Coming to VOD next Tuesday, March 13: BROOKLYN BOHEME
Diane Paragas and Nelson George’s personal exploration of the vibrant African American arts renaissance in Brooklyn during the 1980s and 90s made its premiere as the opening night film at Urbanworld last year. Additional fest appearances have included DOC NYC and LA’s Pan African Film Festival, while cable audiences have been able to see the film on Showtime. It now becomes more widely available through iTunes, Amazon VOD, Vudu, Cinema Now, YouTube VOD, Song Playstation, and XBox 360 via FilmBuff.
Very much a love letter to Brooklyn’s Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, this amiable doc finds George serving as both narrator and on-camera tour guide, visiting with a who’s who of the community’s most recognizable faces, including Spike Lee, Chris Rock, Branford Marsalis, Rosie Perez, and Saul Williams as they reminisce about the opportunities for creative expression, and, most significantly, the sense of collaboration that defined the area as a mecca for young African American artists. Likened by some as Brooklyn’s version of the Harlem Renaissance, the period saw a blossoming of filmmaking, writing, and performance by an interconnected group of talented new voices – plus, apparently, some pretty unforgettable parties. Though I’m predisposed to take issue with hosts in docs, George’s presence works for the most part – this is his neighborhood, and this is also his history, and the celebrity interviews would probably feel less warm and authentic without him. As much as George and Paragas take a look back at what once was, the film doesn’t wallow in the past – it moves beyond nostalgia to contextualize a time and place and consider not only its legacy, but its future, despite the changes wrought through gentrification.
what (not) to doc 