This article was submitted by Marc Mauceri who has been a CRCA member since 1999. If you would like to submit an article to CRCA.net please reach out to the Club's Communications Director.
The Bicycle Film Festival takes place this week in Brooklyn and Manhattan. The festival was founded in 2001 by Brendt Barbur as a platform to celebrate the bicycle through music, art and, of course, film. The BFF has held events in 90 cities worldwide to an accumulated audience of more than one million people. This year's festival takes place from June 19-24, and there are three programs that will hold a special appeal to those of us who race on the road:
Thursday June 21 and Friday June 22 at 8pm at the Park Church Co-op (129 Russell Street in Greenpoint, Brooklyn): STARS AND WATERCARRIERS
Iconic filmmaker Jørgen Leth has directed 40 films over his celebrated career. Three of these are some of the most important cycling films ever made, and BFF have screened two of them: Impossible Hour and A SundayIn Hell with a live score by Blonde Redhead's Simone Pace and Amedeo Pace. BFF will complete the trilogy of films with a screening of Stars And Watercarriers with a live score by the Pace Brothers.
Stars and Watercarriers follows riders through the 1973 Giro d'Italia. Observe the world's greatest cyclists including Eddy Merckx, Ole Ritter and Felice Gimondi at the peak of their careers as they tackle mountainous terrain and time trials. The film's moving footage offers insight into a three-week cycling race and highlights the journeys of different riders.
Saturday June 23 at 4 pm at Anthology Film Archives (32 2nd Ave. in the East Village): THURSDAY FIELDS followed by MOSER: DARE TO WIN
THURSDAY FIELDS
Floyd Bennett Field, in Brooklyn, was New York City's original airport. These days, the crumbling, windswept tarmac is a National Park and, among other things, the site of a Thursday night bicycle racing series. ThursdayFields is a portrait of this otherworldly landscape, and the people who race there. Directed by Harry Zernike.
MOSER: DARE TO WIN
Francesco Moser is still the Italian cyclist with the greatest number of victories; a legend on two wheels, born and raised in Trentino but renowned all over the world. The team making the documentary dedicated to his amazing career followed his progress over the course of a year, on his familiar terrain. In doing so they recount not only the champion himself, but also create a unique portrait of the man, his family and the community of Palù di Giovo, a small town in the province of Trento, where he was born and where he has always returned; an unusual portrait of the great champion. An exceptional human adventure that documents the cycling legend's deep bond with his homeland and retraces his feats, in the company of Merckx, Saronni and Hinault. Directed by Nello Correale.
Saturday June 23 at 2 pm at Anthology Film Archives (32 2nd Ave. in the East Village): AFGHAN CYCLES
A new generation of young Afghan female cyclists uses the bicycle to tell a story of women's rights, human rights, and the struggles faced by Afghan women. These women ride despite cultural barriers, despite infrastructure, and despite death threats to embrace the power and freedom that comes with the cycling. Directed by Sarah Menzies, Afghan Cycles follows members of the National Cycling Team in Kabul. For all of them, the bicycle is a symbol of freedom. But sometimes, the danger and obstacles can prove too much, as we learn when one of the main characters flees to France to secure a better future for herself and her family.
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TICKETS AND MORE INFO: http://www.bicyclefilmfestival.com/
