Connect with us

It was a splendid time for film this past weekend.

The New York City International Film Festival presented by Russian Standard, wrapped up its tenth consecutive edition with the Closing Award ceremony on March 1st at The Dolby Screening Room in New York City. Founded by Roberto Rizzo, the NYCIFF celebrates storytelling in all its forms, from feature filmmaking to short-story narrative, and web series to documentaries.

“The New York City International Film Festival is dedicated to showcasing the most powerful voices in cinema, as well as nurturing up-and-coming talent, so we are thrilled that our 10th anniversary celebrated new mediums and emerging platforms,” said Founder and Director Roberto Rizzo. “We watch the festival grow bigger and more recognizable every year and continue to look forward to providing a platform to recognize the best talent in the industry.”

Opening night featured the North American premier of Factory Cowboys – Working with Warhol, introduced by director Ulli Lommel. Based on Lommel’s 2017 biography “Factory Fame – Working with Warhol,” the feature film focuses on Warhol’s factory life in Manhattan during the late 1970’s.

Veneno – The First Fall, starring accomplished actor Manny Pérez in the role of Dominican wrestler Jack Veneno, was also screened on Monday night and ultimately went on to win Best Feature Film at the Closing Award ceremony. Director Tabare Blanchard and Roberto Rizzo moderated a Q&A post screening to discuss Veneno’s impact and legacy in the Dominican Republic and beyond.

Actor Vincent Pastore was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award, and actress, philanthropist and comedian Renée Willett was honored with The Rising Star Award. Both Pastore’s films The Kids Menu and St. Joseph directed byKathrina Miccio and Renée’s film Flight 666 were screened on closing night.  

This year, NYCIFF introduced new award categories including web series and sci-fi, in addition to the eight category awards, which led by the jury president, R. Couri Hay.

Debuting this year, New York City International Film Festival showcased filmmakers and documentarians who use their craft to explore social issues.

Included in Best Documentary Short category was Depicting the Invisible, which traces the creation of a portrait series by artist Susan J. Barron that depicts 15 American veterans suffering from PTSD and their inspirational stories.

Nominated in this category is also Freedom Education Project Puget Sound: College in Women’s Prison.The documentary short focuses on the subjects of the Seattle-based nonprofit which provides a rigorous college program for incarcerated women, trans-identified and gender nonconforming people at the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Washington state.

Renowned artist, Robert Cenedella introduced a special screening of his award-winning documentary, Art Bastard, on Tuesday, February 26th. The provocative feature film explores collusion and corruption within the art industry.

The world premiere of Monarch Butterfly, a psychological thriller written by and starring actress Deborah Kuhn was nominated in Best Narrative Short category.

Actress Janel Tanna who was awarded the New York City International Film Festival Emerging Talent 2019 Award screened her female driven drama, Sienna’s Choice on closing night.

Other notable guests who attended included actor Paul Borghese, actor Beau Baxter and producer Darrell Lawrence.

NEW YORK CITY INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL AWARD WINNERS 2019

  • NYCIFF LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD 
    Vincent Pastore
  • NYCIFF RISING STAR AWARD 
    Renee Willett
  • BEST FEATURE FILM

                        Veneno – The First Fall

  • BEST DOCUMENTARY
    Art Bastard

  • BEST HORROR / ACTION 
    Flight 666

  • BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A FEATURE FILM 
    Pepe Sierra 
    Veneno: The First Fall

  • BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A FEATURE FILM 
    Taylor Castro 
    Marriage Killer

  • BEST DIRECTOR IN A FEATURE FILM
    Tabare Blanchard 
    Veneno: The First Fall

  • BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE 
    Talulah Riley  
    The Last Witness

  • BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
    Manny Perez
    Veneno: The First Fall
  • BEST WEBSERIES 2019
    Awkwardly



  • BEST TV SHOW / TV SERIES
    St.Joseph
  • BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
    Kathrina Miccio
    St. Joseph
  • BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
    Angela Pietropinto      
    St.Joseph

  • BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
    Vincent Pastore
    St.Joseph
  • BEST SCI-FI SHORT
    Eternity
  • BEST HORROR –  SHORT FILM 
    The Smiling Strangers

