Award-Winners and Buzz Titles Pack Sundance at BAM

By S.T. VanAirsdale

The lineup for the third annual Sundance at BAM program just slid under the door at Reeler HQ, and with 22 features and 36 shorts selected, it's the biggest one yet. It looks good overall: A bunch of Jury Prize winners (Frozen River, Trouble The Water, Man on Wire), some buzz titles (the opening-night selection American Teen, Ballast, Gonzo) and a crapload of shorts (36!) and special events fill out the schedule from May 28 to June 8. In keeping with what I guess is now tradition, the slate features a little more overlap with New Directors/New Films (or distributed titles like Choke and Man on Wire) than I expected, but whatever; as BAM Cinematek curator Florence Almozini told The Reeler when I had the same issue in 2007, "We thought that it was more important to the program to keep the films we really loved than to eliminate them because they were not a New York premiere."

Phillippe Petit does his thing in Man on Wire, the World Documentary Jury Prize winner screening May 30 at Sundance BAM (Photo: Magnolia Pictures)

Not having been in Park City this year to discover gems of my own, I'll take her word for it. I'd still like to have seen something like Brooklynites Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden's Sugar on here, but a person close to the production told me the other day that distribution priorities are overriding the chance for local fest bookings. Baghead or Goliath would have been nifty adds for the kids, but hey. Gregg Araki will be around with the restored version of his 1992 queer nihilist classic The Living End, and the Canadian heavy metal band Anvil, profiled in Sacha Gervasi's appropriately titled doc Anvil! The Story of Anvil, will perform a free concert May 31 at the BAMCafe.

Follow the jump for the complete program, and check back for more in May as opening night approaches.

FILM SCREENINGS
From moving and personal stories about life in suburban and small-town America to reflections on life outside America’s borders, the films offered in this year's Sundance Institute at BAM exemplify the range and strength of storytelling that has become a signature of American independent film. The program includes nine Award Winning features from the 2008 Festival. Most screenings are followed by Q&A sessions with filmmakers.

American Son / U.S.A. (Director: Neil Abramson; Screenwriter: Eric Schmid) — Fresh from Camp Pendleton, a young Marine plans a relaxing Thanksgiving break but instead finds romance, family strife and the realities of adult life. Principal Cast: Nick Cannon, Melonie Diaz, Matt O’Leary, Jay Hernandez, Tom Sizemore, Chi McBride, April Grace. New York Premiere.
Monday, June 2 at 9:40pm & Wednesday June 4 at 6:40pm

American Teen / U.S.A. (Director/Screenwriter: Nanette Burstein) — American Teen intimately follows the lives of five teenagers in a small town in Indiana through their senior year of high school. The film goes beyond the stereotypes of high school--the nerd and the jock, the homecoming queen and the arty misfit-- to capture the complexity of young people trying to make their way into adulthood. Burstein spent the entire 2005-2006 school year immersed in the lives of her subjects, shooting 1,000 hours of footage. Paramount Vantage will release the film on July 25, 2008. Opening Night Film. New York Premiere. 2008 Documentary Directing Prize.
Thursday, May 29 at 8pm - BAM Howard Gilman Opera House - Tickets: $15

Anvil! The Story of Anvil / U.S.A. (Director: Sacha Gervasi) — At 14, Toronto school friends Steve “Lips” Kudlow and Robb Reiner made a pact to rock together forever. Their band, Anvil, went on to influence bands like Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax. But Anvil’s career took a different path—straight to obscurity. Director Sacha Gervasi has concocted a wonderful and often moving account of Anvil's last-ditch quest for elusive fame and fortune. Documentary Film. New York Premiere. Followed by a live concert by Anvil in BAMcafé.
Saturday, May 31 at 6:30pm

