FREE but RSVP Required
Watch the Preview
RSVP for Saturday, January 11, 2020
The season launches January 11, 2020 with a kick-off party and the first screening, featuring Tribeca Film Festival award-winning documentary Bathtubs Over Broadway. The party, open to all, will begin at 6:00pm for our kick-off party at Egger's Ice Cream Parlor. Enjoy a night of FREE film, food, and fun! You'll be delighted by the tasty appetizers from our restaurant partners before crafting your own sundae made with delicious homemade Egger's ice cream! Then join us for the short walk to Search Party Studio for the film with Downtown Trivia hosted by the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce and a special song performed by film subject/comedy writer Steve Young. Bathtubs Over Broadway screens at 8pm. At a post-screening Q&A moderated by local filmmaker Neil Mitchell, Young will also be selling and signing copies of his book, Everything's Coming Up Profits.
RSVP for Sunday, January 12, 2020
Door @ 5:30pm, Film @ 6pm at Search Party Studio
Post-screening Q&A with film subject Steve Young moderated by local filmmaker Neil Mitchell
After an incredible inaugural year screening indie and classic films and hosting special events from the St. George Theatre to Tappen Park, CINEMA CONNEX, your favorite free film series, returns! Join us on January 11 & 12 for our first Downtown Dinner & A Movie, Tribeca award-winning BATHTUBS OVER BROADWAY! Party with us pre-screening on the 11th at our kick-off party! A big thank you to our community partners for this film: S.I. Chamber of Commerce & MakerPark Radio. Before or after the film, dine out downtown at our Bay Street Corridor Restaurant Partners. 20% off with the Cinema Connex coupon, emailed to all RSVP’s! Bay House Bistro, Chang Noi Thai, Craft House, Everything Goes Book Cafe, Lakruwana, and Seppe Pizza Bar.
ABOUT THE FILM:
When he started as a comedy writer for the LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN, Steve Young had few interests outside of his day job. But while gathering material for a segment on the show, Steve stumbled onto a few vintage record albums that would change his life forever.
Bizarre cast recordings – marked “internal use only” – revealed full-throated Broadway-style musical shows about some of the most recognizable corporations in America: General Electric, McDonald’s, Ford, DuPont, Xerox. Steve didn’t know much about musical theater, but these recordings delighted him in a way that nothing ever had.
Director Dava Whisenant’s acclaimed BATHTUBS OVER BROADWAY follows Steve Young on his quest to find all he can about this hidden world. While tracking down rare albums, unseen footage, composers and performers, Steve forms unlikely friendships and discovers that this discarded musical genre starring tractors and bathtubs was bigger than Broadway. With David Letterman, Chita Rivera, Martin Short, Jello Biafra, Don Bolles, Florence Henderson, Susan Stroman, and more.
WINNER: BEST DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY, Writers Guild Awards, 2019
WINNER: DAVA WHISENANT, BEST NEW DOCUMENTARY DIRECTOR, Tribeca Film Festival 2018
Staten Island Arts’ Cinema Connex Film Series was created to provide local residents with free access to contemporary independent film and to offer unique “insider access” experiences that enrich the understanding and appreciation of the films screened. Cinema Connex programming is curated by Staten Island Arts staff and a community-based advisory council with the goal of bringing together members of different neighborhoods, backgrounds, and interests to celebrate both the craft of filmmaking and the culinary gems of the Bay Street Corridor—restaurant partners highlighted during Downtown Dinner & A Movie weekends. Additional Cinema Connex programming includes special events such as networking nights, outdoor festivals, and Sensory Friendly Screenings at the St. George branch of the New York Public Library for individuals on the autism spectrum. All programming is open to the public and free of charge. As the date for each screening or event approaches, visit the Staten Island Arts homepage to RSVP.