  • BEST SUPER SHORT FILM 
    Hello Brother

  • BEST SHORT FILM 
    Fairy Tail

  • BEST SHORT FILM NY
    The Kids Menu

  • BEST INTERNATIONAL SHORT 
    Paco

  • BEST ACTRESS IN A SHORT FILM
    Nyle Lynn 
    The Kids Menu

  • BEST ACTOR IN A SHORT FILM
    Vincent Pastore 
    The Kids Menu

  • BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A SHORT FILM
    Mario Macaluso
    Kids Menu
  • BEST DIRECTOR IN A SHORT FILM 
    Justin & Kristin Schaack
    Fairy Tail

  • BEST DIRECTOR IN A SHORT FILM NY
    Paul Borghese
    The Kids Menu
  • BEST SHORT FILM 
    People Like You

  • BEST ACTRESS IN A SHORT
    Deborah Kuhn
    Monarch Butterfly



  • BEST ACTOR IN A SHORT FILM
    Josh Mayes
    People Like You

  • BEST DIRECTOR IN A SHORT FILM
    Blake Winston Rice
    People Like You
  • BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
    Depicting the Invisible

  • BEST COSTUME DESIGN 
    Hilary Hughes
    The Last Witness
  • BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY 
    Edward Ames 
    The Last Witness

ElizaBeth Taylor is a journalist for Times Square Chronicles and is a frequent guest at film, fashion and art events throughout New York City and Los Angeles due to her stature as The Sensible Socialite.Passionate about people ElizaBeth spent many years working as a travel reporter and television producer after graduating with high honors from University of Southern California. The work has afforded her the opportunity to explore Europe, Russia, South America, Asia, Australia and the Middle East. It has greatly influenced the way in which ElizaBeth sees a story and has created a heightened awareness for the way people around the world live today.

Continue Reading

Cabaret

My View: It’s Today! It’s Tonight! Marilyn Maye Rehearses For Her New York Pops Carnegie Hall Debut

Published

on

Sometimes you have to pinch yourself at the opportunities you are presented with.  TODAY would be one of those.  Or as Marilyn Maye might sing to you, “It’s Today.”

This afternoon I had the privilege of witnessing the 95 year old star, rehearsing on the stage of Carnegie Hall, under the baton of Maestro Steven Reineke, in front of the mighty New York Pops Orchestra.  It all happens tonight and has been a lifetime in the making.  As if The New York Times piece, bylined by Melissa Errico, wasn’t enough to whet your appetite for what is sure to be a historic evening, maybe these photos will help get you even more excited.  Thank you to all who made this happen for me, to present to you….Humbly Yours, Stephen

MARILYN MAYE & STEVEN REINEKE

MARILYN MAYE

MARILYN MAYE & STEVEN REINEKE

MARILYN MAYE & STEVEN REINEKE

CARNEGIE HALL

MARILYN MAYE

Continue Reading

Broadway

Parade: A Musical That Asks Us Do We Have The Eyes And Ears To See.

Published

on

Micaela Diamond and Ben Platt Photo by Joan Marcus

I have always loved Jason Robert Brown’s score for Parade. “You Don’t Know This Man,” “This Is Not Over Yet” and the wonderfully romantic “All the Wasted Time” are just the tip of the iceberg for music that stirs your soul and tells a tale of heartbreak. There is a reason this score won the Tony Award in 1999.

Ben Platt Photo By Joan Marcus

The musical now playing on Broadway dramatizes the 1913 trial of Jewish factory manager Leo Frank (Ben Platt), who was accused and convicted of raping and murdering a thirteen-year-old Mary Phagan (Erin Rose Doyle). The trial was sensationalized by the media, newspaper reporter Britt Craig (Jay Armstrong Johnson) and Tom Watson (Manoel Feliciano), an extremist right-wing newspaper aroused antisemitic tensions in Atlanta and the U.S. state of Georgia. When Frank’s death sentence is commuted to life in prison thanks to his wife Lucille (Micaela Diamond), Leo was transferred to a prison in Milledgeville, Georgia, where a lynching party seized and kidnapped him. Frank was taken to Phagan’s hometown of Marietta, Georgia, and he was hanged from an oak tree. 