Ballast / U.S.A. (Director/Screenwriter: Lance Hammer, an IFC Films release) — A poignant examination of poverty and family dynamics in a small Mississippi Delta town. Cast: Micheal J. Smith Sr., Jim Myron Ross, Tarra Riggs, Johnny McPhail. Dramatic Film. 2008 Dramatic Directing Prize & Excellence in Cinematography Award.
Saturday, May 31 at 9pm

Captain Abu Raed / Jordan (Director/Screenwriter: Amin Matalqa) — An aging airport janitor with a gift for storytelling is mistaken for a pilot by a group of children. Arabic with English subtitles. Dramatic Film. 2008 Sundance Film Festival World Dramatic Audience Award. New York Premiere.
Saturday, June 7 at 12:30pm & Sunday June 8 at 12:30pm

Choke / U.S.A (Director: Clark Gregg; Screenwriter: Clark Gregg, adapted from the novel by Chuck Palahniuk, a Fox Searchlight release) — A wickedly colorful dark comedy, Choke is a story of mothers and sons, sexual compulsion, and the sordid underbelly of colonial theme parks. Principal Cast: Sam Rockwell, Anjelica Huston, Kelly MacDonald, Brad William Henke, Clark Gregg. Dramatic Film. 2008 Dramatic Special Jury Prize-Ensemble Cast. New York Premiere.
Thursday, June 5 at 9:40pm & Saturday, June 7 at 9:30 pm

Flow: For Love of Water / U.S.A. (Director: Irena Salina) — A cautionary profile of the relationship between humans and the quintessence of life: water. Spanning the globe from Africa to California, director Salina focuses on the underlying issues of pollution, human rights, politics and corruption – all of which threaten the world's most precious resource. Documentary Film.
Sunday, June 8 at 3:30pm
This film will also have a special Education & Humanities Screening for school groups on Friday, May 30 at 10:15 a.m.

Frozen River / U.S.A. (Director/Screenwriter: Courtney Hunt, a Sony Pictures Classics release) — Set on a real-life border crossing on a Mohawk Reservation in rural upstate New York, a "trailer mom" finds herself lured into the world of illegal immigrant smuggling. Principal Cast: Melissa Leo, Misty Upham, Charlie McDermott, Michael O’Keefe.. Dramatic Film. 2008 Dramatic Grand Jury Prize.
Sunday, June 8 at 6:15pm

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson / U.S.A. (Director: Alex Gibney, a Magnolia Pictures release) — Oscar-, Emmy- and duPont-Columbia-award winner Gibney focuses on the height of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson's rebellions from 1965 to 1975. Through interviews with Thompson's peers, clips of never-before-seen home movies and audiotapes, parts from unpublished manuscripts, and with narration by Johnny Depp, the audience is offered a remarkable glimpse into the inner life of a very public icon. Documentary Film. New York Premiere.
Saturday, May 31 at 3:15pm

Good Dick / U.S.A. (Director/Screenwriter: Marianna Palka) — First-time filmmaker Palka wrote, directed and stars in this story of a lonely woman drawn from her isolated life by a doting video store clerk who strives to make her fall in love with him. Principal Cast: Jason Ritter, Marianna Palka, Tom Arnold, Mark Webber. Dramatic Film. Marianna Palka received post-production support through the Annenberg Film Fellowship program. New York Premiere.
Friday, May 30 at 6:30pm & Saturday, May 31 at 12:30pm

Made in America/ U.S.A. (Director: Stacy Peralta; Screenwriters: Stacy Peralta, Sam George) — Once a hotbed of African-American culture, the small stretch of land known as South Central Los Angeles is now considered by many to be a war zone. Narrated by Forest Whitaker, Made in America weaves together the stories of African-American transplants who fled the South for California. Directed by former professional skateboarder, team surfer and original Z-boy Stacy Peralta. Documentary Film. New York Premiere.
Wednesday, June 4 at 9:40pm & Saturday, June 7 at 6:30pm

