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Due to circumstances beyond MIFF's control, BLANK CITY will no longer screen at the festival. Patrons have the option to swap this session for another session at this timeslot or to attend the replacement film.
“It felt like our lives were movies.” - singer Debbie Harry
A meticulously observed document of New York underground film in the late 70s and early 80s, Blank City zeros in on the No Wave and Cinema of Transgression scenes that spawned a generation of filmmakers.
Before the Reagan era gentrified lower Manhattan, a group of dispossessed twenty-somethings banded together to create their own world with handheld cameras. Luminaries like Jim Jarmusch, Amos Poe, Nick Zedd, John Waters and Steve Buscemi piece together this particular zeitgeist of DIY filmmaking with astute observations and unglorified anecdotes of the good old bad days.
"It's defined by what it isn't. What is it? I don't fuckin' know." - artist Lydia Lunch commenting on the ‘No Wave' label
Director Celine Danhier and producer Aviva Wishnow are guests of the Festival.
--- D Celine Danhier P Aviva Wishnow WS Aviva Wishnow TD HDCAM/2009