Although men far outnumber women in terms of producing and making their own films, the Brooklyn Girl Film Fest hopes to inspire one woman at a time to overcome that obstacle and finally get their feet wet.
Headed by filmmaker April Mosqus, the three day event took place from March 26 to 28 at the Brooklyn Fire Proof Galleries in Brooklyn. Gaining the support from other local organizations like Women Make Movies, BAM, Brooklyn Soda Works, Rooftop Films, and more, the festival’s founder stated, “It’s very rewarding to see these women form friendships and inspire each other.”
Opening night opened with the feature Cathy Coppola, written and directed by Stefanie Sparks, which sure brought in laughs. Following the event was the Shorts Block of the festival, featuring five incredibly original shorts that only proved to entertain.
Birthday Box was the first short, and dare I say, the best. Written and directed by Ashlea Patterson, the film celebrated its New York Premiere as a narrative short. It hilariously follows Mary, a young woman who dresses up in a birthday box to surprise her boyfriend for his birthday. Ridiculed as she walks down the street to her boyfriend’s place, she finds another woman dressed as a birthday box already inside and undressing. Hilarity ensues as Mary makes sure this is the most memorable birthday her ex-boyfriend will ever have.
Next up was writer/director Becky Matthews’ Double Word Score. For all you board game aficionados out there, the name should ring a bell, eluding to the second-most coveted space on a Scrabble board. It depicts a hapless young man who hopes to gain the courage to ask his crush out, but only finds himself getting into hijinks while at her apartment. As the two play Scrabble to voice their inner thoughts, the two find themselves in each other’s minds- and hopefully, arms.
Love + Stress was an enjoyable, yet close second to Birthday Box. Jaeyoon Lee wrote and directed this entertaining short about Patty, an. . .er . .. uh. .overweight female boss crushing over one of her employees. Reading a report that found that stressed men like overweight women, she gives her employees a chaotic amount of work to complete in an impossibly small amount of time- and she even commits some property damage. When she sees that she and her crush are not meant to be, she finds her other employee wanting more.
My Cliff, the only drama of the night, was written and directed by Galia Albin, which did, remarkably I might add, make a whole plot out of Cliff Richard’s “The Young Ones.” It was quite heartbreaking, about an elderly woman who has relapses about her first love; of course to the tune of “The Young Ones.” The only gripe I had with the short was that it continued showing her flashbacks of her first love, but in the present day. For instance, she would be out in the garden with her current husband eating cake and she would think her first love (who was now older) was there with them. Besides that point, it was a great and thought provoking film about what happens to our first loves as we age without them.
Last up celebrated its world premiere as Don’t Hold Back, a short written and directed by Michelle Hartley. It depicts Tina and her mother Rose at a diner having a sarcastic conversation about any and everything.
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The Brooklyn Girl Film Fest did an amazing job on bringing these women filmmakers’ works to light and it can only get bigger. For more information, check out their website.
