Past Events

September 2015 / NYFVC's Annual Potluck Brunch

Bagels and Bloody Mary's NYFVC Primer giveaway! Discounted memberships! Please join NYFVC friends, filmmakers, distributors and surprise guests for the annual potluck brunch to mark the start of fall!

August 2015 / In Honor of George Stoney: Screening at NYPL

Each August, the New York Film/Video Council honors the life and work of George C. Stoney (1916-2012)—legendary filmmaker, teacher, activist, role model, citizen, and a cherished NYFVC past-president and board member—with a film screening. This year’s tribute considers the influence that George had on generations of filmmakers through the showing of works made by two of his students. Kate Garland’s ON THAT DAY IN THE BRONX (1975, made 1974) documents a re-enactment of the Passion of Christ by a local East Bronx community. Mark Kitchell’s THE GODFATHER COMES TO SIXTH ST. (1975) presents what happens to a neighborhood on the Lower East Side when a Hollywood film crew takes over the area to film part of THE GODFATHER: PART II.

July 2015 / OUTDOOR SCREENING: Ziggy Stardust at Morningside Park

NYFVC is excited to invite members to a rare outdoor screening of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars in Harlem's historic Morningside Park.  D.A Pennebraker's thrilling 1973 film captures Bowie's legendary final performance as Ziggy at London's Hammersmith Odeon. The film features a fascinating backstage glimpse at Bowie's most elaborate persona and stunning concert footage with Ziggy and the Spiders playing the hits.

June 2015 / ARCANE PROJECT: An Evening of Glass Slides, Magic Lantern Projections, and Antique Technologies at the Morbid Anatomy Museum

NYFVC is proud to offer this special opportunity to members, courtesy of the Morbid Anatomy Museum - Arcane Project: An evening of glass slides, magic lantern projections, and antique technologies, in inventive combinations, with silent films and sound recordings played on the wind-up Victrola and other musical devices with Bradley Eros, Lary Seven and Joel Schlemowitz.

April 2015 / NAM JUNE PAIK & TV LAB: License To Create / Work-In-Progress Screening at IFC Center

The ”father of video art” NAM JUNE PAIK inspired the creation of the TV LAB, the experimental division of New York’s public television station WNET/13. Led by Executive Director David Loxton, the TV LAB encouraged artists to innovate by providing access to a blue-screen ChromaKey studio, the Paik/Abe and Rutt/Etra video synthesizers, and the latest portable camera equipment as well as a digital time base corrector to broadcast the results.

TV LAB played a huge role in the development of video art and independent media journalism. It influenced the creation of MTV, “reality television,” and led to democratizing video. It was the first digital revolution. Exploring the collaborative collisions of the TV LAB, this film sheds light on a fascinating creative era in the history of television, through the prism of one of the giants of 20th century video art.

Former NYFVC President Howard Weinberg will be in attendance

March 2015 / Film Screening: ACTRESS at Maysles Cinema

NYFVC is proud to partner with Maysles Cinema for a special Women's History Month screening of critically acclaimed documentary Actress, followed by a discussion with the director Robert Greene and actress Brandy Burre.

February 2015 / Wine and Webinar: Kickstarter School with Stephanie Pereira at Creative Capital

NYFVC is delighted to partner with Creative Capital to bring one of their most popular webinars to a live audience. We will start the night at 6:30 with wine, cheese, and popcorn and then settle in at 7pm to watch the Kickstarter School webinar on the big screen in Creative Capital's "funhouse" space. Stephanie Pereira will be there in person after the webinar to answer questions about your own project, and to talk about successful Kickstarter campaigns. 

Kickstarter School Webinar
Kickstarter is a funding platform for creative projects. Everything from films, games, and music to art, design, and technology. Kickstarter is full of ambitious, innovative, and imaginative projects that are brought to life through the direct support of others.  Join Kickstarter Art Program Director Stephanie Pereira for a primer on how to bring a Kickstarter project to life. Deep dive into a case study of a successful project and learn how to structure a campaign, what kind of rewards work best, how to spread the word, and other helpful tips.

About Stephanie Pereira
Stephanie is Kickstarter’s ambassador to the fine-arts sector.  Prior to joining Kickstarter, Stephanie spent nearly a decade working in the nonprofit arts management sector, and most recently served as Associate Director, Learning and Engagement at Eyebeam Art and Technology Center in NYC. She holds an MA in Arts Administration from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and a BFA in Visual Art from Rutgers University. 

