NYWIFT Member Screening: Brooklyn, Minnesota

Join us for a NYWIFT Member Screening of the narrative feature Brooklyn, Minnesota, followed by a Q&A with Jessica Blank & Erik Jensen (Co-Writers & Directors), Sadie Jensen-Blank (Actor), Michael Cuomo (Producer), and Lillian LaSalle (Producer).  Moderated by Rebecca Eskreis.

Date: Monday, June 9, 2025
Time: 7:00PM
Location: Dolby 88 (1350 6th Ave, New York, NY 10019)

Free to attend – exclusively for NYWIFT Members. Seating is limited. RSVP required. 

Register

About the Film:

Brooklyn, Minnesota
Run time: 96 minutes

Directers: Jessica Blank & Erik Jensen

Writers: Jessica Blank, Erik Jensen, Han Shan

Producers: Michael Cuomo, Lillian LaSalle, Jessica Blank, Han Shan

Cast: Amy Madigan, “Gail ” (Field of Dreams, Pollock, Roe v Wade, Uncle Buck); Sadie Jensen-Blank, “Maisie” (#Horror); Erik Jensen, “Kurt” (The Walking Dead, Mindhunter, House of Cards, The Americans); Cullen Moss, “Scotty” (Outerbanks, True Detective, Hidden Figures); Jacob Moran, “Owen” (The Black Phone); Heather Reddick, “Emma”; Ines Mojica, “Nhia”; Joel Marsh Garland “Darren” (Orange is the New Black); Tom Kopache, “Reverend Oja” (No Country for Old Men, Catch Me If You Can)

When the grandfather she never knew dies, headstrong 14-year-old Maisie and her
artist dad travel from Brooklyn to his childhood home -where Maisie will upend family patterns, fall in love, and force her family to confront each other and themselves.

Watch the trailer!

Panelists:

Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen are an award-winning multihyphenate husband and wife creative team for theater, film and television, who The New Yorker calls “the foremost
practitioners of documentary theater in the U.S.”

Plays include The Exonerated (Outer Critics Circle, Lortel, Drama Desk Awards), Aftermath (NYTW; two Drama League noms), How To Be A Rock Critic (CTG, Steppenwolf, Public Theater), The Line (Public Theater), and Coal Country (Public Theater, Cherry Lane/Audible; Lortel, two Drama Desk noms; original music by Steve Earle). They’ve written TV for Fox, 20th TV, Gaumont, Levinson/Fontana, David Simon/Blown Deadline, and Ed Burns. Their first feature, Almost Home, was released in 2019 by Vertical. They are in pre-production with Meteor17 and Paramount to direct a feature documentary about legendary rock engineer Eddie Kramer (Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones), and in development for a feature documentary about the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster, produced by Emmy winner Audrey Rosenberg (I Am Not Your Negro, HBO’s Katrina Babies) and executive produced by Steve Earle.
(Photo Credits: Co-Directors Headshot by Diana Davis)

Michael Cuomo is an award-winning actor and producer for film, television and theater. Michael most recently produced Brooklyn, Minnesota starring Academy Award nominee Amy Madigan, Sadie Jensen-Blank, Erik Jensen and Cullen Moss. Brooklyn, Minnesota premiered at Woodstock ’24, taking home the Ultra Indie Award and the NYWIFT Award for Excellence in Directing. He is currently in post-production on American Summer (dir: Michael W. Gray) which stars Steve Guttenberg, Christie Brinkley, Dan Lauria, Cullen Moss, Logan Gray and Mia Tallerico. 

He also produced the dramatic feature films What Breaks the Ice (dir: Rebecca Eskreis) and The Light of the Moon (dir: Jessica M. Thompson; SXSW Audience Award). Both films were released theatrically and are now streaming. Michael also starred in and produced the critically acclaimed feature film Happy New Year (dir: K Lorrel Manning), which premiered at the SXSW and Hamptons International Film Festivals, garnering strong reviews and winning six awards including Cuomo for Best Actor and Manning for Breakout Director.

Other Recent Film/TV include: Nanny, Sundance Grand Jury Prize (dir. Nikyatu Jusu; Amazon), Life & Beth (dir. Amy Schumer; Hulu), Billions (dir. Shaz Bennet; Showtime), The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (dir. Amy Sherman-Palladino; Amazon), Orange is the New Black (dir. Nick Sandow; Netflix) and Daniel Isn’t Real (dir. Adam Egypt Mortimer; Samuel Goldwyn). Michael was recently awarded the Ambassador Award at the 40th Rhode Island International Film Festival. 

Lillian LaSalle is a Peabody award-winning producer and talent manager whose credits include Loggerheads, which premiered in competition at The Sundance Film Festival and Sweet Land, which won the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature for writer/director, Ali Selim. Lillian’s other notable feature Producing credits include: Today’s Special, Just Like the Son, Find Love, Heavy Petting, and Mentor, as well as Southern Belles and American Cannibal: The Road the Reality.

Most recently, Lillian created Mizzel Media, an independent feature financing company. Under the Mizzel banner, she has produced KOLN 75 (Berlinale 2025 Premiere), Bird in Hand (Tribeca 2025 Premiere), Ann Lee (upcoming Venice 2025 Premiere), starring Amanda Seyfried and the award winning Brooklyn, Minnesota (Woodstock 2024 Premiere).

Rebecca Eskreis is a writer, director and producer whose work has screened at major film festivals around the world. Credits as director include What Breaks the Ice, which premiered at the Woodstock Film Festival, enjoyed a multi-city theatrical release in 2021, and is available on all digital platforms; and Clearmind, an Amazon film, , released in 2024. Credits as producer include A Lien, nominated for the Academy Award for best Live Action Short; the Netflix concert film Justin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids; and, Infinity Baby, which premiered at SXSW in 2017. Before venturing out on her own, Rebecca was fortunate to work with and be mentored by Jonathan Demme, Denise Di Novi, and Richard Linklater. Rebecca is a Film Program Officer at the Claims Conference and an Adjunct Professor at the Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema, at Brooklyn College. She holds a BA, Magna Cum Laude, from Barnard College at Columbia University, and an MFA from the USC School of Cinematic Arts.