Man on Wire / United Kingdom (Director: James Marsh, a Magnolia Pictures release) — On August 7th, 1974 Philippe Petit committed the artistic crime of the century when he walked, danced and knelt on a wire he attached between the towers of the World Trade Center: 1,350 feet above the ground. This is the story of how Petit got to the towers and why he chose this adventure. Documentary Film. 2008 World Cinema Documentary Jury Prize, World Cinema Documentary Audience Award.
Friday, May 30 at 9:30pm

The Order of Myths/ U.S.A. (Director/Screenwriter: Margaret Brown) — Mobile, Alabama is home to America's oldest Mardi Gras celebration. But the elaborate parades and vibrant pageantry have always been segregated along racial lines. A Mobile native, Brown escorts us through the distinctions and similarities of the black and white realms of this time-honored ritual. Documentary Film.
Tuesday, June 3 at 9:40pm

STRANDED: I've come from a plane that crashed on the mountains / France (Director/Screenwriter: Gonzalo Arijon) — A first-hand account of one of the most well-known harrowing tales of human experience -- the survival of the 16 passengers that miraculously survived 72 days in the Andes following a plane crash in October 1972. Spanish with English subtitles. Documentary Film. New York Premiere.
Thursday, June 5 at 6:40pm & Saturday, June 7 at 3:30pm

Trouble the Water / U.S.A. (Directors: Tia Lessin, Carl Deal) — With home video footage of the storm itself, this film follows a streetwise young couple through the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina and into an uncertain future. Documentary Film. 2008 Grand Jury Prize Winner Documentary. Trouble the Water was supported by the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program.
Sunday, June 8 at 9:15pm

Filmmaker's Journey

ADOPT ME, MICHAEL JORDAN (Filmmakers Melanie Judd and Susan Motamed) — The story of twelve-year-old Weynshet as she travels from an Ethopian orphanage to an adoptive family in the U.S. is the subject of Adopt Me, Michael Jordan, a work-in-progress documentary. By focusing on the experiences of a child, filmmakers Melanie Judd and Susan Motamed illuminate the complications of international adoption and raise the question of what it means to lose everything you know in order to get what you need. Documentary Film.
Friday, June 6 at 7 pm

Followed by: A Filmmaker’s Journey
Following the screening, filmmakers Melanie Judd and Susan Motamed offer the audience a look into their creative process and engage in an in-depth discussion of adoption and its impact with the audience and special guests. Judd and Motamed received financial and creative support for Adopt Me, Michael Jordan from the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program, which supports contemporary-issue non-fiction filmmakers worldwide with grants, creative support, and year-round opportunities to advance their film and its issues, and through its on-going series of Work-in-Progress screenings.

Sleep Dealer / U.S.A./ Mexico (Director: Alex Rivera; Screenwriters: Alex Rivera, David Riker) —
Burning with visual energy and originality, Sleep Dealer is a fascinating work of science fiction that is as politically engaged as enjoyable to watch. Set in a near future marked by airtight international borders, militarized corporate warriors, and an underground class of node workers who plug their nervous systems into a computer network, director Alex Rivera stuns audiences with this look at the not-so-implausible prospects of how the mishandled political and social issues of today could precipitate the predicaments of tomorrow. Principal Cast: Luis Fernando Peña, Leonor Varela, Jacob Vegas. Spanish with English subtitles. Alfred P. Sloan Prize and Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award.
Tuesday, June 3 at 6:40pm

Followed by: A Filmmaker's Journey
Join filmmaker Alex Rivera after the screening to discuss his eight-year-long creative process to bring the vision of his first feature to light. Rivera developed Sleep Dealer at the 2000 Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab and the 2001 Directors Lab. Part of the Feature Film Program, the Labs provide emerging filmmakers mentorships with accomplished professionals at all stages of the film's journey.

