In a new partnership between New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) and BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music), we’re thrilled to present a collection of groundbreaking contemporary films that delve into science and technology in the modern world. These urgent documentaries and empowering fictions take us from the depths of outer space to the on-the-ground action of a Hasidic women-run ambulance corps and beyond.
Join us for a screening of two short films, Chilly & Milly and Over-Flow, followed by a conversation with the Over-Flow director Elizabeth Ramjit. Moderated by NYWIFT Board Member Emelyn Stuart.
Date: Tuesday, March 12, 2024
Time: 7:00pm ET
Location: Peter Jay Sharp Building, 30 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn, 11217
Cost: Free with reservation
About the Films:
Running Time: 9 min
11 years after filming a documentary about his family, director William D. Caballero returns home to revisit scenes from his documentary with his parents, Chilly & Milly. Chilly, William’s father, is a diabetic with kidney failure, whose illness detrimentally affects his and his family’s lives. Milly sees her sole purpose in life as to taking care of her loved ones. While watching the documentary, Chilly and Milly discuss their life together, and their successes and setbacks in life. When Chilly passes away during the pandemic, Milly comes to terms with her loss.
Running Time: 18 min
Initially, filmmaker Elizabeth Ramjit ventures to the Caribbean island of Trinidad to document its unregulated air pollution and marine contamination concerns, but she refocuses her subject on a recent flash flood in Trinidad and Tobago that continuously accumulates waste. A firsthand account from Ramjit, a first-generation American Trinidadian filmmaker, of the devastation from overbank floods and flash-floods in the twin-island Caribbean nation. Ramjit interviews activists on a quest for revival. These chronicled activists reassure viewers that by refraining from littering and enacting recycling, citizens will no longer be deemed as instigators of seemingly natural disasters or environmental anarchy.
Filmmakers:
William D. Caballero (Director – Producer – Writer – Storyboard Artist – Editor) is a Los Angeles-based filmmaker, multimedia storyteller, 2018 Guggenheim Fellow, and 2021 Creative Capital Award recipient. Born in Coney Island, New York and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Caballero obtained the Gates Millennium Scholarship in 2001, and returned to New York City where he graduated from Pratt Institute (BFA Digital Art, 2006, Minor in Art History ) and New York University (MA The Arts and Humanities in Education, 2008). Caballero’s directorial films have debuted at the 2017 and 2022 Sundance Film Festival, 2013 Slamdance Film Festival, and the Museum of Modern Art, and on major networks, such as HBO, PBS, Univision, and World Channel. He aims to empower all creatives to tell their own stories in their own unique voice.
Elizabeth Ramjit is an accomplished Film/Video Editor with 10 years of working experience in the entertainment industry. Being a seasoned filmmaker, she has done work in numerous fields within entertainment and has worked and led post-production positions at large corporations such as Paramount+, Viacom, CBS Network, Verizon Media, Yahoo, and many more. Elizabeth has worked directly alongside executives & producers to create a wide variety of video assets and has advanced knowledge when editing for documentaries, films, TV talk shows, and [sports including] NFL / NBA / MLB.
Emelyn Stuart (Moderator) embodies all things are possible when you marry purpose, passion, serious work ethic and commitment. Producing wasn’t an obvious path for this businesswoman who doesn’t deem herself an innate “creative” but it has proven to be a great fit for an extraordinary woman that has allowed making a difference propel her to uncharted territory. With a degree in business and less than a decade in the industry, Stuart has exemplified leadership and provided inspiration to filmmakers globally. A vast range of projects that includes a successful off-Broadway play makes Stuart different from her collaborators, but also garners her recognition internationally. Her wildly successful web series, 12 Steps to Recovery, earned Emelyn the Best Producer award at the 2011 LAWebfest. Stuart is partly responsible for multiple award-winning feature films including The Turnaround and Title VII. Her feature film Life Is Too Short premiered to sold out audiences in New York during its debut screening and in 2017 it was awarded Best Feature Film domestically and internationally at various film festivals. In 2018, Stuart opened an independent movie theater in New York called Stuart Cinema & Cafe. It will offer distribution deals to independent filmmakers and be a resource hub for artists. Now in 2022, she is building a multiplex movie theater in NY. This will make her the first Afro Latina to own a multiplex in NY.
Thanks to our partners:
Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM)
National Science Foundation (NSF)
The Screening Series is supported by:
BAM Brooklyn
30 Lafayette Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11217
programs@nywift.org
Join the conversation on social media:
#nywift | @nywift
NYWIFT programs, screenings and events are supported, in part, by grants from New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.
