News
The Maysles Cinema Announces: "Smile, It's Your Close-Up: New York's Documentaries" at the Museum of the City of New York
Posted December 6, 2016
A nonfiction film series co-programmed by Jessica Green and Edo Choi of the Cinema at the Maysles Documentary Center and the Museum of the City of New York, this program, in conversation with the museum's new permanent exhibition "New York at Its Core," zooms in on key moments, individuals, and communities to pose the question, "what makes New York New York?" Each screening will be accompanied by an introduction or conversation with filmmakers or other notable guests.
Location:
All screenings will be held at the Museum of the City of New York
$10 for Maysles Documentary Center and Museum of the City of New York members.
Includes admission to the Museum of the City of New York and complementary wine or beer and popcorn.
1220 5th Avenue at 103rd Street.
Admission:
$15 for adults | $12 for seniors, students & educators (with ID) | Admission:
$10 for Maysles Documentary Center and Museum of the City of New York members.
Includes admission to the Museum of the City of New York and complementary wine or beer and popcorn.
Credentialed members of the media are invited to attend.
Please RSVP: Jacob Tugendrajch
jtugendrajch@mcny.org
(917) 492-3480
Press Office
pressoffice@mcny.org
(917) 492-3480
Series Schedule:Please RSVP: Jacob Tugendrajch
jtugendrajch@mcny.org
(917) 492-3480
Press Office
pressoffice@mcny.org
(917) 492-3480
Wednesday, December 14th, 6:30pm
Smile It's Your Close Up: Radiant City
Bill Cunningham New York
Richard Press, 2010, 84 min
The contemporary, modish human flora and fauna of New York's glittering concrete jungle are captured in Bill Cunningham New York, a look into the life of the late, great street and society photographer. Following the film, join us for a conversation to remember Bill with those who knew him and his work well.
Kim Hastreiter, Co-Founder and Editor, Paper Magazine
Mickey Boardman, Editorial Director, Paper Magazine
Richard Press, Director, Bill Cunningham New York
Sally Singer, Creative Digital Director, Vogue
Lana Turner, Bill Cunningham subject and friend
Phyllis Magidson (moderator), Elizabeth Farrar Tozer Curator of Costumes and Textiles, Museum of the City of New York
Program Page: http://www.mcny.org/event/radiant-city
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkQklk_cfVs
Wednesday, January 25th, 6:30pm
Smile, It's Your Close Up: Bridge and Tunnel
The Witness
James Solomon, 2015, 89 min
There are 8 million stories in the Naked City and one night in Kew Gardens, Queens, the gut-wrenchingly tragic tale of Kitty Genovese's murder was born, helping cement a notion of "outer-borough" grimness and urban apathy. Join Director James Solomon and Bill Genovese, Kitty's brother, for a discussion that questions New York City's "center" and "periphery," and re-considers what happened on March 13th, 1964 through the lens of The Witness.
Program Page: http://www.mcny.org/event/bridge-and-tunnel
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAGOoF5CDXA
Wednesday, February 22nd, 6:30pm
Smile, It's Your Close Up: Welcome to Fear City
All 16mm Film Program!
Once upon a time in the 1970s, New York City was supposed to "drop dead," or at least wither away due to disinvestment and "white flight" to the suburbs. Instead, creativity flourished amidst urban decline and new art forms like Hip Hop and Punk Rock were introduced to the world. Meanwhile, 42nd Street's sleaze economy continued to thrive. Savor this 16mm snapshot of the period, featuring:
Sodom and Gomorrah, New York, 10036
Rudy Burckhardt, 1976, 6.25 min
At the age of 62, in the year of Travis Bickle, one of New York's great photographic chroniclers, turned his slyly responsive camera-eye on the city's booming sex industry at 8th avenue and 42nd street. The result, like all Burckhardt's work, is a lyrical impression of a time and place.
A Sense of Pride: Hamilton Heights
Monica J. Freeman, 1977, 15 min
Monica J. Freeman's serene portrait of Hamilton Heights at the peak of its brownstone revival is a testament to the cohesion and spirit of an African-American middle class fighting hard for its place in a depressed city, and, in the process, returning a grand old neighborhood to its rightful splendor.
Punking Out
Maggi Carson, Juliusz Kossakowski & Ric Shore, 1978, 23 min
In 1977, three NYU film students ventured into the bowels of CBGB, returning with this snapshot of the venue in full flower. Intercutting brief glimpses of the Ramones, Dead Boys, and the Voidoids doing their worst, and disarmingly raw, unguarded interviews with band members and patrons alike, this may be the definitive punk document.
