"Crown Heights Film Festival" - FiveMyles Gallery and FREECANDY, Brooklyn, NY.
Co-Founder, Director, Curator
Film Festival and Social Forum
In partnership with FiveMyles Gallery and Freecandy, in Brooklyn, NY
The Crown Heights Film Festival (CHFF) is a social forum in Brooklyn, NY, that showcases a diverse range of local and international films curated in a way to encourage dialogue and audience interaction.
CHFF is a collaboration between artist/curator Erin Gleason and photographer/cameraman Pedro Martí. The non-profit festival was founded in 2009 with the aim of creating a film-based social forum in Crown Heights – a rapidly changing neighborhood navigating a number of socio-economic issues including racial and cultural integration, local business growth, and police presence under “zero tolerance” directives. The Festival aims to provide a voice and opportunities for filmmakers, to foster cross-arts collaboration, and to provide a framework for discourse between filmmakers and the wider Brooklyn community.
Each night of the festival is a unique journey through a variety of film genres including animation, children's films, cross-disciplinary / transmedia, documentary, fine art, and feature length and short narrative. A different artist is selected every year to create unique artworks as awards. The curation of the festival is based on an international open call submission process. To promote dialogue, films are always screened in groups followed by a Q&A with all of the night's filmmakers. Other frameworks for dialogue include happy hours, round table discussions, workshops, and an awards celebration / concert event.
Crown Heights Film Festival is a movement fueled by an active community of filmmakers, artists, musicians, and Brooklyn residents to increase public access to evocative and innovative films. This creative energy in combination with the multitude of cultures represented embody the vibrant spirit of Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Past participants include:
Artists:
2013: Malcolm A. Davis II (awards)
2012: Rheanna Abbott (awards), Anita Glesta (video installation)
2010: Mark Reigelman (CHFF logotype)
Musicians:
2013: DJ Frei Speech of the Ahficionados, Kenny Dark featuring RGK2, The Soon-Another, Bree and the Whatevers
2012: Brown Rice Family, Sarah Dupey, DJ K. Life Walks, Ghostrunner, J Babun, Sophie et la Femme
Filmmakers:
2013: Thanachart Siripatrachai, Zachary Fabri, Alejandro Enmanuel Alonso Estrella, Ali A. Rashti, Jennifer Lauren Smith, Rob Underhill, Jessica Townsend, Brian Hawkins, Zardon Richardson, Emanuele Michetti, Roberto Nanni, Carolyn Lambert, Ben Kalina, Matthias Negrello, Jordan Thomas, Adi Navon, Amia Yokoyama, Marquis Smalls, Adrianna Hernandez-Stewart, Ali Asgari, Abbey Neidik, Edward Shieh, Aimiende Negbenebor Sela, Cassell A. Ferere, Aisha Tandiwe Bell, Andrew Padilla, Gustavo Mercado, Michael Sharpe, Richard Evans, Sabrina Chap, Tony Carter, RenŽe Felice Smith, Andrea Simon, Gregg Mann & Liza Mann, Adam Banicki
2012: Sandy Patch, Mike Stuttman, Florian Graf, Fabrizio Fracassi, Brian McGuire, Kevin Walker, Helmut Dosantos, Neryong Ci, Vishnu Seesahai, Krystle Houiess, Laura Graham, Felipe Galindo (Feggo), Juan Aybardiaz, Manu Di feliciantonio, Ashley Hall, Jim Chaliz, Stephanie Assimacopoulo, Jason Scott Jones, Sam McFarland, Christopher Durenberger, Melissa Nicolardi, Steve Abruzzese, Jennifer Suwak, Lindsay Harris, Stephanie Hubbard, Dan Wilby, Dalton Narine, David Trotter, Noah Lamberth, Rebekah Wingert-Jabi, Julia Bacha, Teddy Nygh, Helene Brandt, Matthew Gentile, Sam Wilby, Jennifer Treuting, Giovanni Granada, Katie Simpson Spain, Daniel Shojaei, Melissa Nicolardi, Adonis Williams, Vinit Parmar, Rob Cohen, Chuks Oyem, Chidi Ozieh, Ross Hockrow, Natasha Novik, Derek Presley, Thibault Le Texier, Adrian Orozco, Julien Drach, Keith Boynton, Deana DiSalvio, Michael Freise, Andy DeJohn, Jennifer Maurer, Nathan Silver, Timo Jacobs, Ruth Paxton, April Dawn Wilkner, Alex Merkin, Molly Smith, Thomas Phillips, Nicole Libassi, Michael Morgenstern, Michael Dunaway, Negin Sharifzadeh, Lindsay Harris, Eden Vaschon, Giovanny Blanco, Fabrice Bracq, Molly Maguire, Brian Connors, Ryan Sage
2011: Jessie Brugger, Justice Whitaker, Enrique Pedraza, Matt Stevens, Anton Cabaleiro, Martin Toro, Florian Graf, Erwann Guennec, Carly Gaebe, Flavio Alves, Pablo Mollenhauer, Alfie Barker, Lahoe Ku, Andrew Said Thomas, Brendan Schlagel, Moema Umann, Helena O’Connor, David Vermeulen, Bianca Schreiber, Andrea Chung, Jessica Scott, Run Shayo, Annette Isham, Andrew Baker, Greg Hanson, Anton Cabaleiro, Rafael Moraes, Bobby Lin, Manu DiFeliciantonio
2010: Jeremy Newman, Sal Strom, Joy Whalen, Andrea Dupree, Steven Mykietyn, Ben Gerstein, Jeremy Newman, Sterz , Christine Dehne, Karen Ostrom, Labor du Nord, Bradley Dever Treadway, Chris Beetem, Michael Merino, Roni Nicole, Tremaine Romeo, Karen Ostrom, Heather Spilkin, Sal Strom, Steven Subotnick, Justin Mata, Jonathan Woo, Jason Dubin, Kevin Dejewski, Wesley Leon Aroozoo, Monica Garrison, Taj Lewis, Ben Gerstein, Zach Hyer, Chris Pagliei, Louisa Merino, Sal Strom, Jason Dubin, Kevin Dejewski, Anna Holzman, Florian Graf, Monica Garrison, Mike Schloemer, Maia Cruz Palileo, Jeremy Newman, Kevin Kolack, Ben Gerstein, Manu Di Feliciantonio
Countries Represented:
Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Columbia, Cuba, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Lebanon, Mexico, Palestinian Territories, Russian Federation, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom, United States
