From 2018 to 2020, I helped research, organize and program film screenings for South Slope Parking Solutions, a former microcinema and event space in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Housed in a retrofitted garage, it was often known more colloquially as The ‘Rage. Exhibiting 16mm prints, VHS, and digital media, with a focus on under-seen and primarily NYC based repertory film, the venue was attended by those in-the-know and neighborhood passers-by, encouraging local viewers to experience and reflect upon art made by and about their community.
Additionally, I designed flyers for promoting the screenings. Below is a selection of programs:
Green Streets. Directed by Maria De Luca. 1989. 16mm
Documenting the rise and impact of community gardens across New York City from the 1970s and onwards, this film offers a wide-ranging portrait of a movement of horticultural stewards that worked to repurpose neglected lots into small egalitarian havens aimed at improving the urban environment while fostering neighborhood identity.
Youth Film Distribution Center Shorts. Various. 1968-72. 16mm
This Halloween adjacent screening inspired the thematic choice of shorts highlighting a series on the Youth Film Distribution Center, a co-operative founded in the late 1960’s that gave young people primarily from the Lower East Side access to sound-sync film equipment and the means to distribute their work. Funded by grants and support from the New York State Council on the Arts, their mission was to embolden underserved teenagers in the pursuit of filmmaking as both an artistic and vocational venture. The films are personal and cultural documents of a time and place with a wide scope of stylistic approaches and experimentation, exploring themes of societal unrest, spirituality, and community.
Short Films on 16mm: Part One. Various. 1947-88
This collaborative effort was the first in what was to be a series exploring the variety of forms and purposes of films which were distributed on 16mm. From educational films intended for classroom use, documents of daily life, and exploratory proof-of-concepts; the once more affordable mode of film production created a canon in itself worthy of reassessment.