SPECIAL SCREENING: Dark Matter
(Director: Chen Shi-Zheng; Screenwriter: Billy Shebar) — Inspired by a true event, Chen Shi-Zheng’s impressive first feature is a fascinating window into science as it often plays out in real life. Following a rocky transition to an American university, a Chinese student joins a select cosmology group that is developing a model of the origins of the universe. Principal Cast: Liu Ye, Aidan Quinn, Meryl Streep. Presented by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Tuesday, June 3 at 9:40pm

Dark Matter won the 2007 Alfred P. Sloan Prize and Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award and will screen following this year’s winner Sleep Dealer

Sundance Institute's Native American and Indigenous Initiative
Monday, June 2 at 6:40pm

A Conversation with the Filmmakers
Join filmmakers Seth Kramer, Daniel A. Miller, Jeremy Newberger, Kevin Lee Burton, and Andrew Okpeaha MacLean and Bird Runningwater from Sundance Institute's Native American and Indigenous Initiative for an extended Q&A after the screening. Hear from the filmmakers involved in the Indigenous language movement around the world.

The Linguists / U.S.A. (Directors: Seth Kramer, Daniel A. Miller, Jeremy Newberger; Screenwriter: Daniel A.Miller) — Speaking 25 languages between them, professors David Harrison and Gregory Anderson explore the remote corners of the globe in search of endangered languages. Time is of the essence as these academics set off to research and document the world's threatened native tongues in a race to preserve the words and heritages of Indigenous populations. Documentary Film. New York Premiere.

Nikamowin (SONG) (Director: Kevin Lee Burton) — Deconstructing and reconstructing Cree narrative, Nikamowin experiments with the Indigenous Cree language to create a linguistic soundscape. Short Film.

Sikumi (ON THE ICE) (Director: Andrew Okpeaha MacLean) — An Inuit hunter inadvertently becomes a witness to a murder. Short Film. Winner of a Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking.


SUNDANCE COLLECTION SCREENING

The Living End: Remixed and Remastered (Director/Screenwriter: Gregg Araki, courtesy of Strand Releasing) — A buddy movie gone bad, Gregg Araki’s The Living End premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 1992. Luke, a rootless hustler, and Jon, a freelance writer whose life is devastated when he discovers he's HIV positive, are literally on the road to nowhere. This newly remastered version gives a vibrant voice to Araki's desolate landscapes and disenfranchised characters who collide on the screen in a series of chance-encounters. Principal Cast: Mike Dytri, Craig Gilmore, Darcy Marta, Scot Goetz, Mary Woronov.

The Living End is among the 500 films held as part of the Sundance Collection at UCLA, a groundbreaking archive of independent film. The Collection presents screenings of seminal independent films each year at the Sundance Film Festival.
Friday, June 6 at 9:40pm
Followed by Q&A with Gregg Araki

MIDNIGHT SCREENING:
Smiley Face / U.S.A. (Director: Gregg Araki; Screenwriter: Dylan Haggerty) — When Jane unwittingly eats her roommate's pot-filled cupcakes for breakfast, she faces the quagmire of what should be a simple task: replacing the cupcakes. Smiley Face premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. Principal Cast: Anna Faris, John Krasinski, Adam Brody
Friday, June 6 at Midnight
Introduced by Gregg Araki

SUNDANCE SHORTS SUNDAY
Sunday, June 1 -- Noon to Midnight

The Sundance Film Festival's short film programs showcase some of the most boundary-pushing work in storytelling today. This range of comedies, documentaries, love stories, and animation brings short filmmaking’s strongest new voices to Brooklyn for 12 hours on Sunday, June 1.

The Skinny on Sundance Shorts: A Conversation with Sundance Programmers
Sundance Film Festival's Director of Programming John Cooper, Senior Programmer Trevor Groth, and Shorts Programmer Todd Luoto talk about what makes short films such a sizable genre in filmmaking today and how online access is making it easier for us to watch everything in between. Aspiring filmmakers can hear first-hand from a team who annually watch more than 4,000 shorts.
Sunday, June 1 at 4:30pm

SHORT FILM SCREENINGS
Fueled by artistic expression, this year's selection of short films include sophisticated animation, compelling nonfiction work, action-packed dramas, outrageous comedies and four Academy Award-nominees. Each of these programs feature Q&As with shorts filmmakers, including Isabella Rossellini. Presented by National Grid, Sundance Institute at BAM Leadership Sponsor.