Erin Rose Doyle, Photo by Joan Marcus

The telling of this horrid true tale begins with the lush ode to the South in “The Old Red Hills of Home.” Leo has just moved from Brooklyn to in Marietta, where his wife is from and he has been given the job as as a manager at the National Pencil Co. He feels out of place as he sings “I thought that Jews were Jews, but I was wrong!” On Confederate Memorial Day as Lucille plans a picnic, Leo goes to work. In the meantime Mary goes to collect her pay from the pencil factory. The next day Leo is arrested on suspicion of killing Mary, whose body is found in the building. The police also suspect Newt Lee (Eddie Cooper), the African-American night watchman who discovered the body, but he inadvertently directs Starnes’ suspicion to Leo.

Across town, reporter Britt Craig see this story as (“Big News”). Mary’s suitor Frankie Epps (Jake Pederson), swears revenge on Mary’s killer, as does the reporter Watson. Governor John Slaton (Sean Allan Krill) pressures the local prosecutor Hugh Dorsey (the terrific smarmy Paul Alexander Nolan) to get to the bottom of the whole affair. Dorsey, an ambitious politician sees Leo as he ticket to being the Governor and though there are other suspects, he willfully ignores them and goes after Leo.

Sophia Manicone, Emily Rose DeMartino, Ashlyn Maddox Photo By Joan Marcus

The trial of Leo Frank is presided over by Judge Roan (Howard McMillan). A series of witnesses, give trumped up evidence which was clearly is fed to them by Dorsey. Frankie testifies, falsely, that Mary said Leo “looks at her funny.” Her three teenage co-workers, Lola, Essie and Monteen (Sophia Manicone, Emily Rose DeMartino, Ashlyn Maddox), collaborate hauntingly as they harmonize their testimony  (“The Factory Girls”). In a fantasy sequence, Leo becomes the lecherous seducer (“Come Up to My Office”). Testimony is heard from Mary’s mother (Kelli Barrett ) (“My Child Will Forgive Me”) and Minnie McKnight (Danielle Lee Greaves)before the prosecution’s star witness, Jim Conley (Alex Joseph Grayson ), takes the stand. He claims that he witnessed the murder and helped Leo conceal the crime (“That’s What He Said”). Leo is given the opportunity to deliver a statement (“It’s Hard to Speak My Heart”), but it is not enough. He is found guilty and sentenced to hang. The crowd breaks out into a jubilant circus.

Alex Joseph Grayson Photo by Joan Marcus

Act 1, is not as strong as it should have been. I have attended three different incarnations, the last being with Jeremy Jordan as Leo and Joshua Henry as Jim in 2015. Part of the problem is Michael Arden’s direction. Instead of allowing his performers to act, he has them pantomime, as the solo goes forth. “Come Up to My Office” was not as haunting as in past productions. The same can be said of “That’s What He Said”. Who’s stands out in the first act is Jake Pederson as Frankie and Charlie Webb as the Young Soldier who sings “The Old Red Hills of Home.”

Micaela Diamond and Ben Platt Photo by Joan Marcus

In Act 2, Lucille finds Governor Slaton at a party (the hypnotic “Pretty Music” sung wonderfully by Krill) and advocates for Leo. Watson approaches Dorsey and tells him he will support his bid for governor, as Judge Roan also offers his support. The governor agrees to re-open the case, as Leo and Lucille find hope. Slaton realizes what we all knew that the witnesses were coerced and lied and that Dorsey is at the helm. He agrees to commute Leo’s sentence to life in prison in Milledgeville, Georgia, which ends his political career. The citizens of Marietta, led by Dorsey and Watson, are enraged and riot. Leo is transferred to a prison work-farm. Lucille visits, and he realizes his deep love for his wife and how much he has underestimated her (“All the Wasted Time”). With hope in full blaze Lucille leaves as a party masked men kidnap Leo and take him to Marietta. They demand he confess and hang him from an oak tree.

Paul Alexander Nolan, Howard McMillan Photo By Joan Marcus

In Act Two Parade comes together with heart and soul. Diamond, who shines brightly through out the piece is radiant, and her duets with Platt are romantic and devastating. Platt comes into his own and his huge following is thrilled to be seeing him live. Alex Joseph Grayson’s also nails his Second Act songs.

Dane Laffrey’s set works well with the lighting by Heather Gilbert.


Frank’s case was reopened in 2019 and is still ongoing.

Parade has multiple messages and the question is will audiences absorb it. I am so glad this show is on Broadway, making us think and see. This is a must see.

Parade: Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, 242 W 45th Street.

