A Preview of BAM Cinema Fest

by Murtada Elfadl

The Farewell

This Wednesday June 12th marks the start of the 11 day BAMCinemaFest at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. It's a local New York summer mainstay that highlights mostly emerging filmmakers. Some of the films in the lineup have premiered earlier this year at Sundance like the opening night film; Lulu Wang’s The Farewell. Some at last year’s Venice; Rick Alverson’s psychodrama The Mountain. However the festival has its share of world premiers. Let’s preview some of the eclectic films that Brooklynites will enjoy over the next two weeks...

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Tree of Life Revisited

This weekend a friend of mine invited me to join him for a screening at BAM of Terence Malick's The Tree of Life with a live orchestra. 'But that's only for silent films,' I thought. I said yes right away more to spend time with my friend than to see the film again which I had very much admired but not quite loved in 2011.

Seeing it again five years later proved unexpectedly rewarding. Perhaps it was the huge screen - the first time I'd seen it was on a tiny arthouse screen in Manhattan. Perhaps it was the live accompaniment of a huge orchestra and choir but it felt newly electric...

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