The Most Promising Young Filmmakers in Brooklyn
Amanda Wilder, Approaching the Elephant
(screening Sunday, June 22)
Which neighborhood do you live in?
I have been in New York six years, and in that time I have lived in a warehouse in Bushwick where it snowed inside in the winter, Bed-Stuy, Prospect Lefferts Gardens, my favorite neighborhood so far, and now Fort Greene. My partner lucked out on a rent-stabilized apartment. Fort Greene is a little frou-frou—it kills me to pay $20 for any three items at a corner store—but I love being close to a park, BAM, and all the subway lines. I escape as much as I can to places with more open spaces such as to Rhode Island and Vermont, although Green-Wood Cemetery can just about do the same trick.
Do you think living in Brooklyn affects your work?
Well, I have met some very important collaborators in Brooklyn. After first meeting him outside Anthology Film Archives about five years ago, I met Robert Greene for a second time about a year ago at a screening of his movie Fake It So Real at Nitehawk Cinema, which led to Robert becoming the editor and a producer of Approaching the Elephant. And I met Approaching the Elephant‘s coproducer, Caitlin Mae Burke, in Greenpoint at a Rooftop Films screening. And there’s the fact that organizations such as IFP (ATE took part in IFP Labs 2013) and POV (ATE was selected for POV Hackathon 5) are a quick bike ride away in DUMBO, which makes juggling opportunities and errands easy.
Is there a “Brooklyn film scene”?
That’s kind of an old joke by now, “the Brooklyn filmmaker.” There are so many filmmakers in Brooklyn. I’d rather think of it as a “community” than a “scene,” which to me suggests something more superficial than it is, but I digress. I’m still happily surprised when I run into someone new. Coming back from True/False Film Festival I got to my corner and bumped into Omar Mullick (These Birds Walk), who was also getting back from the fest. We live on the same block. Coming back from Maryland Film Festival I sat next to Matt Grady (Factory 25) on a C train, who’s also in the neighborhood.
In terms of people who watch films, whether that be filmmakers, film writers, or the mysterious woman who goes to three movies a day, Brooklyn is certainly a part of a larger New York film scene in that I see the same people at Lincoln Center and Film Forum and Anthology as BAM and Spectacle and Nitehawk.
What film that’s not your own are you most excited about at the festival?
There are a lot that I am excited to see for the first time, but you can’t go wrong with Les Blank. Yum! Yum! Yum! 3 Movies by Les Blank and Stations of the Elevated. Gotta support the 4:3 aspect ratio.
What’s your favorite movie theater in Brooklyn?
BAM recently began screening films at the Harvey Theater during the summer, and I don’t know if I’ve had a better film experience anywhere. If you haven’t already, not matter what the film, don’t be picky—check it out! It’s kind of like going to a cathedral instead of a church. The image and sound are incredible. And there’s something magical about going to see a film in a theater that I’ve also seen such live performances as James Thierre’s Raoul and Cate Blanchett in A Streetcar Named Desire. Ghosts linger.