Film @ Downtown Urban Arts Festival

New York, New York, March 21, 2016 (Newswire.com) - ​At FILM @ Downtown Urban Arts Festival (DUAF), nine independent films experiment with the structural norms of cinematic storytelling to depict the true spirit of urban life and speak to a whole new generation whose lives defy categorizing along conventional lines. The festival runs from April 7 to April 9 at the Tribeca Film Center in NYC.

 "We present films created by artists living, depicting and experiencing city life that tag new territories and allow filmmakers to freely express themselves." Marc Newell, festival's producer

"We present films created by artists living, depicting and experiencing city life that tag new territories and allow filmmakers to freely express themselves."

Marc Newell, Producer

Film screenings are:

Thursday, April 7, 2016

7:00PM

Didn't I Ask for Tea? (23 min.)

Written and directed by Rahwa Asmerom and Essence Ward

When an apartment falls through, Brandy must scramble to find a place. Too little money, too much advice, and a budding romance make for a humorous, if not nerve-wrecking, search as change in the form of an evolving friendship and an evaporating potential relationship is proving to be quite the challenge for this Brooklynite.

Ask Alice (10 min.)

Written by Wendy Sax and directed by Nina Gielen

When Anne must convince her change-resistant 88-year-old aunt, Boots, to move from her home of forty years, Boots refuges to budge. Just when things seem most hopeless, however, Anne receives help from an unexpected source.

From a Cellphone (9 min.)

Written by Juy Vazquez and Silvina Rodriguez and directed by Juy Vazquez 

Video art - Experimental.

A Muse of Ire (15 min.)

Written by Liviu Ungar and Paul Cosma and directed by Vas Troian

A painter named Ire is struggling with addiction status, to his muse. (Ire: extreme anger; intense fury.)

Friday, April 8, 2016

7:00PM

Take It Back (54 min.)

Written by Phil LoCastro and Rocco Gioia and directed by Aram “Spike” Bauman 

There are mob movies and there are street gang films, but what happens when an egotistical street gangster integrates with the traditional New York mobster scene? Take It Back is a realistic and compelling depiction of what plays out. Mike, a typical ’90s street kid who thinks he’s a tough guy, gets twisted up with the New York mob while in search of money to help out his sick daughter, ending up in the middle of a mob war.

Emma (12 min.)

Written by Rod G. Bogart and directed by Howard Lukk

Edward Taylor is asked to help his boss find his missing wife, Emma, only to realize that instead he has to face his very own demons.

About Men and Fish (5 min.)

(International Selection from Romania)

Written and directed by Sergiu Semenescu

A dramatic relationship between a man and a fish. The man stands between life and death.

Saturday, April 9, 2016

7:00PM

Ekaj (80 min.)

Written and directed by Cati Gonzalez

Ekaj is a love story between two drifters, the naive teenage Ekaj and the sarcastic hustler Mecca. On the background, we can see the real world, in Harlem, Washington Heights, The Bronx, L.E.S. and Brooklyn. The parts of the NYC that are unforgiven, gloomy and dangerous. They go around the entire city sharing their dreams, cut off from society, discarded by life.

Break (8 min.)

Written and directed by Nicholas Payne Santos

A young couple seeking adventure is confronted with racism in the American suburbs. Harmless thrill seeking and flirtation escalate quickly into a conflict with a local contractor, leaving the teenagers disillusioned.

FILM @ Downtown Urban Arts Festival (also known as New York Urban Film Fest/NUFF) provides an outlet for diverse new and emerging filmmakers from around the world to share their stories about their artistic viewpoints, cultural interpretation and social reform. Creative Ammo Inc., also the creators of the THEATER @ Downtown Urban Theater Festival has been inspired by several of its past playwrights who have incorporated film elements into stage plays or later adapted their plays into films. FILM’s mission is to create a marriage between film and theatre by presenting works with strong theatrical elements that focus more on dramatic text and less on visual effects. It will also include works adapted from the stage to the screen. 

Festival’s Film Chair is Desmond Hall. Hall has written and directed a feature film, A DAY IN BLACK AND WHITE, which was nominated for the Gordon Parks Award and sold to HBO. His screenplay, FRANKIE, a thriller set in Jamaica, was a runner-up at the IFP screenwriting contest. He’s also written and directed a full-length play, STOCKHOLM, BROOKLYN, which won the Audience Award at the Downtown Theater Festival, and afterwards, the Public Theater picked it up for its New Works Series.  He has also been named one of Variety Magazine’s Top 50 Creatives to Watch. He has worked for several Madison Avenue advertising agencies. During his ten years as Associate Creative Director and Executive Creative Director of Spike Lee’s advertising agency, Desmond led creative teams, pitched clients and created award-winning work, including two Super Bowl commercials, one of which was voted the AP Wire Service’s funniest commercial. Various literary, film and theatrical projects are in development.

The Second Annual FILM @ Downtown Urban Arts Festival will be held on Thursday, April 7 to Saturday, April 9, 2016 at the Tribeca Film Center, 375 Greenwich Street, New York, NY 10013. Showtime is 7:00pm and tickets are $10.  For tickets and more info visit www.nuffnyc.com.

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