Comedy Icon Wendie Malick Opens the 2023 Art of Brooklyn Film Festival
Joseph Shahadi
Co-Founder, Executive Director at The Art of Brooklyn Film Festival, Artist
The Art of Brooklyn Film Festival (June 1-12) launches its 13th edition with the World Premiere of?MOTHER OF ALL SHOWS?starring Wendie Malick (Young Sheldon, Hot in Cleveland, Just Shoot Me). Fresh from being offered for sale at Cannes and tipped by The Hollywood Reporter as a film to watch for, it’s the story of a woman coping with the impending death of her estranged mother (Malick) by imagining their conflict as a 1970s musical variety show. Wendie will appear in person with director and co-star Melissa D’Agostino at the premiere Thursday, June 1st at Brooklyn’s historic Cobble Hill Cinemas, with a Q&A to follow. It will have a streaming Encore Presentation on Monday, June 5.
“I’m very excited to be part of Mother Of All Shows, which has been chosen by the Art of Brooklyn Film Festival to be its opening night film," the legendary actress said in a video message she created for the premiere. "If you’re in town, I hope you’ll join us.”
The 13th annual Art of Brooklyn Film Festival features over 50 of the best new films from across the borough and around the world. Highlights include:
ARTIST UNKNOWN (World Premiere, June 6) is a whip-smart action comedy that deftly combines an art heist caper, queer romance, and martial arts dazzle-dazzle.The latest by Brooklyn film maker Cinder Chau, Artist Unknown is innovative and fun. Screening at Stuart Cinema in Greenpoint, with a streaming Encore Presentation.
HAKONIWA (US Premiere, June 9) is visually stunning Science Fiction from Japan about a young man who attempts to heal his childhood trauma by connecting with a female AI. Past and present merge and his sense of reality begins to warp, even as his connection to the AI grows. A timely exploration of contemporary anxieties, this is the first feature film by Hiroki Wakamatsu, who is traveling from Japan attend the premiere. Screening at AbelCine in Industry City, with a streaming Encore Presentation.
THE FORGOTTEN OCCUPATION: Jim Crow Goes to Haiti (World Premiere, June 10) is a documentary that?opens with filmmaker Alain Martin reading a letter to his deceased grandfather that illuminates the brutal decades of the Occupation that resulted in violent clashes of of race, culture and class, resulting in the wholesale theft of their homeland. Screening at Pratt Film/Video's Katherine McKenna theater, with a streaming Encore Presentation.
BONES OF CROWS (Brooklyn Premiere, Closing Film, June 11) is a multi-generational epic following a Cree musical prodigy in her journey from Canada’s infamous residential schools to matriarch of her family. Fresh from the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) Bones of Crows is a period piece with a mythic scope, from acclaimed indigenous (Métis/Dene) filmmaker Marie Clements. Screening at AbelCine in Industry City, with a streaming Encore Presentation.
AoBFF has something for everyone with outstanding blocks of exciting new short films including comedies, dramas, thrillers, documentaries, and experimental films. FULL SCHEDULE
The entire slate of 2023 films will also be available to stream anywhere in the United States during the dates of the festival.