Blogging IFP: Death Becomes It

A still from PJ Raval and Jay Hodges' film "Trinidad" screened at IFP.

Short narrative films by emerging filmmakers from the City University of New York schools were screened from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. today at Chelsea Cinemas, as part of the NextGenNYC Short Film Showcases, a new program initiated by IFP and the New York City Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting. Most of the filmmakers were in the audience, but the theater was nearly empty. Death was a common theme in the first three films: Beautiful, by David Figueroa-Garcia, in which a man comes home and strangles his wife in the bathtub for no reason; Strays, by Laura Melillo, in which a pair of heartbreakingly cute teenagers befriend a blind cat in an abandoned house (guess what happens), and Fremente, by Jenny Byrne, in which a prisoner, minutes before his execution, frantically scribbles a musical masterpiece on the walls of his cell. A Day In My Life, by Stacey Lee, although no one dies in it, seemed equally morbid in its autobiographical depiction of a student/cashier’s robotic daily routine. Drop, by Janis Vogel, was a somewhat confusing story of a spontaneous, romantic road trip gone awry, while Period Portrait, by Nitzan Mager, was a more lighthearted film with a clearly defined purpose: when a quote from Karen Houppert appeared on the screen, about how women’s reality is denied when films and other media refuse to acknowledge menstruation, the audience burst into applause—although this may also have been because Period Portrait was the last film of the series.

In the “microcinemas” in the lower level of the Fashion Institute of Technology, documentaries in various stages of completion were pitched and screened throughout the day to potential buyers and producers. There was limited seating and the tiny rooms filled up fast. The audience seemed interested in Burning In The Sun, by Cambria Matlow and Morgan Robinson, both of whom were present at the screening. The film documents the efforts of a young entrepreneur to start selling homemade solar panels to people in Mali who would otherwise continue to live without electricity. While the first 20 minutes (all that was shown) of the film seemed inspiring and hopeful, the directors implied that unforeseen challenges arise later on. Both the film and the solar power project are still works in progress.

At 8:30 tonight, Trinidad, a full-length documentary directed and produced by PJ Raval and Jay Hodges, will be screened on the Pier at Solar One. Trinidad tells the story of how the rural ranching town of Trinidad, Colorado became the “sex change capital of the world.” This event is presented by IFP in collaboration with Rooftop Films, a Brooklyn-based non-profit film festival and production collective. The screening is free and open to the public, and will be outdoors, weather permitting. An after party will follow.

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