A selection of Sundance Film Festival shorts are available for purchase on Apple's iTunes Movie Store, Xbox Live, the online entertainment network for Microsoft's Xbox 360, and the Netflix member Web Site. Presented in collaboration with Sundance Channel, the shorts will be available through 2011. For the full slate of shorts available online visit www.sundance.org/shorts.

SHORTS PROGRAM ANIMATION
Sunday, June 1 at Noon

Madame Tutli-Putli (Directors: Chris Lavis, Maciek Szczerbowski) — Madame Tutli-Putli boards the night train and finds herself caught up in a desperate metaphysical adventure adrift between real and imagined worlds. Academy Award nominated. Available on iTunes, Netflix and Xbox.

Yours Truly (Director: Osbert Parker) — Animation and live action collide in a dark romance as psychological tension surrounds the ultimate kiss-off letter.

Paradise (Director: Yi Zhou) — Based on Dante's The Divine Comedy, this lyrical look at an imaginary paradise is based on black-and-white nature, insects, and no human souls in the landscape. Available on iTunes, Netflix and Xbox

Teat Beat of Sex (Director: Signe Baumane) — A take on sex, exclusively from a woman's point of view. Available on Netflix.

Chonto (Director: Carson Mell) — Wilted rock idol Bobby Bird literally tries to buy a friend when he adopts a monkey from a zoo in South America. Available on iTunes, Netflix and Xbox

Dog (Director: Hermann Karlsson) — Remembering the death of a dog and the guilt of a boy that soon followed.

I Met the Walrus (Director: Josh Raskin) — In 1969, a 14-year-old Beatles fanatic convinced John Lennon to do an interview about peace. Using the original interview as the soundtrack, this narrative tenderly romances Lennon's every word in a cascading flood of multipronged animation. Academy Award nominated.

Lapsus (Director: Juan Pablo Zaramella) — A curious nun ventures into the darker side of her animated world.

The Pearce Sisters. (Director: Luis Cook) — A bleak-hearted tale of two old spinsters living on a remote strip of coast, scraping out a miserable existence from the sea.

I Have Seen the Future (Director: Cam Christiansen) — A boy is competing in a tennis match with his father when three young men approach and start to accost them rudely. The film is narrated by a pitch-perfect pop song. Available on iTunes, Netflix and Xbox.

SHORTS PROGRAM 1
Sunday, June 1 at 2:30pm

kids + money (Director: Lauren Greenfield) — Money talks. Los Angeles teens discuss money: getting it, spending it and learning to live without it.

W. (Director: The Vikings) — A social outcast describes how he finally found his place in the world. Honorable Mention in Short Filmmaking.

Harvest Time (Director: Sami Korjus) — For so long, Anja has put up with her lazy husband, focusing instead on her work. But there is a limit to everything.

Crossbow (Director: David Michôd) — A kid. His mum and dad. The sex and drugs. And the boy next door who watched the whole thing unravel. Available on iTunes, Netflix and Xbox.

Force 1TD (Director: Randy Krallman) — Three friends set off to find a very special pair of sneakers for a miniature guide horse.

Man (Director: Myna Joseph) — Maggie and her sister form an unusual bond during an encounter with a young man. Available on iTunes, Netflix and Xbox.

Farewell Packets of Ten (Director: Ken Wardrop) — Ethel and Nancy discuss the pros and cons of their mutual addiction to cigarettes. Available on iTunes, Netflix and Xbox.

I Love Sarah Jane (Director: Spencer Susser) — Neither bullies nor zombies are going to stop Jimbo from finding a way into Sarah Jane's world. Available on iTunes, Netflix and Xbox.

