this week in lectures, signings, panel discussions, workshops, and Q&As

TRIUMPH OF THE WALL

Bill Stone follows the travails of novice stonemason Chris Overing in TRIUMPH OF THE WALL

TRIUMPH OF THE WALL: LIFE AS A WORK IN PROGRESS (Bill Stone, 2013)
Quad Cinema
34 West 13th St.
Opens Friday, May 17
212-255-2243
www.quadcinema.com
www.bunburyfilms.com

When Bill Stone first began making Triumph of the Wall: My Life as a Work in Progress, he was hoping for a meditative documentary on the nature of expectation, exploring commitment, contemplation, and connection in both life and work, both his and his subject’s. However, he ends up with something far different, and try as he might, he just can’t get it on track. Stone follows the travails of Chris Overing, a jack of all trades who has accepted a job building a one-thousand-foot dry-stone wall for an unseen client. Overing has never done anything quite like this before, and that becomes readily apparent as what he thought would be a two-month process turns into years. During that time, Stone sticks with his subject, attempting to get him to wax poetic about what he is experiencing, maybe talk about perfection, procrastination, and the possibility of ever seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Unfortunately, Overing doesn’t have a whole lot to say, and the vast majority of what he does say is not very philosophical. But Stone soldiers on, traveling to Scotland to talk to some professional stonemasons, and he even brings in a pair of artist friends to help work on the wall, desperate for colorful stories and more exciting human interaction. But as the frustration keeps mounting, the director stretches too far as he awkwardly, if very honestly, tries to make sense of it all. (For a much better treatise on wall building, check out Paul Auster’s 1990 novel The Music of Chance, which features a character named Stone.) At the start, Overing, Stone, and the film are filled with promise; even the director’s name makes the whole thing feel like it was meant to be. But alas, the various story lines, like so many of the stones, never quite fit together. Triumph of the Wall opens May 31 at the Quad, with Stone, Overing, and producer Fred Bohbot participating in Q&As following the 7:00 shows on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night.

AN EVENING WITH JOSS WHEDON: SERENITY

Joss Whedon continues FIREFLY series with feature film that reunites cast for one last adventure

SERENITY (Joss Whedon, 2005)
BAMcinématek, BAM Rose Cinemas
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
Thursday, May 30, 9:50 (preceded by Much Ado About Nothing at 7:00)
718-636-4100
www.bam.org
www.serenitymovie.com

We were huge fans of Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, so it was with much disappointment that we watched his 2002 TV show, Firefly, come and go so quickly. But the diehard fans, known as Browncoats, wanted more than the Fox network gave them, so Whedon delivered this exciting feature-length film for Universal, reuniting the cast, including Nathan Fillion as Mal, Gina Torres as Zoe, Alan Tudyk as Wash, Morena Baccarin as Inara, Adam Baldwin as Jayne, Jewel Staite as Kaylee, Sean Maher as Simon, Summer Glau as River, and Ron Glass (yes, the guy from Barney Miller) as Shepherd. The bad guy this time around is known simply as the Operative (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a cold-blooded killing machine out to destroy River, who has very dangerous special powers that the Alliance wants silenced. Also getting in the crew’s way are the Reavers, vile creatures who prefer to eat their prey alive. While the Browncoats should be thrilled with the film, so should newbies to this world, as Whedon has managed to make Serenity an involving stand-alone space Western that sci-fi fans can enjoy without knowing anything about Firefly. But after you see this thoroughly enjoyable flick, you’re likely to rush to catch up on everything you missed. Serenity is screening at BAM on May 30 at 9:50, preceded at 7:00 by Whedon’s new movie, a modern take on the Bard’s Much Ado About Nothing, as part of the BAMCinématek program “An Evening with Joss Whedon,” with Whedon taking part in a Q&A following the first film and introducing the second; although both events are sold out, there will be a standby line for any tickets that might become available.

DANCEAFRICA 2013

The Bronx-based Harambee Dance Company is part of 2013 DanceAfrica festival at BAM (photo by Derrek Garret)

Brooklyn Academy of Music
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
May 24-27, free – $50
718-636-4100
www.bam.org

Last week, the incomparable Baba Chuck Davis, the founder and artistic director of BAM’s annual DanceAfrica festival, was one of the grand marshals of the seventh New York Dance Parade, the theme of which was “Unity Through Dance.” That same theme can apply to Davis and DanceAfrica, which this year brings three international companies to the Howard Gilman Opera House stage. Zimbabwe’s Umkhathi Theatre Works will perform the tribal dance Isitshikitsha, the hunting-and-gathering dance Chinyambera, the Shangani tribal dance Muchongoyo, and the social gathering Setapa, joined by the BAM/Restoration DanceAfrica Ensemble. Atlanta’s Giwayen Mata’s program will include Perseverance: In My House, set to DJ Fresca’s “Amaphoyisa,” and the Lamban Dansa. Harambee Dance Company, which hails from the Bronx, will present the historical and spiritual journey Reflections, the partying Midnight in the City, and the musical piece “You Goin’ Get This Work.” As a special treat, Washington, DC’s Sweet Honey in the Rock will sing “Sabumoya,” “I Remember I Believe,” “Wholly Wholly,” and “Let There Be Peace.” As always, Davis will provide his welcoming address (“Ago!” “Amée!!”), introduce the Council of Elders, and honor those who are no longer with us. Meanwhile, BAMcinématek’s FilmAfrica will screen such movies as Taghreed Elsanhouri’s Our Beloved Sudan, Clemente Bococchi’s Black Africa White Marble, Charlie Vundla’s How to Steal 2 Million, and Rémi Bezançon and Jean-Christophe Lie’s animated Zarafa. BAMcafé Live continues the African celebration with a pair of free concerts: Abdou Mboup and Waakaw on May 24 and a Late Night Dance Party with Ralph McDaniels and Video Music Box on May 25. And the always fun DanceAfrica Bazaar will set up shop along Lafayette Ave. and Ashland Pl. Saturday through Monday, a global marketplace with great food, clothing, fashion, arts & crafts, and much more.

