Tag Archive: Film
{Cinemania Student Critic} Landfill Harmonic
By JBFC Cinemania Student Critic Ty Amsterdam Landfill Harmonic is an uplifting documentary that has such an incredible storyline, it could almost seem fictional! The film takes place in Cateura, a town in Paraguay where most of the residents try to find work at the garbage dump. We follow Favio Cháves, who decided to inspire [...]
Black, White, and Gray in Jim Jarmusch's Paterson
by Michael Bloom, Pleasantville High School student Paterson is a film that reminded me a lot of my favorite movie of 2016, Richard Linklater’s Everybody Wants Some!!. When taken at face value both movies seem to be about nothing. Their plots meander, they both feel at times repetitive, and they both have a time motif [...]
Jacob Burns Film Center Launches New Creative Culture Initiative
Recognizing a gap in support for filmmakers in the Hudson Valley, Jacob Burns Film Center staff developed Creative Culture, a unique initiative designed to foster a thriving artistic community in the region. The goal of the program is to transform makers into strong and successful storytellers by strengthening their voice, providing a supportive network, and [...]
The Purchase Beat Reviews I Am Not Your Negro
By Kerby Marcelin, Purchase College Thank you to The Purchase Beat for allowing us to reprint this review. Raoul Peck’s Oscar-nominated documentary “I Am Not Your Negro” acquaints the world with the architect in writer and social critic James Baldwin. An architect whose plan rests on his perspicuous, poignant, and thought-provoking words. Peck beautifies the [...]
The Big Shorts
By JBFC Marketing Volunteer Dotty Battel One thing to love about Oscar season: we get to watch short films in theaters! And as always, these works are part of the 2016 Academy Awards action. The 15 films nominated this time around are being showcased in 4 separate film programs: Animation, Live Action, and Documentaries: Program [...]
Our Favorite Films of 2016 and Our Struggle to Explain Why We Love Them
By Sarah Soliman and Lori Zakalik, JBFC Marketing Department WARNING: We tried to make this post as spoiler-free as possible. To be safe, if there is a film on this list that you have not seen, trust us that it’s good, watch it, and then read what we had to say. American Honey Sarah: I [...]
Jacob Burns Film Center Welcomes Ja’Tovia Gary as Artist-in-Residence
The Jacob Burns Film Center (JBFC) announced that artist and filmmaker Ja’Tovia Gary will spend the month of January on the JBFC campus as REMIX Artist-in-Residence. JBFC will screen An Ecstatic Experience before Losing Ground, a 1982 film directed by Kathleen Collins, which inspired Ms. Gary during the making of her short. “[My] film is [...]
2016's Underseen Gems
By Sarah Soliman, Marketing Assistant “Best of” lists are a permanent fixture in film criticism towards the end of each year, and there is a ubiquity not just of the lists themselves, but of the specific titles found on those lists. In 2016 you know you are likely—and with good reason—to find Barry Jenkins’s exquisite [...]
JBFC Travels to New Orleans
On December 3, JBFC Executive Director Edie Demas, Director of Education Emily Keating, and Senior Faculty Member Aaron Mace traveled to New Orleans for an Image, Sound, and Story professional development workshop with three ReNEW Cultural Arts Academy schools, part of the national Turnaround Arts initiative. All of the schools participating in this workshop are [...]
La La Land: The Perfect Blend of Cinematic Escapism and Authenticity
By Pleasantville High School Student Michael Bloom On December 4, I had the privilege of attending an advanced screening of Damien Chazelle’s La La Land at the Jacob Burns Film Center. The film caught my attention earlier this year when I read that the writer and director of Whiplash was working on a new film starring [...]
The Best of 2025: JBFC Staff's Favorite Films
Peruse our annual roundup of staff picks!
The New Classics
New monthly series celebrating 21st century cinema
All Ages
Introducing our new series for families, film lovers, and more