Monthly archives:October 2015

  • The Marvels of Adolescence, Bees and the Italian Countryside

  • 8 years ago
  • As its title implies, Alice Rohrwacher’s captivating new film The Wonders is infused with a sense of discovery and marvel. Set in the Tuscan countryside, this atmospheric, closely observed narrative centers around the hardscrabble life of a bee-keeping family, as experienced mainly through oldest daughter Gelsomina (Maria Alexandra Lungu). On the brink of adolescence, the girl is torn between the insular existence of her hard-headed father and the pull of the outside world. The latter appears in the form of a seductive reality show called Countryside Wonders and the arrival of a silent, troubled boy who is taken in by the family. While the film isn’t autobiographical, Rohrwacher grew up in this part of Italy, worked in honey production, and is of Italian-German descent, like her onscreen family. Her familiarity with this milieu is obvious, especially in realistic scenes of bee handling – which include alarmingly dense swarms around real hives -- and honey-making. The apiary details of The Wonders are fascinating enough, but then there’s the roughly beautiful Tuscan countryside and the family itself: Idealistic, bad-tempered Wolfgang (Sam Louwyck) and exasperated, affectionate Angelica (Alba Rohrwacher, Alice’s sister) are the parents; sensitive, determined Gelsomina, comical but vulnerable Marinella (Agnese Graziani), and two uninhibited little girls who frolic half-naked like gleeful colts, are the kids. There’s also their longtime lodger Coco (Sabine Timoteo), a scra[...]

  • AFP Hosts- Fashion Week Brooklyn After Party

  • 8 years ago
  • Hosted by nonprofit Art for Progress and Brooklyn Fashion Week, the event will take place at Habana Outpost during Brooklyn Fashion Week on Friday, October 23rd from 7-11pm. The event will serve as a fundraiser for Denim Day, which serves to raise awareness of campus sexual assault worldwide. The $10 cover charge includes live DJ’s, a free margarita and a fashion show. We are asking all participants to wear denim jeans during the event to represent the Denim Day cause. AFP's DJ Gatto and Brett from Boundless will be dropping the beats!

  • Your Weekend at CMJ

  • 9 years ago
  • CMJ 2015 is in full swing. The festival takes its name from the College Media Journal, which was started by Robert Haber in 1978. Haber’s publication was aimed at college radio programmers and their audiences, a crowd which is still well represented at each year’s festival. This year the CMJ speaker schedule includes talks and workshops on the radio resumes, interviews and the history of student-run radio as well as the CMJ College Radio Awards. As much as the five day, non-stop marathon still honors its history in college radio, it also delves into the live scene. Well over a thousand bands with varying levels of exposure play venues all over New York. From the basement-like space of Cake Shop to the expansive Brooklyn Bowl, artists gather to play their best and celebrate music. This year’s line-up includes bands of every genre and size. Seeing all of them is infeasible, but here are about dozen acts that you can’t miss. - - - - - - - - - - T H U R S D A Y - - - - - - - - - - Glass Animals Genre: Indie Rock Set Time: Thu, October 15, 8:00 PM @ Terminal 5 Listen To: "Black Mambo" Girls with Brown Hair Genre: Indie Rock/Comedy Set Time: Thu, October 15, 8:06 PM > 8:16 PM @ The Unicorn Listen To: "Dad Rap" Panda Bear Genre: Experimental Set time: Thu, October 15, 9:00 PM @ Bowery Ballroom Listen To: “Boys Latin” off of Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper The Maccabees Genre: Indie Rock Set Time: Thu, October 15, 11:00 PM > 11:45 PM @ Me[...]

  • Wearable Art: LaQuan Smith, Titan of Edgy Fashion

  • 9 years ago
  • Womenswear designer LaQuan Smith is a juggernaut in the fashion world. He's making a name for himself, displaying a daring looks that reflect a "refined approach to classic tailoring" He can even make tweed look cool! "I found these awesome, incredible, sick tweeds from Italy and I wanted to experiment with them," he tells Fashionista. Find out what three most important things you need to know about LaQuan Smith right now. His Fabulous Designs Are Inspired By Bold Women (And Powerhouse Celebs) From Kim Kardashian wearing a yellow ochre sweater dress, or Rihanna wearing a long, mesh frock, LaQuan Smith's designs are in your daily news feed whether you like it or not. "I think that’s the world we live in today — everything is truly driven by celebrities, social media, the 'popular' girls of the world, and the influence they have on the world, especially women and young girls," Smith tells Refinery 29. "And, despite what anyone might think about these celebrities, or about the Kardashians, they are truly influential in our society right now." He continues: "Whatever they do and wear, their fan base is genuinely interested." Smith adds "and I think that, at least for the LaQuan Smith brand and clientele, that they buy things from us because it feels authentic to them — it doesn’t feel forced, or like I’m trying to fit in. They buy it because they genuinely like it."   He Battled Cancer At 17, All While Embarking On A Fashion Career The Queens-n[...]

