Tea with sg

Anna Biller @msannabiller became a hero with The Love Witch a few years ago. @reunion has the pleasure of celebrating her follow up on Tuesday with a launch party for her debut novel Bluebeard's Castle. It came about as a pseudo happy accident, when pandemic stalled film development, but as Anna explains, the novel form allowed her to represent the characters' internal feelings in ways her films never allowed. The book, like Love Witch, is beyond camp. Her work is pretty peerless. We tried to find comps out there, but her mission is tall order. Lots of people do kitsch. Lots do social commentary. Lots do throwbacks. Not sure who combines these (and many more) formal influences and pursuits, in a way that entirely lands. Anna's one of my favorite thinkers period, so it's a pleasure to talk to her, and I can't wait for Tuesday. Come join us at Maxwell Social cohosted by McNally Jackson and Verso Books. https://reunionannabiller101023.splashthat.com/

David Farrier @davidfarrier opens his new movie Mister Organ on Friday at Roxy Cinema Tribeca co-hosted by @Reunion. I was at David's Sundance premiere of Tickled, which was the first of multiple screenings where audience members who were subjects in the film caused very fun chaos. The movie and the whole experience was awesome. This movie puts his lens on regular sociopathy. He explores what a person can be like who would cause another to want to commit suicide. Spoiler alert, there's no holocaust in this. No Ted Bundy. The subject's a manipulative scammer, he broke laws, but nothing so spectacular. That's what makes this movie worth making and watching. It's unlike anything else you'll see out there. Tix at link in bio: www.instagram.com/reunion

Dustin Waldman @dustinwaldman will show his SXSW premiered short Never Fuggedaboutit May 2 @reunion @alamonyc. The story pulls from his experience working as an editor, creating what is effectively an imagined hypothetical version of himself in 2001, working in a post house given a controversial task around September 11th. I remember how charged rhetoric and creative decisions were around this time. It reminds me of our current moment, where every decision is potentially a career ender. This one though was genuine. There was a serious tragedy, and serious sensitivity was needed. People were forced to step up to become mature decision makers immediately, and everyone deeply cared about making the constructive choices. Compare that to now, where for no reason at all, and not because anyone particularly cares, everyone's forced into extreme anxiety over cancel culture. It's like the short could take place today, with the exact same tone and narrative, but everything would just be so, so petty and farcical. www.linktr.ee/reunionthings

Kevin Ralston @kevinralton will show his recent Slamdance premiered short Hubbards @reunion @alamonyc on May 2. Kevin has a certain brand of humor. It’s meditative and strangely whimsical rather than dark. There’s a lot of comparisons we talk about like the whole Adult Swim world, Tim & Eric, etc. but I find that a lot of those deliver this underbelly of a bleak world view, whereas Kevin’s writing and tone feels sentimental and hopeful, connected to people through the disconnects he’s investigating. Looking forward to everyone seeing some of this next week. https://reunion5223.splashthat.com/

Nira Burstein @nira.isanalog will show the opening of her debut doc feature Charm Circle May 2 @reunion @alamonyc. We talk a lot about Judaism in the arts, NYC, family, and the difference between narrative and doc work. Lotsa parent talk. I’m interested in what audiences will make of it next week. To me, a big topic we got into was how people identify with her parents as characters and their tendencies. We see them as very, very Jewish, but many others less familiar with this culture don’t really think about it, and are they just neurotic? Anxious? Weird? Nira’s been to a bunch of Reunion nights, so I’m happy to be able to showcase her work. Excited for everyone to see. https://reunion5223.splashthat.com/

Frank @putitfrankly + JP @jp_canal won Slamdance 2023 Animation prize for Hot Dogs. We'll show tomorrow / Friday March 31 @reunion @arri_rental. It's a sweet, sensitive, wacky vision of life in the vein of the Up opening. An under 10 minute rollercoaster of emotions that delivers sincerity in a sea of cynicism. Why is it so hard for people to openly feel things? I'm happy these guys do. Excited for an audience to feel this together tomorrow night. https://reunion3242023.splashthat.com

David Kolbusz @davidkolbusz is a creative ad exec turned film writer, whose short film Claudio’s Song will screen @reunion Friday March 24 @arri_rental NYC. David and I talk a lot about the arts in general, our fandom, and formation of taste. I like hearing his perspective on how advertising and creative mandates in general are shaped by social movements. Claudio’s Song and Nimic, his previous film with Yorgos Lanthimos, represent his prioritization of open minded big ideas. The short is full of them. Listen for more and join us to watch on Friday. https://reunion3242023.splashthat.com/

Mike @mike.m.donahue made Troy as a response to theaters being closed thx to the mangy 2019 thing. @reunion shows it this Friday after a recent Sundance screening, following Tribeca premier and a highlight screening of thousands watching at Out Fest. We talk a lot about how theater and film worlds interact and where his focus is upcoming. I like this movie because, well, pretty simply, there's a ton of people talking in apartment movies made over the last few years that suck, and this one is smart and revealing. I think you'll enjoy, and I hope we see you on Friday night. https://reunion3242023.splashthat.com