South and West Asian films make up the entirety of this years Brooklyn Film Festival's (BFF) Asian film line-up. As with the rest of their programme, the festival has a good mix of movies. Of the features spanning from Turkey to Syria to Nepal, some are East Coast premieres; some US; some even world. While the standard Asia-based narratives persist (“Kalokhachya Parambya,” “One Night in Kathamandu”), the festival also leans into modern-day trends to feature more diaspora narratives (“Tango Shalom,” “Little Pakistan”, “Mayor Mohamed”). Notably, of these entries, almost half of them (3 out of 7) highlight Muslim or Islam-influenced narratives.
Earlier this week, the Brooklyn Film Festival announced the film lineup for its 24th edition, “The Clearing.” The 2021 edition will feature 36 World Premieres, 28 USA bows, 34 east coast debuts, and 25 first-time screenings in NY. In total, BFF will show in competition 147 features and shorts from 35 countries. The full lineup includes 13 narrative features and 9 documentary features highlighted in this release. The festival will also present 39 narrative shorts, 23 documentary shorts, 25 animation and 21 experimental films.
Over the course of the 10-day festival, BFF will present 37 film programs online, and a partial line up of 22 programs in-person, indoor at Windmill Studios in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The online lineup will be available 24/7 for the entire 10 days, and the indoor event will feature three programs a day on weekends, and two on weekdays. Each program is two-hours long. Along with the film screenings BFF will offer parallel events, such as pre-recorded filmmaker introductions and Q&A sessions on the festival website. Live interviews and get-togethers will be staged on Facebook and other social media.
Tickets are available on the BFF website. Tickets for indoor screenings must be purchased in advance, online. All tickets and passes purchased online for BFF indoor programs can be picked up at Windmill Studios. Online, BFF will sell each film category for $10 and a Full Festival Pass for $24. All passes will be valid 24/7 from June 4-13.
We've highlighted some of the Asian entries noted in their press release. For further info on all the films, passes, and tickets, please check the BFF website.
FEATURE NARRATIVES:
AMERICAN DESERT
Dir: Adrian Bartol, United States, 82 min, 2020, Narrative Feature, World Premiere
It's 2010, US Army veteran Matt Benning has returned from Afghanistan to a wrecked economy. Demons of war haunt him, a romance blossoms.
KALOKHACHYA PARAMBYA [PROP SHOOTS OF DARKNESS]
Dir: Makarand Anaspure, India, 98 min, 2020, Narrative Feature, East Coast Premiere
Prop shoots of Darkness is conflict of young orphan Alif about spirituality and material world. Industrious and helping everyone in the village.
ONE NIGHT IN KATHMANDU
Dir: Mohan Rai, Nepal, 70 min, 2019, Narrative Feature, US Premiere
A GIRL, 26—together with a BOY, 33, who is a stranger to her– take an injured man to a hospital when an accident take places near them.
TANGO SHALOM
Dir: Gabriel Bologna, United States, 116 min, 2020, Narrative Feature, NY Premiere
“TANGO SHALOM”: Moshe Yehuda (Jos Laniado), a Hasidic Rabbi and amateur Hora dancer, enters a big televised Tango competition to save his Hebrew school.
FEATURE DOCUMENTARIES:
LITTLE PAKISTAN – FUTURE HISTORIES
Dir: Sana Akram, United States, 120 min, 2021, Documentary Feature, US Premiere
Little Pakistan – Future Histories is a dérive—a drifting in an online environment illustrating an immigrant neighborhood of Pakistani-Americans.
MAYOR MOHAMED
Dir: Jeffrey M., United States, Syria, Turkey, 86 min, 2021, Documentary Feature, World Premiere
In this quintessential film about the Muslim-American immigrant experience, Mayor Mohamed Khairullah risks his life to bring humanitarian relief into Syria.
TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES
Dir: Hannah Jayanti, United States, 103 min, 2020, Documentary Feature
Truth or Consequences is a speculative documentary about time and how we weave the past into the present and our possible future.
About BFF
The organizers of the Brooklyn Film Festival have been staging International, competitive film events since 1998. BFF's mission is to provide a public forum in Brooklyn in order to advance public interest in films and the independent production of films; to draw worldwide attention to Brooklyn as a center for cinema and to encourage the rights of all Brooklyn residents to access and experience the power of independent filmmaking; to promote artistic excellence and the creative freedom of artists without censure. BFF, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
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