[New-Poetry] Fw: screenings of two movies

[Anny Ballardini]

> Screening of two movies by Charles Martin
>
> HATS BY BUNN
>
> &
>
> ED CLARK: A BRUSH WITH SUCCESS
>
> 6-8 PM, Friday, March14, 2008
>
> auditorium
> King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center
> with a small reception to follow in the atrium
>
> New York University
> 53 Washington Square South (Suite 201)
> New York, NY 10012 / USA
> (212) 998-3650 /
> Email: kjc.info at nyu.edu
>
> http://www.nyu.edu/kjc/
>
> ==
>
>
> Hats. By Bunn.
> 30-minute documentary film, (c) 2007, produced by Charles Martin and
> Marcelino Thompson
> Directed by Charles Martin
>
> Synopsis
>
> Stunning hats for women and men, crafted by master hat maker, Bunn,
> are stuffed not with rabbits, but with another magic―pleasure and
> pizzazz. Hats. By Bunn.― is a documentary that observes a fascinating
> character, his rare milliner's art and, most importantly, the aura of
> his hats―every one custom made. The documentary takes its name from
> the business that Bunn operates solo in his shop, in New York, on
> Seventh Avenue between 135 and 134 Streets, Harlem, where he makes
> every single hat and retails them. The film shows Bunn, his shop, and
> the enjoyment of his hats. In the Akira Kurosawa film, High and Low, a
> character played by Toshiro Mifune deems hats as only decoration. If
> he had been familiar with Bunn's art, he might have thought of
> decoration as a mark of honor, achievement and distinction: a spark of
> spirit!
>
> Hats. By Bunn.―is a New York story of dedicated work, great
> achievement, and lots of personality. With music by Pheeroan akLaff
> and by Marcelino Thompson, the film is almost a carnival parade of
> hats and high spirits.
> ==
>
> Looking for a hat, the film's director, Charles Martin, was given
> Bunn's name and location. On the phone, just in the course of
> discussing store hours, Bunn already emerged as an interesting
> personality, and the next day, at the sight of the amazing hats and
> the store, a story was clear to Martin.  He asked if Bunn would agree
> to be filmed, Bunn did, and this is the film, whose location shots
> were done by Thompson and Martin amid the shop's workflow.  Only after
> the fact, Thompson and Martin discovered that Bunn is widely
> renowned―though it is the skill and dedication that drives him.
>
> The film's point of view conveys respect for pleasure, hard work,
> dedication, accomplishment, art and articulate points of view.  Aside
> from Bunn, speakers include Quincy Troupe,
> poet/professor/editor/autobiographer of Miles Davis; Margaret Porter
> Troupe, former gallery director and producer of Harlem Arts Salon;
> Pheeroan akLaff, teacher, musician, composer and band leader; and
> store customers, some walking in from the neighborhood, and others
> making it a point to get there, annually, from great distances, such
> as Mississippi.
>
> Hats. By Bunn.―the documentary―is innovative in its simplicity and
> side-stepping of  dominating media polemic.  We are stunned at the
> creativity of the hats, but not that they are made in Harlem. We
> listen to Bunn because he is interesting, not because he is from
> Trinidad and Tobago.  We are fond of this success because success is
> hard to come by, plain and simple.  This story emerges from a context
> of understanding that when talent emerges it is always exceptional.
>
> The filming of the documentary was professional but light hearted,
> especially at the level of conversation and interviews, which were
> kept focused, but freewheeling. The camera work and editing were done
> to allow the easy emergence of the personalities. While at work,
> everyone is also at play, at least at the level of conversation.
> Participants spoke comfortably and freely, and they talked of
> something they respected and revered―their hats by Bunn. They are
> experts in life and are all wearers of and fans of hats. But the
> story, of course, is not all words and talk.  Hats, on the head or
> off, are to be seen. The film shows people looking at hats, looking at
> themselves, and Bunn doing the same. Bunn is shown at work―making
> hats, working with his customers, and also talking about his work and
> society. And of course, the filming, prominent use of still
> photography, and editing, emphasize and play with the hats and their
> buoyant personality effect.
>
> The music for the film is also key.  Much of it is various solo and
> ensemble work of Pheeroan akLaff, known for his work with most of the
> important musicians of the last 25 years including, to name only a
> very few, Carlos Alomar, Oliver Lake, Rashied Ali, Henry Threadgill
> and Dewey Redman.  Along with this music is the work of Marcelino
> Thompson, band leader, composer, arranger, producer and bassist (aside
> from being a producer and shooter of this film).