Organized by Mary Kerr

December 2014/  Museum of the Moving Image Tour - Go Behind the Scenes of Behind the Screen

What better way is there for a movie lover to get in the holiday mood than a tour through the hallowed halls of the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria? If this has been on your NYC bucket list for a while, but you just haven’t gotten around to it – here’s your chance!

Join your NYFVC friends for an guided tour through the Museum’s core exhibit, a one-of-a-kind experience that immerses visitors in the creative and technical process of producing, promoting, and presenting films, television shows, and digital entertainment.

Behind the Screen also introduces visitors to the history of moving-image, from nineteenth-century optical toys to the latest in special effects technology, including plenty of jaw-dropping memorabilia along the way (the Tyrell building model from Blade Runner! The possessed girl from The Exorcist! An Eyptian-themed mini movie palace designed by Red Grooms!)

And afterwards, follow us to Monika’s Café Bar (3290 36th Street, Astoria) for a holiday cocktail!

October 2014/  Herk Harvey's Carnival of Souls with educational short None for the Road at Anthology Film Archives

The season is upon us! Get in the spooky spirit this Halloween by joining NYFVC for a screening and members-only reception with Herk Harvey's 1962 cult classic low-budget chiller CARNIVAL OF SOULS, screening on a newly made 35mm print by the Academy Film Archive: you have never seen the film look this good before, and are unlikely to ever again!

CARNIVAL OF SOULS is the sole feature film by prolific Kansas-based industrial filmmaker Harold "Herk" Harvey. NYFVC Board Member Jon Dieringer has programmed it as part of the series INDUSTRIAL TERROR, which pairs regional independent horror films with educational, industrial, and sponsored films made by the same directors. Accordingly, CARNIVAL OF SOULS is paired with a rare 16mm print of Harvey's NONE FOR THE ROAD, 1957, a grim educational film aimed at cautioning teenagers about the dangers of buzzed driving. Full of the same nocturne ambiance and teen hijinks as CARNIVAL, it conveys the spirit of classic Shangri-La's-style teenage death ballads.

September 2014/  Annual NYFVC Members' Brunch

Please join members of the NYFVC and friends for our annual festive potluck brunch. Meet and mingle with folks from all areas of the film world—documentary, narrative, experimental, animation—plus programmers, curators, educators, students and film enthusiasts.

August 2014/  Third Annual George Stoney Memorial Screening at the Library for the Performing Arts: The Weavers: Wasn't That a Time!

The Weavers - Pete Seeger, Ronnie Gilbert, Fred Hellerman, and Lee Hays - were one of the most popular folksinging groups in the early 1950's. The quartet recall their rise to fame and their lives since the McCarthy era blacklist which brought an end to the group's career. Filled with the Weavers' music, the film culminates in a historic reunion concert at Carnegie Hall in 1980.

July 2014   /  Vera Chytilova's Panelstory: A Rarely Screened Czech New Wave Classic on an Archival 35mm Print at the Museum of Arts and Design

A pleasurable and provocative morality play set inside decaying, failed utopian housing projects in Communist Czechoslovakia, PANELSTORY (1980, 96 min.) bursts with Chytilová’s unique stylistic flair and a keenly attuned moral sensibility. Vérité-style camerawork roams amid the rubble and up and down the dysfunctional apartment blocks, checking in with an ensemble cast of characters going about their daily lives.

Few films from its time are so openly critical of state socialism, and it’s a marvel that Panelstory managed to be made at all before being banned. Subsequently, it has been very rarely shown internationally on 35mm, perhaps most recently in New York City at a 1997 retrospective held at Anthology Film Archives.

This is the opening night program of Spectacle at MAD, featuring a number of internationally sourced archival 35mm prints of titles that rarely show in the U.S. The series spotlights the programming sensibilities of Brooklyn's volunteer-run microcinema Spectacle, who are participating artists in the MAD NYC Makers Biennial.

June 2014/  First Annual Graduating Filmmakers’ Mixer at UnionDocs

The NYFVC invites graduating film students to our first annual Graduating Filmmakers Mixer!  Graduating from college marks the beginning of a new chapter in a young filmmaker's career.  While this new chapter is exciting, it can also be quite daunting without immediate access to school resources. Come mix and mingle with each other and forge connections while also meeting members of the oldest film non profit in NY, the NYFVC whose members represent EAI, Screen Slate, Janus Films, SVA, Maysles Films and more.  Come forge connections and talk shop over a drink with established members of the New York film community and kick start your post-grad film career.
 
