Brent Joseph

After selling out her first show in LA, artist Reine Paradis, embarks on a surreal road trip across the U.S. to complete her next body of work. It’s an all out adventure, an intimate story, and a bold look at what it takes to make art today.

Lebanese author, Raif Shwayri, travels to Louisiana to trace the life of his grandfather who once worked as a peddler serving the Cajuns on Bayou Lafourche. Alfred “Sweet Papa” Nicola spent nearly two decades, in the early 20th century, selling his wares to the French-speaking melting pot that was developing on the edge of civilization. His years of traveling to these isolated villages would eventually, and surprisingly, lead to substantial aid for tens of thousands of disabled and impoverished children in Lebanon. This film celebrates the rarely told story of early Arab-American immigrants and includes never-before-seen 16mm footage of South Louisiana and Beirut from the 1950s. It also includes rare photos of early Cajun life as well as an original Arabic score and a cover of a Cajun classic using Arabic instruments.

Lebanese author, Raif Shwayri, travels to Louisiana to trace the life of his grandfather who once worked as a peddler serving the Cajuns on Bayou Lafourche. Alfred “Sweet Papa” Nicola spent nearly two decades, in the early 20th century, selling his wares to the French-speaking melting pot that was developing on the edge of civilization. His years of traveling to these isolated villages would eventually, and surprisingly, lead to substantial aid for tens of thousands of disabled and impoverished children in Lebanon. This film celebrates the rarely told story of early Arab-American immigrants and includes never-before-seen 16mm footage of South Louisiana and Beirut from the 1950s. It also includes rare photos of early Cajun life as well as an original Arabic score and a cover of a Cajun classic using Arabic instruments.

A nameless scavenger finds a body in the swamp. Moss is set on fire. The horror of being alive leads to a loving embrace. We might be seeing the beginning of a new life or perhaps a nightmare that endlessly repeats itself. Starring Paul Soileau (aka Christeene, Rebecca Havemeyer) & Llywyn Máire. This dark fairy tale was filmed in glorious 16mm, in the late 1990s, and then remastered, with an original score by Curtis Heath, in 2019.

A nameless scavenger finds a body in the swamp. Moss is set on fire. The horror of being alive leads to a loving embrace. We might be seeing the beginning of a new life or perhaps a nightmare that endlessly repeats itself. Starring Paul Soileau (aka Christeene, Rebecca Havemeyer) & Llywyn Máire. This dark fairy tale was filmed in glorious 16mm, in the late 1990s, and then remastered, with an original score by Curtis Heath, in 2019.

In a distant galaxy, traveling carnivals feature famous mystics. The most popular of all is The Great Bazandini. Villagers clamor to see his act, but one person knows it’s a sham...his daughter, Mirza. She desperately wants to escape this world of swindlers, but standing in her way is the carnival’s ringleader, notorious conman, Dr. Leopold Rundy. MIRZA THE MIRACULOUS is a short lo-fi sci-fi experimental B-movie adventure incorporating dubbed gibberish voices, abstract art, remnants of Mardi Gras costumes, toy props, dustbuster spaceships, on-screen text and analog electronic music. It’s absurd, kaleidoscopic and homemade. The movie was originally shot on an abandoned Western movie set on the Texas-Mexican border in 1999, but was abandoned due to technical difficulties. 15 years later, the project was revived by a successful Kickstarter fund-raising campaign. The original footage was reimagined and re-edited with new technology to create a one-of-a-kind film.

In a distant galaxy, traveling carnivals feature famous mystics. The most popular of all is The Great Bazandini. Villagers clamor to see his act, but one person knows it’s a sham...his daughter, Mirza. She desperately wants to escape this world of swindlers, but standing in her way is the carnival’s ringleader, notorious conman, Dr. Leopold Rundy. MIRZA THE MIRACULOUS is a short lo-fi sci-fi experimental B-movie adventure incorporating dubbed gibberish voices, abstract art, remnants of Mardi Gras costumes, toy props, dustbuster spaceships, on-screen text and analog electronic music. It’s absurd, kaleidoscopic and homemade. The movie was originally shot on an abandoned Western movie set on the Texas-Mexican border in 1999, but was abandoned due to technical difficulties. 15 years later, the project was revived by a successful Kickstarter fund-raising campaign. The original footage was reimagined and re-edited with new technology to create a one-of-a-kind film.

