Brett Story, 2018, 94 min.
A complex portrait of a city and its inhabitants, The Hottest August gives us a window into the collective consciousness of the present. The film’s point of departure is one city over one month: New York City, including its outer boroughs, during August 2017. It’s a month heavy with the tension of a new President, growing anxiety over everything from rising rents to marching white nationalists, and unrelenting news of either wildfires or hurricanes on every coast. The film pivots on the question of futurity: what does the future look like from where we are standing? And what if we are not all standing in the same place? The Hottest August offers a mirror onto a society on the verge of catastrophe, registering the anxieties, distractions, and survival strategies that preoccupy ordinary lives.
Zoom Q&A with filmmakers Gordon Quinn, Brett Story & Mark Street focused on their films in the series Le Joli Maysles Saturday, May 23rd at 4pm est.
This film is streaming as part of the month long series Le Joli Maysles, celebrating the lovely month of May with repertory and new release documentaries in conversation with the seminal 1963 film Le Joli Mai by Chris Marker. These films approach Marker’s man-on-the-street documentary technique sometimes as a jumping off point for their own process and purposes, and sometimes pushing against the implications of this process.
Due to the nature of this screening we are unable to offer sliding scale ticketing prices. A portion of all ticket sales from The Hottest August will go to directly supporting Maysles Cinema and our documentary education programs for young people in Harlem during these uncertain times. We continue to be incredibly grateful for our engaged and resilient community and their support. If you would like to make an additional donation to Maysles Documentary Center you can follow THIS LINK.
