March 1/06 8:11 am - New York Bicycle Film Festival

Posted by Editor on 03/1/06
 

Bicycle Film Festival 2006 Lineup

The Sundance Film Festival has come and gone but New York, as well as nine cities around the globe, are gearing up for a different type of film festival - the Bicycle Film Festival (BFF), complete with complimentary valet bike parking.

Kicking off on May 10th, 2006, the BFF is the largest bicycle related cultural event in the U.S. Acting as a catalyst in the rise of popularity and interest of urban bike culture, the BFF highlights shorts and feature films that celebrate the bicycle in all its various forms and styles.

Taking place in New York from May 10th through May 14th, all films for the BFF are screened at the East Village's Anthology Film Archives, easily accessible via the bike-lane on Second Avenue. The first night kicks off with a rock show and party. The headliner is almost always a surprise. In 2005 the show was headlined by bicycle enthusiasts Blonde Redhead. The next four nights of the festival each feature one full-length bicycle themed film, preceded by fun shorts, that were chosen from hundreds of submissions from around the world from Iran to Mexico to New York.

The days are filled with parades, block parties and art shows - all bike themed. The festival will feature a launch party in celebration of Peter Sutherland's book of photos - Pedal (Powerhouse Books), as well as the BFF DVD release party closing out the New York festival. All BFF related events include free bicycle valet parking - (there has never been a stolen valet parked bike).

Following the May festival New York, the Bicycle Film Festival will travel to nine other cities: Los Angeles (June), Minneapolis (July), Chicago (July), London (September), San Francisco (October), Sydney (October), Melbourne (October), Tokyo (November) and Milan (December).

"The Bicycle Film Festival has an incredible lineup of films for 2006. We are so excited to have filmmakers like Peter Sutherland, the Neistat Brothers and Mike Mills involved. The festival keeps growing in size and popularity every year and I just can't help but be inspired by the growth in enthusiasm for bicycle riding," says founding director Brendt Barbur.

After being struck by a bus in New York City (one of the world's richest bicycle culture zones) in 2000, Barbur was compelled to turn his negative experience into something positive. The festival has been selling out shows since its inception in 2001 and has sparked international recognition for artists including the Neistat Brothers and Lucas Brunelle, who are working to show that not only does bicycle riding bring people together, but it's ecologically better for everyone on the earth. It's free to pump air in your tires, but gasoline could cost almost three dollars a gallon. The festival brings together all aspects of bicycling to advocate its ability to transport us in many ways - ultimately, it's all about having fun.

2006 Bicycle Film Festival Event Details

May 10th-14th
Anthology Film Archives
32 Second Avenue (at 2nd Street)
Individual tickets and festival ticket packages are available online at www.bicyclefilmfestival.com two weeks before each opening night.

May 11th
B.I.K.E. (New York City Premiere) www.bike-films.com/trailer_page/bike_trailer.html
Directed by Jacob Septimus and Anthony Howard
Jacob Septimus has directed music videos for artists including Mos Def, KRSone and Rage Against the Machine. Anthony Howard is an award-winning director of fine art films recognized by audiences at festivals and media such as Art Forum. Howard began to make a film about New York's chapter of the Black Label Bicycle Club and found himself vying to become a member of the group. Black Label is known for living a lifestyle centered on building bikes together, riding together, eating together, and sometimes living together. Black Label is more than just a bike club or a lifestyle - it is life. The Film culminates at the Black Label's BIKE KILL celebration where Howard and friends challenged the group that he, ultimately, could not join, to tall bike jousting.

May 12th
M.A.S.H. michaelmartin.com/blog/photos/track_video.html
Directed by Mike Martin and Gabe Morford
Mike Martin is known for his fine art photography and his commercial photography for clients including Nice Collective, Adidas, Nike, and Microsoft. Morford is very well known in the Skateboarding world for his photography. "M.A.S.H." takes a look at the style of fixed gear riding in San Francisco. This film, modeled after the style of the skate and surf videos and with the talent of its directors, brings out the skills and beauty of these SF riders. This film will be a landmark in an already emerging subculture of urban riders.

May 13th
PEDAL www.petersutherland.net/Pedal.mov
Directed by Peter Sutherland
Acclaimed NYC filmmaker and photographer Sutherland is known for his work as Director of Photography on the skateboarding film "Stoked: The Rise and Fall of Gator" which played to audiences nationwide, as well as the photography book Autograf. Pedal is a fast-paced documentary film about surviving in the streets of New York City as a bicycle messenger. It features messengers from all walks of life as they battle traffic in a race to make their next delivery on time. It premiered in 2001 at the South by Southwest film festival and in New York at the Bicycle Film Festival, and later was acquired by the Sundance channel, where it aired until 2004. The Bicycle Film Festival re-screens Pedal in 2006 to celebrate the Powerhouse Books release of Sutherland's new photo book, also titled "Pedal." The book features photos of messengers form around the world who came to New York in 2005 for the Messenger World Championships.