Electric Boogie
Tana Ross & Freke Vuijst, 1983, 34 min
Centered around a group of four black and Puerto Rican youths dubbed the Electric Boogie Boys, this short documentary from a pair of European filmmakers is a seminal portrait of the South Bronx break dancing scene.
Program Page: http://www.mcny.org/event/welcome-fear-city
Wednesday, March 22nd, 6:30pm
Smile, It's Your Close Up: Tabula Rasa
Wall Writers
Roger Gastman, 2016, 77 min
The commonly overlooked origins of the modern graffiti and street art movement in the late 1960s and early '70s in New York City and Philadelphia are the focus of Wall Writers: Graffiti in its Innocence. This documentary explores not only early graffiti writing but also the writers who created it and the culture that drove them to write. Join us for a conversation after the film with Director Roger Gastman and some of the featured graffiti writers.
Program Page: http://www.mcny.org/event/tabula-rasa
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqjr3VHKzvs
Sunday, April 23rd, 1:00pm
Smile, It's Your Close Up
I Remember Harlem
William Miles, 1981, 240 min, 16mm!
Though arguably no other New York City neighborhood has generated as many conflicting representations as Harlem, one singular documentary stands out: I Remember Harlem, directed and produced by legendary filmmaker William Miles. Miles' epic lovingly renders the diverse, 350-year history of Harlem as both a living, breathing neighborhood and as the cultural hub of African-American life.
Richard Adams, Director of Photography, I Remember Harlem
Juanita Howard, Producer, I Remember Harlem
Michael Henry Adams, Harlem historian
This film will be screened in two parts, from 1:00pm to 3:00pm and from 4:00pm to 6:00pm, with a 60-minute intermission from 3:00pm to 4:00pm.
Program Page: http://www.mcny.org/event/i-remember-harlem
Wednesday, May 24th, 6:30pm
Smile, It's Your Close Up: After Stonewall
T.V. Transvestite
Simone di Bagno and Michele Capozzi, 1982, 60 min
Trans people were at the forefront of the 1969 uprising at Greenwich Village's Stonewall Inn, but their stories have not always been central in film representations of LGBT life in the city. T.V. Transvestite captures a fierce House of LaBeija Ball thrown at a Harlem Bingo Hall. Considered "lost" and not screened in public for over two decades, the film shows legends Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, and Sugar in the period before voguing and the advent of AIDS. A stirring example of how queer focused and produced film has long flourished in NYC.
Simone di Bagno, director, T.V. Transvestite
Celso Satori LaBeija, member, House of LaBeija
Willyum LaBeija, member, House of LaBeija
Joe E. Jeffreys, drag historian
Program Page: http://www.mcny.org/event/after-stonewall
Wednesday, June 28th, 6:30pm
Smile, It's Your Close Up: New York Futurism
Class Divide
Marc Levin, 2015, 74 min
Rising inequality, the elephant in the room of New York City's future, is the subject of Class Divide which investigates hyper-gentrification in Chelsea through the eyes of local young people. This program also includes shorts from the Maysles Documentary Center Education program that ask the question, "What is New York's future?," in unexpected and inspiring ways. Join Marc Levin and students for a discussion of the films.
Program Page: http://www.mcny.org/event/new-york-futurism
About the Maysles Documentary Center:
The Maysles Documentary Center (MDC) was founded by the late documentary filmmaker and pioneer Albert Maysles (1926-2015) in 2005. Maysles Cinema, at MDC, is dedicated to the exhibition and discussion of documentary films. The Cinema is committed to a democratic experience, one where filmmakers are asked to attend the screenings of their work, and audiences have the opportunity to actively engage the films, subjects in the films, experts, and each other in post-screening forums. Coupled with our scheduled programming, we encourage the programming participation of local social and cultural organizations to deepen community involvement and provide exposure for under-represented social issues and overlooked artists and their work. Our recently renovated 60-seat cinema is now outfitted with Dolby Surround Sound and DCP. MDC also offers educational programming for filmmakers of all ages and produces documentary films.
About the Museum of the City of New York
Founded in 1923 as a private, nonprofit corporation, the Museum of the City of New York celebrates and interprets the city, educating the public about its distinctive character, especially its heritage of diversity, opportunity, and perpetual transformation. The Museum connects the past, present, and future of New York City, and serves the people of the city as well as visitors from around the world through exhibitions, school and public programs, publications, and collections. To connect with the Museum on social media, follow us on Instagram and Twitter at @MuseumofCityNY and visit our Facebook page at Facebook.com/MuseumofCityNY. For more information please visit www.mcny.org.
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