>
> This film is directed to anyone who has a head for wearing a hat, or
> eyes to look at ones that are pieces of art.  The film should appeal,
> as well, to anyone interested in a story of hard work in New York.
>
> Charles Martin directs this film immediately following his project, A
> Brush With Success, a half-hour documentary on Abstract Expressionist
> painter Ed Clark, co-produced with Mark Hammond, whose many directing
> and producing credits include Johnny Was, a feature film whose stars
> include Vinnie Jones, Eriq LaSalle, Samantha Mumba, Patrick Bergin,
> Lennox Lewis and Roger Daltry.
>
> Along with being Associate Professor and Chair of Comparative
> Literature at Queens College-City University of New York, Martin is
> also a photographer whose work, recently exhibited at June Kelly
> Gallery, NYC,  is part of museum, public and corporate collections
> including the Museum of Modern Art (New York), the Museum of the City
> of New York, the Center for Photography at Woodstock and the Walter
> Heun Collection (administered by Leica Camera, Inc.). Publications
> include the New York Times and Black Renaissance.
>
> Marcelino Thompson, co-producer of this film, was schooled at City
> College-City University of New York and has worked briefly in
> advertising/commercials. His concentration, however, has been
> music―writing, producing and arranging sessions for singers and
> instrumentalists, and for his own Caribbean flavor band, Verdict.
>
>
> ==
>
> A Brush with Success
> 30-minute documentary film, about artist Ed Clark, an African
> American, second-generation Abstract Expressionist, (c) 2007, produced
> by Mark Hammond and Charles Martin
> directed by Charles Martin
>
> Synopsis
>
> A Brush with Success is a thirty-minute documentary film about African
> American artist Ed Clark by Charles Martin.  The film brings together
> Clark at work, and interviews of him and of other artists, critics and
> commentators―Jay Milder, Jack Whitten, Judith Wilson, April Kingsley,
> Valerie Mercer, Loida Lewis and Bob Blackburn.  Conversations cover
> abstract expressionist painting―of which Clark is a major
> exponent―friends, early days in Paris and New York, childhood and
> family in Louisiana and Chicago, and training and influences.
>
> The film has been enabled by the contributions of many, in particular
> Mark Hammond, Ken van Sickle, Carlos Flores, photographers Adger W.
> Cowans and Fernando Natalici, musician Pheeroan akLaff, and the Hybrid
> Media Project―City University of New York. Charles Martin is Associate
> Professor and Chair of the Department of Comparative Literature,
> Queens College-City University of New York, as well as a photographer
> with work in the Museum of Modern Art and other collections.
>
> Ed Clark, who recently had his eighty-first birthday, has spent most
> of his life painting around the world, but mostly between Paris and
> New York.  He is an extremely important Abstract Expressionist
> painter, though not as famous as might be.  Charles Martin and he met
> in Paris in 2003, while Martin was exhibiting photography there, and
> the two became good friends.  Clark later agreed to be the subject of
> this documentary.  People familiar with his importance―artists,
> critics and collectors―quickly agreed to take part.
>
> The film presents Clark talking of art, his painting, jazz music, and
> his life from New Orleans to Chicago to Paris to New York and around
> the world.  Through additional interviews, others in and familiar with
> the world of painting add to the story, attesting to Ed's influence,
> his impact, and his importance.  They tell stories both professional
> and personal.  Speakers include Jack Whitten, Bob Blackburn (a
> MacArthur prize winner), and Jay Milder―artists and contemporaries;
> April Kingsley, Judith Wilson and Valerie Mercer―critics and curators;
> and Loida Lewis, a collector.
>
> The film shows Ed painting, as well as discussing art.  The interviews
> are shot so that the speakers tell their stories and offer their
> points of view in a smooth flow without the intrusion of a questioner
> or narrator.  The camera work is direct and expertly done by Mark
> Hammond (co-producer) and Ken van Sickle (who has worked on an academy
> award winning documentary).  The film includes, too, stills (by van
> Sickle) from the Paris and 10th Street/New York gallery heydays.
>
> The film is a portrait of an artist who has worked long and steady,
> gained recognition, and continues on.  It should interest fans of art,
> those interested in intersections of jazz and art, and the point of
> view of an African American articulating some of his views on art.
>
> Charles Martin directed and co-produced A Brush With Success.
>
> Producer Mark Hammond has many directing and producing credits
> including Johnny Was, a feature film whose stars include Vinnie Jones,
> Eriq LaSalle, Samantha Mumba, Patrick Bergin, Lennox Lewis and Roger
> Daltry.
>