report from NY International Film Festival
Hi Friends,
Here's a report on the US premiere of BRAND UPON THE BRAIN! at the New York Film Festival. Those of you who read my Toronto report know that putting this show on its feet is a rather hellish experience--one thing after another inevitably goes wrong until it somehow all comes out right in the end--so I'll leave out the tribulations and let a few others report on the triumph. The first report below is from one of the festival's programmers, the second is from a NY-based producer, the third from a wonderful filmmaker. I'll add my two cents at the end.
1. NYFF PROGRAMMER: The performance was fantastic. And I am not just saying that. As I told you I had feared that all the live elements might distract me somehow and make the film less internally felt or something like that. Instead the power of the film went to another level the density of the narrative increased and the magic magnified.Our eyes were glued but our
hearts were broken.
I had written an alternative paragraph on the film for the website description and then held it back and I am glad I did because there was so much more going on in the film than I had caught the first time:
BRAND UPON THE BRAIN!
Sans exclamation mark the title would be positively Jamesian but there were
more shades of Bronte and Sheridan La Fanu and most of all MADDIN.
I couldn't go to sleep that night it was like the first time I ate
bouillabaisse. So rich.
My brain was going like a whirligig.
It brought back a lot of memories I didn't know I had.
and the twin baby sitters in Meadville Pa that grabbed my legs and rocked me
over the edge of the porch four stories up. The erotic confusion. Their
brother with a cauliflower ear that had been chewed upon by a dalmatian when
he was a baby.
the ambiguous feelings about my mother, mothers.
The interiors of windmills that I broke into and played in very much like
the interior of lighthouse.
Beautiful beautiful film.
2. NY-BASED PRODUCER: I've been going to the NYFF for 18 years...last night was the
most sublime, mindblowing event I've ever seen there. Maybe anywhere.
But definitely there. I am so happy I got to see it and wanted to
congratulate you all.
3. FILMMAKER FRIEND: I can't gush enough about how much I was transported/amazed/taken
off guard/delighted by Guy's film, and the entire sensorium of it all!
What a fabulous evening! I hope you get more bookings because
everyone I love most has to experience it!
To which I'll just add...Isabella Rossellini! There can't be too many
people out there who have managed, as she has, to transcend the twin
"blessings" of fame and beauty to become artists in their own
right--what a difficult task!
In between screenings we had a cocktail party with a view, thanks to
the graciousness of Marguerite Soderberg and Richard Massey. Lost in
thought about some technical problems that needed to be fixed before
the 8 pm show, I remember none of it, but am told it was delightful.
Three of the five directors on our next slate were there--Megan Murphy
came from Seattle, Lisandro Alonso from Buenos Aires, and Joie Lee all
the way from Brooklyn. Wait, I do remember meeting the great film
composer Carter Burwell, and Brian DePalma, and an eager young man who
wanted to pitch a film to me right then and there--one minute, two
minutes tops!--even though I had just finished telling him that one of
the things that makes The Film Company unique is we greenlight
artists, not projects. We don't hear pitches or read scripts, and
never will.
To those of you in NY, thank you for making us feel welcome.
Best,
Gregg
Gregg Lachow
Co-President
The Film Company
Here's a report on the US premiere of BRAND UPON THE BRAIN! at the New York Film Festival. Those of you who read my Toronto report know that putting this show on its feet is a rather hellish experience--one thing after another inevitably goes wrong until it somehow all comes out right in the end--so I'll leave out the tribulations and let a few others report on the triumph. The first report below is from one of the festival's programmers, the second is from a NY-based producer, the third from a wonderful filmmaker. I'll add my two cents at the end.
1. NYFF PROGRAMMER: The performance was fantastic. And I am not just saying that. As I told you I had feared that all the live elements might distract me somehow and make the film less internally felt or something like that. Instead the power of the film went to another level the density of the narrative increased and the magic magnified.Our eyes were glued but our
hearts were broken.
I had written an alternative paragraph on the film for the website description and then held it back and I am glad I did because there was so much more going on in the film than I had caught the first time:
BRAND UPON THE BRAIN!
Sans exclamation mark the title would be positively Jamesian but there were
more shades of Bronte and Sheridan La Fanu and most of all MADDIN.
I couldn't go to sleep that night it was like the first time I ate
bouillabaisse. So rich.
My brain was going like a whirligig.
It brought back a lot of memories I didn't know I had.
and the twin baby sitters in Meadville Pa that grabbed my legs and rocked me
over the edge of the porch four stories up. The erotic confusion. Their
brother with a cauliflower ear that had been chewed upon by a dalmatian when
he was a baby.
the ambiguous feelings about my mother, mothers.
The interiors of windmills that I broke into and played in very much like
the interior of lighthouse.
Beautiful beautiful film.
2. NY-BASED PRODUCER: I've been going to the NYFF for 18 years...last night was the
most sublime, mindblowing event I've ever seen there. Maybe anywhere.
But definitely there. I am so happy I got to see it and wanted to
congratulate you all.
3. FILMMAKER FRIEND: I can't gush enough about how much I was transported/amazed/taken
off guard/delighted by Guy's film, and the entire sensorium of it all!
What a fabulous evening! I hope you get more bookings because
everyone I love most has to experience it!
To which I'll just add...Isabella Rossellini! There can't be too many
people out there who have managed, as she has, to transcend the twin
"blessings" of fame and beauty to become artists in their own
right--what a difficult task!
In between screenings we had a cocktail party with a view, thanks to
the graciousness of Marguerite Soderberg and Richard Massey. Lost in
thought about some technical problems that needed to be fixed before
the 8 pm show, I remember none of it, but am told it was delightful.
Three of the five directors on our next slate were there--Megan Murphy
came from Seattle, Lisandro Alonso from Buenos Aires, and Joie Lee all
the way from Brooklyn. Wait, I do remember meeting the great film
composer Carter Burwell, and Brian DePalma, and an eager young man who
wanted to pitch a film to me right then and there--one minute, two
minutes tops!--even though I had just finished telling him that one of
the things that makes The Film Company unique is we greenlight
artists, not projects. We don't hear pitches or read scripts, and
never will.
To those of you in NY, thank you for making us feel welcome.
Best,
Gregg
Gregg Lachow
Co-President
The Film Company
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