2013 Art of Brooklyn Film Festival Announces World Premiere Feature Film Selections

BROOKLYN, N.Y. - April 30, 2013 - PRLog -- The 2013 Art of Brooklyn Film Festival (AoBFF) today announced its World Premiere feature selections, all of which are independent films with a connection to Brooklyn.

The AoBFF was founded in 2010 to create a large-scale platform for independent film in the borough. The AoBFF is unique because we require filmmakers to describe their “Brooklyn connection” in order to be eligible for our festival. We screen films created by filmmakers who were born in Brooklyn, or have moved here from around the world, drawn by Brooklyn’s emerging prominence as a cultural capital, and international films that are inspired by our borough, affirming its global importance.

RESCUE! BROOKLYN
Documentary, 110m, USA, Directed by Charlie Spickler, World Premiere

RESCUE! BROOKLYN is a documentary film about SEAN CASEY ANIMAL RESCUE and their integral connection with the Borough of Brooklyn and New York City as a whole. What Sean is doing should be the model for No Kill shelters all over the country.

The film’s Brooklyn connection:
Director Charlie Spickler has lived in Brooklyn for 18 years, and his family’s Brooklyn roots go back to the turn of the 20th century.

Trailer: http://youtu.be/8CPUqlDW7CU



CASUAL ENCOUNTERS
Comedy/Drama, 80m, USA, Directed by Will McCord, World Premiere

No matter how alone or strange one may be, Internet sex personals provide an anonymous setting to divulge one’s most secret and intimate desires. CASUAL ENCOUNTERS tells the stories of five lonely people looking to make a connection and have their fantasies fulfilled.

The film’s Brooklyn connection:
Director Will McCord was born in Brooklyn and returned 6 years ago to make it his home.

Trailer: http://vimeo.com/36529978

AMERICAN BOMBER
Drama/Suspense, 90m, USA, Directed by Eric Trenkamp, World Premiere

John Hidell, a disgraced ex-soldier, travels to New York City to become the first American born and raised suicide bomber. As he prepares for his bombing, he finds himself in an unexpected relationship with Amy, a divorced bartender. As his infatuation with her and New York grows, Hidell neglects his role in the bombing plot and begins to hope for the future—A hope that shatters when his co-conspirators and the FBI come hunting for him.  

The film’s Brooklyn connection:
Director Eric Trenkamp lives in Brooklyn and is on the faculty of the Film/Video Department at the Pratt Institute.

Trailer: http://vimeo.com/48811018

HOW TO MAKE MOVIES AT HOME
Comedy/Drama, 93m USA, Directed by Morgan Nichols, World Premiere

Jonah and her band of filmmaking friends have been making movies since they were kids. When a big TV production team comes in, threatening to shut them down, Jonah becomes so consumed with her war with Hollywood that she risks losing the band. What sets H2MM@H apart is that Jonah explains how they’re making their movie while being in the movie about making movies.

The film’s Brooklyn connection:
Writer/Director Morgan Nichols, Producer Lisa Dowda, and DP Dave Danesh are all Brooklynites.

Trailer: http://vimeo.com/39461172

IF THESE KNISHES COULD TALK: THE STORY OF THE NEW YORK ACCENT
Documentary, 55m USA, Directed by Heather Quinlan, World Premiere

On the surface, 'If These Knishes Could Talk' is an exploration of the New York accent: what it is, where it sprang from, and how it's evolved over time. But scratch that surface and underneath you'll find that the accent is just a starting point to delve into a larger question: What does it mean to be a New Yorker? Is it the accent? The swagger? All of the above? And how much of that swagger does New York still have, now that its high rents are stifling the accent and paving over the grit? If this trend continues, the Big Apple's voice may be indistinguishable from that of any other large American city. And then what would it mean to be a New Yorker?

The film’s Brooklyn connection:
Director Heather Quinlan lives in Brooklyn, her grandfather is from Brooklyn and her film is full of Brooklynites.

Trailer: http://youtu.be/BMSI6REcnJI

CHILLING VISIONS: 5 SENSES OF FEAR
Horror, Feature Anthology, Word Premiere

​Chiller TV (a division of NBC/Universal) teams with six up-and-coming filmmakers for five short films based on the human senses:
SMELL – directed by Nick Everhart
SIGHT – directed by Miko Hughes
TOUCH  - directed by Emily Hagins
TASTE – directed by Eric England
HEARING – directed by Jesse Holland & Andy Mitton

The film’s Brooklyn connection:
Several of the film’s cast and crew live in Brooklyn.

Trailer: http://youtu.be/c7s9qU7M00Y

About the Art of Brooklyn Film Festival:
The AoBFF was conceived as a festival that speaks to Brooklyn as a whole, where many demographics overlap. We bring the new, artist-centric Brooklyn community together with native Brooklynites. As a result we work with a broad spectrum of filmmakers from different backgrounds and our audience is uncommonly diverse: In 2012 we had guests from every zip code in the borough.

We are as diverse, vital and international as the borough itself. And everyone is invited to our party.

​​The AoBFF is produced by The Art of Brooklyn, a nonprofit dedicated to celebrating the art and culture of the Best Borough.