While the young scientist, Julius, steadfastly researches the asexual reproduction of worms, his natural curiosity leads him to discover some inconvenient truths about those around him. He witnesses his mother's infidelity and suspects his grandfather for the same, all while he believes he is losing his best friend Shiley to a rival named Chase. These disappointments are forefront while he also wrestles with his father's mysterious departure years ago. Julius keeps a diligent eye, but unfortunately, all of his heartbreakingly acute observation seems to prove that no solution will restore the people he cares about to their appropriate roles. How can Julius hold together a family that seems as though none of its parts can stay intact? How can he build his own romantic relationships under the shadow of rumors about his father's homosexuality?

1차 세계 대전 말 뉴올리언즈. 80세의 외모를 가진 아기 벤자민 버튼이 태어난다. 사랑하는 아내가 벤자민을 낳다 세상을 떠난 것에 대한 분노와 아이의 평범하지 않은 외모에 경악한 벤자민의 아버지는 분노를 참지 못하고 그를 놀란 하우스 양로원 현관 앞에 버린다. 놀란 하우스에서 일하는 퀴니에게 발견된 벤자민. 퀴니를 엄마로, 그곳의 할아버지, 할머니들을 친구로 살아가는 벤자민은 해가 갈수록 젊어지는 자신을 발견한다. 12살이 되어 60대 외형을 가지게 된 벤자민은 어느 날, 할머니를 찾아온 6살의 어린 데이지를 만난다. 그리고 데이지의 푸른 눈동자를 영원히 잊을 수 없게 된다.

Filmed in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Holdout is a portrait of a New Orleanian set against the helicopters and gunshots of a vacant Crescent City. Jimmy is a Mid-City resident who refused to evacuate for the storm. Despite being surrounded by floodwaters for two weeks, he insisted on staying home to take care of his eighteen pets. Shot on the one-year anniversary of the passing of his life long boyfriend, Harry, the film offers a glimpse into the ties that keep New Orleanians together. With engaging candor, Jimmy discusses his survival and shares a view of death that has characterized the city for centuries.

72-year-old Louis Harding returns to gut and rebuild the community center he opened one month before Hurricane Katrina struck. He discusses the importance of history, heroes and self-esteem for African-Americans in New Orleans and explains why re-opening his center after the storm is more important than ever before.

거꾸로 쓰면 Krap Nek이 되는 스케이트보드장의 이름을 딴 켄 파크의 자살 이후, 함께 스케이트보드를 타던 그의 친구들과 그 친구들의 가족 간에 숨겨져 있던 이야기들이 하나 둘 전개되기 시작한다. 조부모님과 함께 살고 있는 테이트는 언제나 주변사람들에게 가시를 세우고 알 수 없는 분노로 세상에 불만을 토로한다. 조용하고 내성적인 성격의 클로드는 폭력적인 아버지에게 휘둘리며 괴로운 인생을 살고 있다. 지루할 정도로 평범해보이는 숀은 여자친구인 한나의 엄마 론다와 지속적인 성관계를 맺고 있다. 그리고 신심이 두터운 홀아버지와 살고 있는 피치스는 자라면서 점점 엄마를 닮아가는 자신의 외모 때문에 자신에게 집착하는 아버지의 속박으로부터 벗어나고 싶은 마음이 간절하다.

마을에서 빈둥거리며 시간을 보내는 마티와 그의 친구들은 폭력적인 성향의 친구 바비에게 시달린다. 마티는 바비에게 쉴새없이 맞고, 그의 여자친구인 리사와 다른 친구 앨리는 바비에게 성폭행을 당하게 된다. 더이상 바비의 행동을 두고 보기 힘들어진 친구들은 그를 죽이기로 결심하는데...