WHAT IS THE CITY: NYC BUSINESSES
This program gathers together a selection of film and video works that highlight how important New York's businesses are for the life of the city: not only economically or commercially, but as sites that knit together communities, provide spaces to gather, give a sense of purpose to their proprietors, and develop and maintain the cultural and social traditions that give meaning to the lives of the city's residents. The program includes films about the arts of bagel making and cigar rolling, about beloved institutions threatened by development (such as the legendary Times Square sideshow emporium, Hubert's, and the Upper West Side's horse-riding stables), and about eccentric businesses such as the Staten Island bicycle-cum-junk shop run by Barry Braverman's father, which Braverman's film MURITA CYCLES shows to be less a viable commercial endeavor than a means for self-expression. Nick Manning HOT BAGELS (1979, 16 min, video) Rhody Streeter & Tony Ganz HUBERT'S (1972, 6 min, 16mm) Rhody Streeter CLAREMONT STABLES (1972, 9 min, 16mm) Karen L. Kramer THE LAST OF THE NEW YORK CIGAR ROLLERS (1990, 13 min, 16mm-to-DCP) Barry Braverman MURITA CYCLES (1978, 28 min, 16mm-to-DCP)