational drugs–the festival has to offer. Meanwhile Evan is on a mission to infiltrate the jam band scene he despises and find the missing camera.
Complicating things is the presence of Rachel’s ex-boyfriend, Mike, a non-stop party animal bent on winning her back.

Watch the trailer: http://www.jammedmovie.com/trailer/

Preceded by
FLEECING LED ZEPPELIN
Gabriel Tolliver (US, 20 min) New York Premiere
2014
In 1973 someone stole $200,000 from Led Zeppelin’s safety deposit box. Forty years later, it creates a Pandora’s box of trouble for a New York City cop.

Watch the trailer: http://vimeo.com/75956612

Q & A with the filmmakers follows the screening