Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Sam Green returns to The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) with a one night only program of short films today on Tuesday, October 27, at 7:30pm.
The films take the audience on a journey through unexpected and unusual environments, such as enabling them to wander the empty corridors of the world’s largest shopping mall; visit the unmarked grave of an 18-year old Hells Angels victim; explore the greatest pet cemetery in the world; watch fog envelop iconic San Francisco streets, and spend a moment after midnight at Louis Armstrong’s kitchen table from the safety of their homes.
Streamed on The Arts Center’s Facebook page, the screening will be followed by a Q&A session with the New York-based filmmaker, moderated by Abu Dhabi-based filmmaker and curator Joe Wihl. Green will shed light on his experience as a filmmaker and his individual style of integrating live music and documentary film.
Green’s shorts program is part of a virtual artist residency. It is centeredaround the commissioning of a new transmedia live documentary project titled 32 Sounds which will be a part of the Arts Center’s future season.
During his visit to The Arts Center in 2018, Greenled a workshop following the premiere of his live documentary, A Thousand Thoughts, with Kronos Quartet. The workshop was attended by Dubai filmmaker Philip Rachid, who was then inspired to create his own live cinema piece. The Main Circle 7.83 by Philip Rachid has now been commissioned by The Arts Center with Green consulting on the project. The Main Circle 7.83 is set to premiere at The Arts Center in the upcoming season.
As part of The Arts Center’s commitment to the development of the UAE’s artistic ecosystem, Green will lead a two-part workshop for students from NYUAD and Zayed University as well as members of the UAE’s filmmaking community. Taking place on November 15 and 19 at 7pm, the workshops will explore the fundamentals of documentary film production and provide deeper insight into Green’s creative process, with a view to helping the UAE’s future filmmakers develop their unique voice and identities.
Commenting on the need for artistic infrastructures for filmmakers, Executive Artistic Director for The Arts Center Bill Bragin said, “Sam Green’s approach to documentary film, whether in his live cinema performances, or in these shorts, reveals a deep empathy and humanism, an affection for his subjects, and a quirky sensibility that is incredibly inspiring. We saw the impact his last visit had on filmmakers in our community, and we’re thrilled to see what new projects will be born out of his inspiration this time.”
The shorts film program will screen:
- A Drink With Louis – 2014, 11min
- Julius Caesar Was Buried in a Pet Cemetery – 2018, 4min
- A Cinematic Study of Fog in San Francisco – 2013, 10min
- Lot 63, Grave C – 2006, 10min
- Utopia Pt. 3: The World’s Largest Shopping Mall – 2009, 13min
To RSVP for Sam Green’s short films program, please visit The Arts Center at NYUAD’s Facebook page.
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