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At Last, a Club That You Actually
Want to Join....
The Screener's Club
Cubemusic
at The Screener's Club
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Every other week the wonderful people at Level X turn off
the World Wrestling Federation, Loony Tunes, and Survivor
and hand total control of their giant projection TV over
to one man, Steve Lee. Beginning in April and continuing
indefinitely, The Screener's Club meets every second
and fourth Thursday of the month. The club is a spankin'
new forum where independent and amateur film-makers can
show off their latest works.
What makes the club so cool is that there are no restrictions
on the length or genre or substance of the pieces. There
is also no criticism, and no pre-screening of the work.
The atmosphere is completely chill and void of attitude.
It's about as friendly and low key as it could possibly
be.
The club is looking for anything on film. Shorts, animation,
experimentals, four hours of static, what-have-you, it's
all good. With no restrictions, or screening criteria, the
club hopes that anyone with a finished product will feel
comfortable submitting their films.
"I really just wanted to create an open and on-going
venue where all the local artists could screen their work,"
Lee told me in a recent interview. And the result is that
any one whose got a fascination with film, of any variety,
will find something cool to watch at The Screeners Club.
Two meetings old at this writing, the club has shown documentaries,
narratives, experimental works and even a demonstration
of the latest in underwater hi-definition cameras.
In attendence this past Thursday, I saw a wide variety
of films. While I'm not sure what I was supposed to glean
out of watching two silo's being demolished, I must admit
it sure looked cool. A short black and white piece titled
I Can Make Things Happen by Steven Eastwood showed
some real promise and the experimental American Livin'
was disturbingly twisted. I'm still cursed with the image
of a two-hundred-pound baby eating plate after plate of
spaghetti in a bodega that looks curiously like where I
eat lunch.
It was a fairly small, but very dedicated crowd. Most of
the people had either submitted a video of their own or
were groupies of those who had. Despite this, the energy
was high. Over the course of the evening a few stragglers
wandered in and by the end of the night we saw a crowd of
about twenty. Not too shabby considering there was almost
no press about the event.
The next two installments of the club fall on the 9th and
23rd of May. Submissions must be on VHS and are welcome
up to the night of the screening, but can also be mailed
in advance to the following address:
The Screeners Club
c/o Steve Lee
P.O. Box 1174
Peter Stuyvesant P.O.
New York, NY 10009-1174
They have already received a good number of submissions
for the next session, so get them in fast kids! In addition
to films, The Screeners Club is dying for volunteers to
help out in any way. Steve is currently working the submissions,
the equipment, the website and the press releases all on
his own. Anyone interested in helping out can contact the
club at info@screenersclub.com.
There is tons more information on the club at the website,
www.screenersclub.com,
where you can also view many of the movies shown at past
meetings.
It's still finding its baby legs, but The Screeners Club
is showing a huge amount of promise. With an absence of
attitude and a real love of film Steve Lee could very easily
turn The Screeners Club into a Williamsburg institution.
-B.C. Edwards
Info:
The Screener's Club
Every 2nd and 4th Thursday
8pm - 10pm
At Level X
107 N. 6th St. Williamsburg
between Berry and Wythe Ave. (next to Sweetwater Tavern)
 
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