In the spirit of the NYFVC’s mission to connect the wider film communities in NY, this event is free for students — just bring your ID.  Attendees will also be given access to our online resource guide for New York-based filmmakers with helpful tips on things from equipment rentals to residencies and labs, public access stations to microcinemas. 

April 2014/  A Night of Silent Cinema at a Surviving Cinema Palace

The Loew’s Jersey opened its polished brass doors on September 28th, 1929, an in age when movie theatres were opulent temples to American entertainment. Duke Ellington, Jean Harlow, Cab Calloway, and Burns and Allen were among the stars who trod the boards of its generous stage – and it’s rumored that it was here, while watching Bing Crosby perform, that a young man named Frank Sinatra thought he might one day be a singing star too.
 
Times changed and the theatre transitioned to a first-run movie house for many decades, then second-run house, and was eventually slated for demolition in the 1980s after a run of Friday the 13th. But a volunteer group of preservationists, growing into an organization called Friends of Loew’s, took up the cause of saving this beautiful behemoth of 3,100 seats, with its lavish decorations and Wonder Morton pipe organ.
 
Years of loving devotion have been bringing the Loew’s back to polished splendor, but there is still work to be done. Join the NYFVC in recognizing the dedication of this fellow not-for-profit group of cinema enthusiasts, by enjoying Harold Lloyd in Speedy (featuring a cameo with Babe Ruth, who is given a harrowing ride through on-location New York City streets) – a silent-era gem with live accompaniment!

March 2014/  Editing Life: A Conversation with Female Documentary Editors at BRIC

Often under recognized, the documentary film editor is a key creative collaborator who is responsible for shaping story, structure and emotion from unscripted life. Historically, this is also an area where women have thrived in film, making invaluable contributions to some of the most acclaimed films in the canon, from Man with a Movie Camera (Elizaveta Svilova) and Gimme Shelter (Charlotte Zwerin) to Fog of War (Karen Schmeer) as well as countless others.

To celebrate this rich history, “Editing Life” will take us inside the cutting rooms of some of the most accomplished and dynamic editors working in the field today. They will share short clips from their work in order to provide insights into their working processes. Participating editors include Mary Lampson (Harlan County USA, Trouble the Water), Penelope Falk (Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, Maidentrip), Geeta Gandbhir (When the Levees Broke, By the People: The Election of Barack Obama), and Lynn True (Summer Pasture, Lumo).

Moderated by NYFVC Board Member and Filmmaker Sarah Christman. Co-presented with BRIC, a Brooklyn Free Speech Media Talk.

