New York, New York, it’s a helluva town! It also happens to be one of our favourite summer vacation destinations! Whether its knocking around Greenwich Village, strolling through Central Park or catching concerts in the Bowery, there is nothing quite like spending warm summer days in the Big Apple.
For all of you (and us) that can’t make it to the Five Burroughs for a summer get away this year, the team at Films We Like has put together a collection of films that shines a light on all things New York City. From the city’s graffiti and hip-hop culture of the late 80’s, to the epicentre of live theatre, to the most famed New Yorkers of all time, our #NewYorkNewYork collection of films features narratives that celebrate and illuminate all of the reasons why we love NYC.
New York,
New York!
What We Like: July 2022
All The Streets Are Silent (2021)
At a point in time in the 1980’s, New York City became the incubator in which two of the world’s most discussed counter cultures collided in a moment of art, music, and human movement. All the Streets are Silent uses rare found footage of and in depth interviews with cultural icons like Fab 5 Freddy, Stretch and Bobbito, and Harold Hunter to explore how skateboard and hip-hop culture became intertwined in the rough and tumble New York of the 1980’s.
Barbara Rubin & the Exploding NY Underground (2018)
When she was only 18 years old, Barbara Rubin shattered creative and misogynistic boundaries and shocked NYC's experimental film scene. Working with Jonas Mekas at the Filmmaker’s Coop, Rubin was instrumental in creating NYC's thriving underground film community and a rare female voice in a world of powerful men. A rebellious Zelig of the Sixties, she introduced Andy Warhol to the Velvet Underground and Bob Dylan to the Kabbalah. This intimate and eye opening documentary unpacks the work and life of one of the most influential filmmakers to emerge from New York City.
Studio 54
Engrained in the mythology and culture of New York City’s music and fashion scenes is Studio 54, a place that not only redefined the nightclub, but also came to symbolise an entire era. Its co-owners, Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell, two friends from Brooklyn, seemed to come out of nowhere to suddenly preside over a new kind of New York society. Now, 39 years after the velvet rope was first slung across the club’s hallowed threshold, a feature documentary tells the real story behind the greatest club of all time.
Painters Painting (1972)
Highlighting the most renowned figures of the New York School Painters, seminal documentarian Emile de Antonio’s Painters Painting is a one of a kind look into the artists that made New York City the cultural hub that it is today. Featuring Willem de Kooning, Helen Frankenthaler and Larry Poons, this film provides an unprecedented perspective on the key figures behind NYC’s longstanding and world renowned art scene.
LennonNYC (2010)
Perhaps one of New York’s most famed residents, John Lennon’s time spent living in the city during the 1970’s is the focal point of this deeply personal doc by Brooklynite filmmaker Michael Epstein. Featuring never before seen performance footage and home videos, this film offers a unique look into the musician and New York transplant’s final years spent living in Manhattan.
Fort Tilden (2014)
Nothing say’s summer in New York quite like escaping the city’s sweltering heat for the cool sea breeze of the Rockaways. Fort Tilden by multi-hyphenates Sarah-Violet Bliss and Brian Lannin follows Allie and Harper as they forgo their responsibilities for a day at the beach. As the two young women board their fixed-gear bicycles and embark on a lengthy journey to the beach, they quickly realize that, akin to their confusing, transitioning lives, they neither know where they’re going nor how they plan to get there.
Nico, 1988 (2017)
Nico and the Velvet Underground broke onto New York’s music scene as proto punk savants in 1964. Nico, 1988 from director Susanna Nicchiarelli picks up nearly 25 years later as Nico embarks on her final tour, and the last year of her life. Once hailed as the ‘priestess of darkness’ this film tracks the final days of Nico, one of the most influential figures in New York’s music scene.
Person to Person (2017)
Dustin Guy Defa’s hotly anticipated second feature is a playful ode to the analog, the unassuming, and to New York itself. During a single day in New York City, a variety of characters grapple with the mundane, the unexpected, and the larger questions permeating their lives.
The Tents (2012)
This fast-paced history of the birth of New York’s Fashion Week illuminates events which made New York City the international fashion destination. THE TENTS captures the talent, energy and vision of this world-class, multi-billion dollar industry, still, in its way, decidedly “Downtown”.
Quiet City (2007)
Tracing twenty-four hours drifting from late night diners, to city parks, to abandoned apartments, to a party and art gallery deep in the heart of industrial Brooklyn, Aaron Katz’s Quiet City displays how NYC can intertwine the lives of unsuspecting people with nothing more than a chance encounter on the subway.
On Broadway (2019)
Arguably the global center of live theatre, New York City’s Broadway Avenue has hosted the greatest performers and shows that have ever graced the stage. On Broadway by Oren Jacoby tells the story of the Broadway Theatre, one of the most famed stages in NYC, as seen through the eyes of world renowned performers such as Ian McKellen, Helen Mirren, and Julie Taymor.