  • A Woman Like Her: Alex Sichel's Final Film

  • 9 years ago
  • There are many different ways that people diagnosed with a terminal illness cope with the devastating situation. For filmmaker Alex Sichel, best known for 1997's All Over Me, the obvious response was to create a film about it. A Woman Like Me, directed by Sichel and Elizabeth Giamatti, is a hybrid documentary that includes scenes of Alex’s illness and exploration of various treatments, along with a fictional narrative that parallels her own story. This latter film-within-a-film stars a luminous Lili Taylor as a New York-based filmmaker named Anna who is also dealing with breast cancer, but whose upbeat attitude and positive outcome contrasts with Alex’s experience. A compelling composite,  A Woman Like Me is an honest, moving portrayal of a vibrant personality managing a terrible health crisis with creativity, humor and grit. Early in the film Alex tells us that making a movie “is my way of understanding what’s going on.” While she sometimes wonders if the stress of filmmaking is the best way to use her time (her mother is strongly against it), it’s clear that she has to do this. The goal for Alex, who identifies as Buddhist, is to face death without fear; making A Woman Like Me is part of her process to achieve that, while also holding on to some hope. A Woman Like Me, unlike other “meta” films with complicated storylines, is fairly simple and chronological: We see Alex working on character development with the cast of her fictional movie in between visits to tradi[...]

  • Wearable Art: 3 Reasons Why Balmain Is Killing It At Paris Fashion Week

  • 9 years ago
  • On October 1, Olivier Rousteing's exotically ritzy looks for Balmain were on full display as the fashion house presented clothes for Spring 2016 Paris Fashion Week. Set at Paris’s Hotel Intercontinental, the star-studded event drew notables like Diplo, Jada Pinkett Smith, and of course members of the Kardashian clan. And while we shouldn't care about whether or not Kris Jenner and her brood were in attendance, it's important to pay attention to the 29-year-old designer. Since taking over Christophe Decarnin's creative director position at Balmain in 2011, Rousteing has been killing it in the fashion world. Let's look at three reasons why Balmain is a huge force that is changing fashion history forever. Reason #1: Camel Olivier Rousteing displayed a wide array of colors, however it was "camel" that proved to be the biggest standout. Supermodel Caroline Ribeiro kicked off the October 1 showcase, wearing a caramel-colored suede jacket and matching cigarette pants. Reason # 2: Cut-Outs, Lattice, Ruffles and Sheers The overall style of the season's collection featured cinched waists, oversized belts, and "statement-making" necklaces. Rousteing has fashioned designs that effectively meld strong looks with soft ones. This is evident in the "body-baring" lattice skirts and tops, as well as romantic ruffles. Reason #3: High-Waisted Briefs Yas! Any reason to wear large, comfortable underclothes is perfectly fine with me. The daring style helps to transform[...]

  • AFP Live Review: The Front Bottoms @ Rough Trade

  • 9 years ago
  • To celebrate the release of their first release on Fueled by Ramen Records, The Front Bottoms played Brooklyn’s Rough Trade. Entry to the show was granted with purchase of the album, Back On Top, and came with a signing after the show. The formula is one Rough Trade is a) known for and b) built for. The combined record store/concert space has the stage in the back and the floor space within the shop itself to accommodate both events. Before the show fans, most of whom were hugging a recently purchased vinyl of Back On Top, lined up along the wall of the store, chattering excitedly about the record. It was a fairly young crowd, some members bragging about how they had cut class to line up early. The guy handing out 21+ wristbands didn’t have much to do. Despite the age difference, one thing was clear. Everyone was there for the band. Not that only die hards are capable of showing up to an early show on a weekday evening. Everyone is and was welcome. It wasn’t the show that collected passersby or casual listeners. Partially because Rough Trade is tucked somewhat away from the rest of Williamsburg and partially because the nature of the show attracted the more “serious” fans. The majority of the crowd accumulating in Rough Trade really, really liked the band. That’s why they showed to the concert/signing, not just the band’s gig later in the month at Irving Plaza. In fact, many talked about going to both shows. Some even buzzed about seeing the band earlier in the summ[...]