Past Events

2014
February/  NYFVC Goes to the Oscars
January/  Microcinema Summit 2.0 at The Bronx Documentary Center
2013
December/  Members-Only 16mm Experimental Animation screening at Spectacle
Oct + Nov/  Let’s Scare Jessica to Death with tricks and treats at Lincoln Center
September/  Annual NYFVC Members’ Brunch
August/  George Stoney Memorial Screening at Lincoln Center: The Shepherd of the Night Flock and How to View a City
July/  From the Archives: 35mm features at Anthology Film Archives
May + June/  Vitaphone on the Gowanus
April/  Sandy Witness Cell Video
March/  Behind the Scenes: Voiceover
February/  Shirley Clarke Tribute
January/  Microcinema Summit at UnionDocs
2012
December/  35mm Yuletide Adverts, Trailers, Galore!
November/  Hurricane Sandy Relief benefit with Rooftop Film and StoryCorps Animation
October/  Congolese Animation in Harlem with concert and party
September/  Annual NYFVC Members' brunch
August/  George Stoney Tribute: All My Babies at Lincoln Center
May/  What’s the Score: Composing for Film, TV & Animation
April/  Tribeca Film Festival Experimental Shorts Film
March/  Stereoscopic 3-D: In the studio with Jerry Marks
February/  Screening from Deep in the archives: The Man Who Saw Tomorrow at Kodak
January/  Amazing, rare conversation with Bob Drew, D.A. Pennebaker and Albert Maysles at screening of early direct-cinema gem On the Pole
2011
December/  Live subway screening of Masstransiscope with Bill Brand + talk at SVA + party at local watering hole!
November/ NYU Rough cut screening
October/  Video on stage: Behind the scenes of Ivo Van Hove’s theatrical re-imagining of Cries and Whispers with video artist Tal Yarden
October/  Annual NYFVC Members' Brunch
August/  NYFVC goes to the movies! Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu at the new Theaters at Lincoln Center.
July/ Taking it to the Streets! NYFVC curated 16mmprotest and revolution films
June/  Daylight at the Museum: A private NYFVC tour of animation, documentary, interactive video and information design at the American Museum of Natural History
May/  Cultivating the Creative Producer - Panel w/ Tim Perell, Amy Lo, Josh Zeman, Steve Holmgren and Billy Mulligan
April/  Split of Light: Experimental Media panel discussion at Electronic Arts Intermix
March/  Crossing the Line? Ethics and documentary discussion with Albert Maysles, the filmmakers of Catfish and Stephanie Wang-Breal.
February/  Private tour: Museum of Moving Image+ gathering
February/  Screening: Tariq Tapa’s Zero Bridge and Q&A
January/  Performance: Bill Cowie 3D films with Dance Films Association
2010
December/  Behind the Scenes Tour: Restoration - An Evening at CINERIC + Dinner
November/  Panel: Independents & Independence: How to Get Your Film on Indie Screens with programmers from Film Forum, BAM, Debra Granik, Argot Pictures & CInema Arts Centre.
October/  Screening: Cabinet of Dr. Caligari at Cathedral of St. John the Divine
September/  Annual NYFVC Members' Brunch
June/  Screening: Greater New York Cinema at PS1
May/  Screening and Tribute: Making Waves - NYFVC honors Karen Cooper of Film Forum
April/  Screening: Award Winning Works from the Black Maria Film Festival
March/  Screening: Strongman at Maysles Cinema
February/  NYFVC brings a Day of Iranian Documentaries to MoMA
Feburary/  Montreal Festival of Films on Art Screening
January/  Movement Research films at Judson Church Screening
2009
December/  Public Access 2.0 = You(r) Tube - Panel on the future of public access television
November/  Panel: Reliance Film Seminar and the Future of Independent Film with Geoff Gillmore
October/  Panel: Low Cost/No Cost and the City
September/  Screening: Celluloid Legacies from post WWII archives at Kodak
September/  Annual NYFVC Members' Brunch
June/  NYFVC Shortfest at MoMA: Best shorts from International Festivals
May/  Screening & Panel: Mashing Up Copyright, a Redo Remix!
April/  Tribute: How to Look: Celebrating filmmaker George Stoney
March/  Panel: What’s Up Documentary: Animation and Non-Fiction Filmmaking
February/  Screening: The City, new Naxos DVD edition
January/  Screening: New Cuban Films -  Music & Cigars at Maysles Cinema
2008
November/  Seminar: Beyond Bollywood
October/  Tribute: Discovering Beryl Sokoloff
September/  Annual NYFVC Members' Brunch
June/  NYFVC at MoMA Outstanding Short Films from International Festivals
May/  Screening & Discussion: Restoration of 1978’s Shepherd of the Night
April/  NYFVC Gala Screening and Silent Auction, with special guest Barbara Sukowa
March/  Screening: Two films from the Mountain Top
February/  Screening: Laura Dunn’s The Unforeseen
Feburary/  Screening: 1927 silent film, Her Wild Oat
January/  Panel: The Zen of Fundraising for Independent Film
January/  Dance on Camera: Dance in 3D with Gerald Marks
2007
December/  Panel: Teasing the Audience - The Strategy of Movie Trailers
November/  Seminar: Hurray for Bollywood! Bollywood and its Foreign Markets
October/  Screening: Nordic Shorts: New Short Films From Sweden
May/  Screening: Werner Herzog Retrospective
April/  Screening Seminar: Globalization and Its Discontents
April/  Discussion: American Movie Critics: NYFVC presents an evening with Phillip Lopate
March/  Screening: The Plow that Broke the Plains and The River
March/  Talk and Screening: Terror of the Situation: Author Jack Sullivan on Hitchcock’s Music
February/  From Russia with Love: An Evening with Marina Goldovskaya
2006
November/  Marketing + Audience Research: Hollywood and Independent Features
September/  Honoring Shirley Clarke with a Bronze Plaque at The Chelsea Hotel
September/  Screening: Portraying Taiwan: Images by Women, for Women, about Women
June/  NYFVC Outstanding Short Films from International Festivals

. . . Our full 70 year + archive can be found at the New York Public Library