DOIN’ IT IN THE PARK: PICK-UP BASKETBALL, NEW YORK CITY

Bobbito Garcia and Kevin Couliau celebrate New York City street ball in DOIN’ IT IN THE PARK

DOIN’ IT IN THE PARK: PICK-UP BASKETBALL, NEW YORK CITY (Bobbito Garcia & Kevin Couliau, 2012)
Maysles Cinema
343 Malcolm X Blvd. between 127th & 128th Sts.
May 22-28, $10
212-582-6050
www.mayslesinstitute.org
www.doinitinthepark.com

Some of the Big Apple’s best basketball doesn’t take place inside Madison Square Garden or the Barclays Center. Over the course of two summers, journalist, announcer, and native New Yorker Bobbito “Kool Bob Love” Garcia and French photographer and video director Kevin Couliau biked to 180 outdoor courts throughout the five boroughs, detailing the history of the social and cultural phenomenon of street hoops in the fast-paced, celebratory documentary Doin’ It in the Park: Pick-up Basketball, New York City. Garcia (Where’d You Get Those Shoes? NYC’s Sneaker Culture: 1960-1987) and Couliau (“Heart & Soul of New York City”) meet with many of the playground’s biggest stars, from those who made it to the NBA (Julius “Dr. J” Erving, Kenny “the Jet” Smith, Geoff Huston) to those whose legends remain on the street (James “Fly” Williams, Corey “Homicide” Williams, Niki “Lil’ Ratchet” Avery, Ed “the Sundance Kid” Davis, Andre “the Latin Assassin” Ortiz). Featuring a soundtrack that combines original music by Eddie Palmieri with songs by Donald Byrd & the Blackbyrds, Quantic, the Budos Band, Jurassic 5, and others, the film captures the rhythm and beat of street hoops, from three-on-three, half court, and full court to Horse and 21, with guys even shooting into garbage cans, milk crates, and monkey bars if no courts were available.

Garcia, who narrates the movie in worshipful tones, and Couliau hang out at such key spots as Rucker Park, King Towers, Dean St., LeFrak City, and the Cage at West Fourth St., where they film games and let the current and former players wax poetic about their dedication to the sport. “This is what we did, man. It’s in my blood,” explains George “White Chocolate” Ganley about playing in the rain, snow, or sleet. Ganley is one of two Caucasians highlighted in a sport dominated by blacks and Hispanics; the other is Jack “Black Jack” Ryan, who recalls the first time he got on the court and proved he got game by dunking. “It’s been heaven ever since,” he says. The filmmakers also pay tribute to such late legends of the street as Wilt Chamberlain and Earl “the Goat” Manigault, who many consider one of the best basketball players in the history of the sport. The codirectors also show the game’s positive impact on inmates behind bars. “It was about your pride, it was about who you was, it was about who you was trying to become,” says Richard “Pee Wee” Kirkland, who once scored 135 points in a prison game. After the credits, Garcia and Couliau add footage of themselves going one-on-one, unable to stop playing the game they clearly love so much. Indeed, Doin’ It in the Park is a love letter to a cultural touchstone that is uniquely New York. The film is having its official U.S. theatrical release May 22-28 at Maysles Cinema in Harlem, with five screenings followed by Q&As with Garcia, Couliau, and such special guests as Wild Style director Charlie Ahearn, photographer Charlie Samuels, executive producer Nick Quested, Ryan, Avery, and others, after which it moves to Harlem’s MISTcinema from May 31 to June 6.