SHORTS PROGRAM 2
Sunday, June 1 at 6:15pm

Sikumi (ON THE ICE) (Director: Andrew Okpeaha MacLean) — An Inuit hunter inadvertently becomes a witness to a murder. Winner of a Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking.

FCU: Fact Checkers Unit (Director: Dan Beers) — After being assigned to check a bizarre fact about Bill Murray, two magazine fact checkers break into Bill's house to spy on him. Available on iTunes, Netflix and Xbox.

THE SOUND OF PEOPLE (Director: Simon Fitzmaurice) — An 18-year-old boy stands on a diving board, pondering what will happen if he plunges to his death. Available on iTunes, Netflix and Xbox.

Green Porno (Dragonfly);Green Porno (Firefly);Green Porno (Spider)
(Director: Isabella Rossellini) — A comical series of minute-long shorts about the sex lives of bugs, insects and various creatures.

Dennis (Director: Mads Matthiesen) — When Dennis, an introverted bodybuilder, invites a local girl out on a date, his mother is hurt and disappointed.

Aquarium (Director: Rob Meyer) — At 15, David and his two buddies are the youngest members of the Boston Aquarium Society. En route to a monthly meeting, David has a secret he is reluctant to share. Winner of an Honorable Mention in Short Filmmaking.

Waves (Director: Adrian Sitaru) — On a hot summer day on a Romanian beach, a beautiful woman asks a local young man to watch her son when she goes for a swim.

Salim Baba (Director: Tim Sternberg) — Salim is a 55-year-old man who, since the age of 10, has made a living using a hand-cranked projector to screen discarded film scraps for the kids in the neighborhood. Academy Award Nominated.

Spider (Director: Nash Edgerton) — It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye. Available on iTunes, Netflix and Xbox. Honorable Mention in Short Filmmaking.

SHORTS PROGRAM 3
Sunday, June 1 at 9:30pm

Nikamowin (SONG) (Director: Kevin Lee Burton) — Deconstructing and reconstructing Cree narrative, Nikamowin experiments with language to create a linguistic soundscape.

The Second Line (Director: John Magary) — Two cousins labor in a post-Katrina wasteland. Available on iTunes, Netflix and Xbox.

Suspension (Director: Nicolas Provost) — Letting go of realist constraints, we dive into a metamorphosing cosmic ocean. Honorable Mention in Short Filmmaking.

my olympic summer (Director: Daniel Robin) — Against the backdrop of the hostage crisis at the 1972 Munich Olympic games, the filmmaker looks at home video footage of his parents when they were young in hopes of understanding how they kept the magic. Winner of a Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking.

Sick Sex (Director: Justin Nowell) — Amanda has a fever. Kevin is horny. Available on iTunes, Netflix and Xbox.

Soft (Director: Simon Ellis) — A father rediscovers his fear of confrontation at the worst possible time. Jury Prize in International Short Filmmaking.

La Corona (The Crown) (Directors: Amanda Micheli, Isabel Vega) — Four incarcerated women compete ferociously for a coveted beauty-pageant crown in Bogota, Columbia. Academy Award-nominated.

BAMCAFE
Sundance Institute at BAM presents a series of events in BAMcafé to showcase film, theater, and music artists supported by Sundance Institute’s range of programs. With live music, a night of songs from the theater, and a screenplay reading, this year's series offers a glimpse of the work being developed with Sundance support year-round.

FREE FILM MUSIC EVENTS
From a lively theatrical piano concert to heavy metal straight from a rockumentary to the funk of an experimental trio, Sundance Institute at BAM presents three musical events in BAMcafé that offer a diverse lineup of spirited tunes with connections to the Institute’s Film Music Program, Theatre Program, and the Sundance Film Festival. These concerts are FREE to the public.

