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Before HD there was Super 8. Before Independent Film there was Underground Cinema. And before New York there was…well, New York. Once upon a pre-Facebook time, before creative communities became virtual and viral, cultural movements were firmly grounded in geography. And the undisputed center of American—some would say international—art and film was New York City. In particular, downtown Manhattan in the late 1970’s and 80’s was the anchor of vanguard filmmaking.

*BLANK CITY* is a love letter to New York, a cultural portrait of Manhattan in the days of cheap rent and cheap drugs—before Reagan, big money, and gentrification forever altered the fabric of the city. With ample footage from seminal, seldom-seen works of No Wave Cinema and the Cinema of Transgression, *BLANK CITY* is a “who’s who primer” for the last 30 years of Downtown culture. Featured players include acclaimed directors Jim Jarmusch and John Waters, Amos Poe, Beth B, Lizzie Borden, musician director John Lurie, actor-writer-director Steve Buscemi, Blondie’s Debbie Harry, Hip Hop legend Fab 5 Freddy, and Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth. Fittingly, the punk rock that galvanized the scene is now the soundtrack to *BLANK CITY*: Patti Smith, Television, Richard Hell & The Voidoids, The Contortions, The Bush Tetras, and Sonic Youth. Director:  Celine Danhier, TTR:  94 mins.

*Ticket Link:*  http://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/92973?utm_medium=bks

*Website: *http://blankcityfilm.com/

*Trailer Embed Code*: http://youtu.be/qjzRPRBQngo

Hit So Hard is the pull-no-punches portrait of the hell-and-back life of Patty Schemel, the hard-hitting drummer of Courtney Love’s seminal rock band “Hole” during its peak years. As a young girl who always knew she was “different” from the other kids in her farm town home outside of Seattle, Patty never dreamed she would one day have her picture on the cover of Rolling Stone. But she also never fathomed that she could lose it all. A true survivor of what we now know was the disaffected “slacker” generation, Patty found herself, like her friend Kurt Cobain, embraced by the dark side. An unprecedented and unflinching inside look at one of the 90s most crucial and controversial groups. Director:   P. David Ebersole,  TTR:   103 mins.

Ticket Link: http://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/88077?utm_medium=bks

Website:   http://www.pattydoc.com/
Trailer Embed Code:  http://youtu.be/t8sH8vZxMrc

Q&A with Director Keirda Bahruth and Producer Rick Ballard after the screening.

“Bob and the Monster is about a guy everybody wanted to be around until he became the guy everybody assumed had died. In the 1980s, Bob Forrest’s band, Thelonious Monster, was at the center of a music scene that included the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Jane’s Addiction. The band’s raw sound, wild shows and deeply personal lyrics appealed directly to the young Los Angeles punk crowd. So did the drugs. First, booze. Later, heroin. Monsters, both of them. Every time the band was about to make it big, Forrest’s drug-addled mind and ego got in the way. The band broke up, then got back together. It got clean, until it wasn’t. Forrest went to rehab, then left.
But the film shows Forrest’s slow return, one helped by forgiving people, and Forrest’s realization that the charisma that worked to make music could help people struggling with addictions, especially other musicians. The documentary is filled with famous faces: John Frusciante, Courtney Love, Flea, Anthony Kiedis. Dr. Drew Pinsky and Forrest work together on addiction recovery programs. It reveals a different Bob Forrest, one who had a lot of time to think about what makes recovery work.” – CNN.com
Bob and the Monster transcends the stereotype of heroin addicted rock star and reveals a more personal message. Bob’s story is a living testament to the heights of human courage and the ability to shape your own destiny. Director:   Keirda Bahruth,  TTR:   85 mins.

Ticket Link: http://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/88075?utm_medium=bks
Website:   http://bobandthemonster.com/
Trailer Embed Code:  http://youtu.be/LD8tb_wx18w