Continue Reading

Celebrity

The Glorious Corner

Published

on

G.H. Harding

TODD’S AWATS — (from World Cafe) Fifty years ago, Todd Rundgren released his album A Wizard, a True Star, and it sounded like nothing else. World Cafe correspondent John Morrison says Rundgren was pushing boundaries, both in the technical creation of the music but also on a higher level. “Really, the entire approach to sound in this record is exploration of the mind, the spirit, the nature of sound itself,” Morrison says. “Like, the whole album is a trip.” In this session, Morrison takes us on a journey through Rundgren’s A Wizard, a True Star, exploring what the album meant when it came out and how its influence continues to reverberate.

I’ve been listening to a lot of Todd recently -we’re both from Philly- and the caliber of his output is just astonishing. From his legendary solo albums (Something/Anything); to his work with Utopia ; “We Gotta Get You A Woman”; his production work with Meat Loaf and Badfinger; Ringo; and his terrific tour with Micky Dolenz; Joey Molland; Christopher Cross termed the Fifty Years Ago … celebrating The Beatles White Album and writing songs like “Black Maria,” “Just One Victory,” “Sometimes I Don’t Know How To Feel” and “The Want Of Nail,” Todd is simply amazing.

War Babies

Currently he’s touring with Daryl Hall and there’s a bunch of sessions with Hall that are on Daryl’s House. The way their two voices blend is simply amazing. One of my all-time favorite albums is War Babies, from Hall & Oates in 1974. Just amazing songs and the production, courtesy of Todd, is equally compelling. Stunning!

WILLIS REED RIP — I’m not much of a sports fan these days; I can’t even seem to keep up with all the new rules; but when Willis Reed was the center of The Knicks, I most definitely was. I even remember going to dozens of games at MAdison Square Garden (and always seeing Woody Allen there) and having the time of my life. Yes, it was eons ago; before the pandemic; but the game seemed to be so much more fun then. He passed yesterday. A giant for sure and an amazing player. RIP!

Joe Pantoliano

SHORT TAKES — Joe Pantoliano (Joey Pants) is essaying Morris Levy in the forthcoming play Rock & Roll Man about Alan Freed. Freed is played by Constantine Maroulis. Also coming is the movie Spinning Gold; the story of record exec-Neil Bogart. Both should be something to see … Am reading and reading nothing but rave reviews of Sunday’s Succession on HBO; the first of ten episodes which will wrap up the story. In all the reviews, the writing emerges the star. Jesse Armstrong, a genius for sure. Can’t wait. Check out Roger Friedman’s take from his Showbiz 411: https://www.showbiz411.com/2023/03/22/succession-returns-for-finale-season-sit-down-have-a-drink-or-two-its-intense-as-ever 79 year old Top Gun: Maverick producer Jerry Bruckheimer: “Don Simpson (Bruckheimer’s late-producing partner) used to say we’re in the transportation business: we transport you from one place to another” …

Jason Ritter

Terrific Accused episode this week, starring Jason Ritter in Jack’s Story. Jason, John Ritter’s son was just excellent; the show was just renewed by Fox … Steve Miller, out on the road, has some interesting openers for his upcoming tour: Dave Mason and Joe Bonamassa. Mason’s book (Only You Know and I Know)  is out in May … Dennis Scott hosted a special invitation-only Happy Birthday, Mister Rogers event in Nashville for media, TV, radio and music industry professionals, with support from ASCAP, this past Monday.

Fred Rogers cake

The event featured special musical performances given by country singer-songwriter Teea Goans, singer-songwriter & guitar virtuoso Parker Hastings, who put a Chet Atkins-like spin on the original Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood theme song “Won’t You Be My Neighbor,” and studio vocalist Gary Janney. Here’s the cake prepared for the event … Happy Bday William Shatner ; Chaka Khan; Reese Witherspoon; and Anthony Pomes!

NAMES IN THE NEWS — Kim Garner; Cindy Ronzoni; Peter Shendell; Al Roker; Julie Gurovitsch; Avra; Tom & Lisa Cuddy; Tony King; Charles Rosenay; Phil Collins; Tony Smith; Gail Colson; Howard Bloom; Carol Ross; Danny Goldberg; Paul Cooper; Tony Mandich; Randy Alexander; Shelley Cooper; Brad Balfour; and CHIP!
Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2023 Times Square Chronicles

Times Square Chronicles