The aftershock of the Oklahoma City Bombing is still felt today.
The Central Park Conservancy, in partnership with National Geographic, kicked off their 20th Annual Central Park Conservancy Film Festival on Tuesday, August 15th with a screening of National Geographic’s The Space Race.
A pre-screening reception took place across the street at Central Park’s premier restaurant, The Tavern Green, just right across the street where the screening would later take place in Sheep Meadow. Among the guests in attendance were directors Lisa Cortés and Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, along with NASA astronaut Leland Melvin, who not only shared his insights and experiences in the film, but also served as one of the doc’s producers. Enjoying a selection of charcuterie and small bites, along with a pasta bar and a wine bar, guests mingled as a jazz band played in the back.
Attendees were then directed to head over to Sheep Meadow to a private viewing area to watch The Space Race on an inflatable screen. Each guest received a National Geographic swag bag with a waterproof blanket and a selection of sustainable and plant-based snacks to enjoy during the film.
The Space Race, which made its official premiere at the Tribeca Festival back in June, was an eye-opening deep-dive into the history of Black Americans in NASA, and the unjust barriers they had to overcome that, ultimately, prevented some trailblazers, such as Captain Ed Dwight, from taking part in our country’s earliest space missions. Yet, it came with much satisfaction to hear everyone cheer for Nichelle Nichols (who passed away in July of last year) as the film featured a PSA in which the Star Trek star spoke to everyone, including “minorities and women alike,” to apply to NASA. “Now is YOUR time,” she said, giving the brilliant minds she had already inspired as Lt. Nyota Uhura the push they needed to shoot for their dreams.
Thanks to a documentary like The Space Race, every Black astronaut who answered that call, and those who paved the way for them to find their place in NASA, now have their legacy cemented in the stars—where future astronauts can look up to them in awe.
As we know them, fairy tales often involve a protagonist lacking control over her or his fate. Snow White and Sleeping Beauty were driven into hiding, yet were doomed with a sleeping curse anyway—curses that could only be broken had their true love decided to awaken them. Rapunzel is locked away in a tower with no doors, needing a hero to rescue her. It’s exactly this what Siyu Liu set out to deconstruct in her directorial feature debut (and original screenplay) Flaming Cloud.
There are no villainous characters with wicked intentions to be found in Siyu Liu’s fairytale story, but Gods and Goddesses with voyeuristic tendencies and penchants for placing wagers pulling the strings. The story begins when two of the deities boldly place the most consequential wager any of them have ever witnessed—the existence of true love. Because of the wager, a randomly chosen baby, and the story’s hero, Sangui (played by Hu Xian Xu), is doomed to a curse of putting whoever he kisses to sleep, stripping him of agency over his destiny (or so we think?)
Branded a freak by his fellow villagers and socially ostracized at a young age, Sangui sets out on a hero’s journey, albeit one of a long period of loneliness, to the idyllic White Stone City. On his journey, he meets two women who represent fairy tale archetypes we’re well-acquainted with, each with their own wishes, but also unfulfilled needs.
Instead of making their own fairy tale wish come true, each character instead finds satisfaction in growing—by learning what they needed all along. For Sangui, this means finding the courage to confront his fears, and for the “wicked witch” character, who is very much the heart of this story, means facing her regrets. “Regrets can be curses too.” she whispers to Sangui in between exhausted breaths. In using surrealism, Siyu Liu reminds us that realizing what we needed all along can better than anything we can wish for.
Siyu Liu’s use of anachronisms in the costumes beautifully speaks to the timelessness of fairy tales, from 1920s flapper headbands to 1970s boho dresses—even the 1950s Philco Predicta televisions, which the Deities huddled around in sport to watch Sangui for a long period of his life. Combining the motifs and lessons of European fairy tales (and classic Disney films, by extension) and Chinese mythology, she masterfully tells a cross-cultural story, as seen from the moment the story begins with a kingdom of deities placing a wager on a “flaming cloud.”
Perhaps the biggest lesson of all from Flaming Cloud is that true love does indeed exist, but it does come to die one day—and yet, we all still reach for these stories for comfort. “Not everyone believes in true love,” Siyu Liu writes in the final frame of the film. “But we all long for that moment when it arrives with its magic.” Yes, yes we do.
Four producers who are premiering films at the 2023 Tribeca Festival gathered at The AT&T Untold Stories Lounge at Spring Studios in New York City to give insight into their individual journeys of getting their films premiered at Tribeca Festival.
The Miranda Rights state that you have the right to remain silent.
The Tribeca Film Festival was fun this year.
From the time it was founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro, and Craig Hatkoff, the Tribeca Festival was all about film, and remained this way for nearly twenty years. But in 2021, recognizing the evolving nature of storytelling and the growing influence of television and video games as mediums of artistic expression, the festival made a groundbreaking decision to include these forms of entertainment alongside traditional film.
On June 8, Common Ground premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. The Village East by Angelika held the screening. The documentary discussed racism and climate injustice in the food industry. The film aligns with the Tribeca Film Festival’s mission.
On Saturday, June 10th “The Fourth Wall” directed by Luke Meyer premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. The ten-year in the making documentary is a character-driven piece following the story of the Sullivanians, who created a secret psychotherapy sex cult hidden in the heart of Manhattan’s Upper West Side in the 1970s and 80s.
On June 14, the Tribeca Film Festival presented “Tribeca X” at Spring Studios. The day-long event featured leading voices in advertising and entertainment. Headliners included keynote Diane von Furstenberg in conversation with Seth Meyers, GE’s Linda Boff, and General Motors’ Alan Wexler. Tribeca X announced their award winners as well. The event celebrated the intersections of entertainment and advertising. Tribeca Film Festival had a similar mission.
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