INSECT MUSIC

David Rothenberg will jam with humans and insects at special Ear to the Earth program at Judson Church (photo by Charles Lindsay)

INSECT MUSIC
Judson Church
Wednesday May 22, suggested donation $15, 7:30
www.bugmusicbook.com
www.davidrothenberg.net

You better watch out, because Brood II is on its way, ready to strike at any minute. It’s been seventeen years since Magicicadas have hit New York City, but they’re preparing to emerge, buzzing the metropolitan area with their 7 kHz mating call. The nymphs, which will grow quickly into adult cicadas, will appear once the temperature hits a steady sixty-four degrees, but David Rothenberg is already set for the onslaught. The self-described musician, composer, author, and philosopher-naturalist has just released Bug Music: How Insects Gave Us Rhythm and Noise (St. Martin’s, April 2013, $26.99) and the accompanying Bug Music CD (Terra Nova), completing the trilogy that began with Why Birds Sing: A Journey into the Mystery of Birdsong and Thousand Mile Song: Whale Music in a Sea of Sound. “Each shrill, whining, or whooshing song is a call to the endless nature of love,” he writes in the new book. “However fast love goes we know it will return, the one sure thing that will never be exhausted as all the rest of nature gets spent, used up, or destroyed. Cicadas on the branches, eternal optimists, lovers of the moment.” Rothenberg will headline the special program “Insect Music” on May 22 at Judson Church, presented by Ear to the Earth, consisting of an introduction by Cicada Mania founder Dan Mozgai, the world premiere of Richard Knox Robinson’s half-hour film Song of the Cicadas, a panel discussion with Rothenberg, Robinson, performance artist and former political prisoner Tim Blunk, and David’s son, Umru Rothenberg, moderated by Radiolab founder Robert Krulwich, and a live performance by David Rothenberg on clarinets and laptop, Pauline Oliveros on accordion, Harmonic Choir member Timothy Hill providing overtone vocals, and Garth Stevenson on double bass, along with recordings of cicadas, crickets, katydids, leafhoppers, water bugs, and other insects.

DANCE PARADE: UNITY THROUGH DANCE

Myriad forms of dance are celebrated at annual parade (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Parade: Broadway & 21st St. to Tompkins Square Park, 1:00
DanceFest: Tompkins Square Park, 3:00 – 7:00
Saturday, May 18, free
www.danceparade.org
dance parade 2011 slideshow

The seventh annual New York Dance Parade, a celebration of all kinds of movement, will groove through the city on May 18, beginning at 1:00 at 21st St. & Broadway and making its way southeast until it reaches Tompkins Square Park, where DanceFest takes place from 3:00 to 7:00 with live performances, workshops, demonstrations, information booths, special presentations, and other activities. Leading the parade of ten thousand dancers from two hundred groups representing eighty different styles will be a trio of grand marshals: DJ Louie Vega, masterful DanceAfrica founder Baba Chuck Davis, and choreographer Jacqulyn Buglisi. The parade started as a response to New York’s antiquated Cabaret Law, which in 1926 held that dance was not a form of artistic expression and was not protected by the Second Amendment. The event’s mission is “to promote dance as an expressive and unifying art form by showcasing all forms of dance, educating the general public about the opportunities to experience dance, and celebrating diversity of dance in New York City.” Dance Parade is always a hot, sweaty, sexy, and fun event, whether you’re participating or just checking out the scene, which brings everyone together in the spirit of this year’s theme, “Unity Through Dance.”

BIDDER 70

Tim DeChristopher fights the power in inspiring new documentary, BIDDER 70

BIDDER 70 (Beth Gage & George Gage, 2013)
Quad Cinema
34 West 13th St.
Opens Friday, May 17
212-255-2243
www.quadcinema.com
www.bidder70film.com

Can one person really make a difference? In Bidder 70, directors Beth and George Gage tell the inspiring story of Tim DeChristopher, who has followed in the footsteps of such peaceful, nonviolent protestors as Rosa Parks, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Mahatma Gandhi, although the humble West Virginia native wouldn’t dare put himself in such lofty company. In December 2008, DeChristopher attended a Utah Bureau of Land Management oil and gas lease auction without a real plan, knowing only that he had to do something to keep the pristine wilderness land out of the hands of corporate drillers; he ended up winning bids on more than twenty-two thousand acres for $1.7 million without any intention of actually paying, so he was arrested and charged with two felonies that could put him in prison for a long time. But he just couldn’t sit back and let the sale take place, and he’s willing to face the consequences. “It’s really hard for me to not think about climate change with anything that we’re doing,” the West Virginia native says in the film while relaxing in a vast, rocky landscape. “It’s this big weight that our generation is bearing on our shoulders, and it’s like something chasing us, that’s getting closer all the time. We’ve always been told that things are just beyond our control and that corporations have all the power, and we don’t often get to be reminded that we’re citizens of what was once the greatest democracy on the planet and that we’re human beings with the power to inspire others through our actions.” The Gages (American Outrage, Fire on the Mountain) follow the modest DeChristopher as he becomes a leader in the civil disobedience movement, cofounding Peaceful Uprising and preparing for a trial that continually gets postponed, perhaps for political reasons. Among the talking heads discussing and/or helping DeChristopher in his defense — he could end up being sentenced to twenty years in prison even though the government later declared the auction he attended to be illegal — are environmental activists Robert Redford and Bill McKibben, writer and conservationist Terry Tempest Williams, Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Terry Root, attorneys Ron Yengich and Patrick Shea, and NASA GISS director Dr. James Hansen. Can one person really make a difference? Bidder 70 provides the answer. The documentary opens May 17 at the Quad, with DeChristopher and Beth and George Gage participating in Q&As after the 7:10 screenings on Friday and Saturday and the Gages back for another Q&A on Monday night.