Anvil Live!
Saturday, May 31 at 9pm
Following the screening of the 2008 Sundance Film Festival hit about their quest for rock legend status, the band Anvil bring their kinetic brand of heavy metal to BAMcafé for a rocking party. Anvil’s first three albums helped pave the way for bands like Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, and Slayer. Thirteen albums and thirty mind-blowing years later, Anvil is still spinning out heavy metal anthems at high-tensile strength. Join Lips, Robb Reiner, and Glenn Five for this evening of late-night shredding.
Complimentary beverages provided by Saaga 1763 Vodka and Brooklyn Brewery.

An Evening with Pianist Anthony de Mare
Friday, May 30 at 9pm
Widely acclaimed for creating theatrical worlds out of musical works, pianist Anthony de Mare comes
to BAMcafe to perform work by composers including Laurie Anderson, Stephen Sondheim, George Antheil, John Adams, Daniel Bernard Roumain, Meredith Monk, Annie Gosfield, and Frederic Rzewski's theatrical version of Oscar Wilde's De Profundis. De Mare made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2005.

Chien du Faience
Saturday, June 7 at 9:30pm
A free-punk-funk-experimental-psychedlic-post-electonica collective featuring Marc Ribot, Shahzad Ismaily and Ches Smith. Guitarist Marc Ribot is known for his stunning collaborations with Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Robert Plant, John Zorn and Marianne Faithful. He has performed and composed for numerous films including, Drunk Boat, Walk the Line, and The Departed. Shahzad Ismaily plays the guitar, banjo, double bass, accordion, flute, drums, and various percussion instruments. Ismaily has recently been drawn to film composing through Sundance Institute’s Composers Lab. Ches Smith performs regularly with Xiu Xiu, Trevor Dunn, and Secret Chiefs 3.

FREE SCREENPLAY READING
Sunday June 1 at 7pm in BAMcafe

Hammer and Anvil (Screenwriter Alicia Erian) — In Alicia Erian's work-in-progress screenplay, an idealistic American with a checkered past agrees to do the favor of a lifetime for a Salvadoran immigrant, only to face repercussions years later, in Alicia Erian’s work-in-progress screenplay.

Offering the audience a rare glimpse inside the creative process of an emerging independent screenwriter, a talented ensemble of actors directed by Michael Greif brings the characters to life for the first time. This reading is part of Sundance Institute’s ongoing Screenplay Reading series. Erian developed her screenplay Hammer and Anvil at Sundance Institute's 2008 January Screenwriters Lab.

Alicia Erian is the author of the short story collection, The Brutal Language of Love, and the novel Towelhead (made into a film by Alan Ball, to be released by Warner Independent later this year).

NEW FRONTIER
The Sundance Film Festival’s New Frontier program is on the cutting edge and celebrates the convergence of film, art and new technology as a hotbed for new ideas and experimentation. With this sampling of New York-based artists from the New Frontier, Sundance Institute at BAM brings its interactive work to audiences on the artist's home turf.

Graffiti Research Lab
L.A.S.E.R. TAG
Thursday, May 29 & Saturday, May 31 (After Dark)
L.A.S.E.R. TAG is a Weapon of Mass Defacement (WMD) that gives individuals the power to communicate their thoughts on buildings, using a 60-milliwatt laser and a big-ass projector. On Opening Night and Saturday, May 31, the G.R.L. will project on neighborhood targets. The Graffiti Research Lab is dedicated to outfitting graffiti writers, artists, pranksters, and protesters with open-source tools for urban communication.

Free Midnight Screening
Graffiti Research Lab: The First Season
Meet G.R.L. and watch a free screening of their documentary about their experiments with technology, urban centers, and random encounters with people on the streets.
Saturday, May 31 at Midnight, and random

Daniel Rozin's Snow Mirror
Daniel Rozin’s Snow Mirror celebrates the drift of black and white, forming a reflection from video snow. Rozin is the resident artist and an associate arts professor in the Interactive Telecommunications Program at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Throughout Sundance Institute at BAM, Rozin’s Snow Mirror will be on display in the Natman Room, located off of the BAM lobby.

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Posted at April 9, 2008 6:41 AM