EXPLORE THE PARTY
Columbus Parade celebrates Italian-American culture
Bush-flick!
By Kevin Duggan These are the best of the fest!
This year’s 12th Annual
Bushwick Film Festival,
which started on Oct. 2 and runs
through Oct. 6, will screen 95 short
films, documentaries, and features
during its run. It will also feature
several panels, a karaoke session,
a screenplay reading, and a music
event — but we are here for the
movies! So we have picked out four
films that you should not miss.
Coincidentally, all these flicks
take place at the bar and movie
theater Syndicated (40 Bogart St.
at Thames Street in Williamsburg,
www.syndicatedbk.com). Each
costs $12.
“Bushwick Bill —
Geto Boy”
This documentary follows
gangsta rapper Bushwick Bill — a
COURIER L 42 IFE, OCT. 4-10, 2019
little person from Jamaica who
never actually lived in Bushwick,
but adopted the neighborhood
as his alter-ego. As one of the
Geto Boys, he became one of the
Godfathers of Southern Rap, but
he passed away last year, after
shooting on this doc wrapped.
Oct. 4 at 6:05 pm.
“Vanilla”
A freewheeling comedian
and an uptight entrepreneur find
themselves on a three-day road trip
from New York to New Orleans to
sell an old van. They strike up a
romance along the way, but then
discover each other’s dark secrets.
Oct. 4 at 8:20 pm. $12.
“Feral”
In this feature, a homeless
woman survives on her own terms
in the tunnels beneath New York
City and faces the life-threatening
challenge of a blizzard.
Oct. 5 at 4:15 pm.
“The Ugly Model”
This documentary examines
beauty standards by looking at a
smokin’ hot male model who is
convinced he is ugly because of his
Korean heritage — despite all the
evidence to the contraary.
Oct. 6 at 2 pm.
IBy Kevin Duggan t’s la dolce vita — in
Bensonhurst!
A parade celebrating Italian-
American culture will return to
Bensonhurst on Oct 12 for the
38th time — and this year it will
add its first-ever block party to the
festivities. The annual Brooklyn
Columbus Parade will turn a
stretch of 18th Avenue into a red,
white, and green festa to honor
the 15th-century Italian explorer
while highlighting positive
Italian-American heritage since
then, according to the head of the
organization behind the parade.
“Originally the idea was very
much to fight the image that Italian-
Americans were at best workers
in the pizza parlors or at worst
joining gangs,” said Jack Spatola,
president of the Federation of
Italian-American Organizations of
Brooklyn. “Rather than accentuate
the pizzaiolo — with all respect
to the pizzaiolo, everybody loves
pizza — we should also highlight
educators, lawyers, and public
servants.”
The parade will start at
61st Street and proceed down
18th Avenue, with community
leaders and Italian-themed floats
marching for 26 blocks until they
reach Benson Avenue. There the
marchers can relax at a block party,
which will feature stands from
local businesses, music, and food,
including cannolis made on-site.
The Italian-American
community in the southern
Brooklyn neighborhood has
been on decline for at least half
a century, with Asian-American
and Hispanic neighbors moving in,
but Spatola said that is part of the
ever-changing nature of Brooklyn.
The Columbus Day Parade offer a
chance for new and old residents to
come together, he added.
“It’s nothing new, it just goes up
and down — the Italian-American
community has always been in the
mix. There was a time when that
was represented by a higher number
but now it’s less,” said Spatola,
a retired principal who was born
and raised in the neighborhood.
“We want families of all different
backgrounds to join in.”
The parade happens during
Italian-American Heritage and
Culture Month and two days
before the state-recognized
Columbus Day. The day has
drawn controversy in recent times,
with some states recognizing
Indigenous Peoples Day to pay
homage to the Native Americans
who were killed by European
colonists after the explorer landed
on the shores of the New World.
Spatola said that while
Columbus is a contested figure,
he is still pivotal for Italian-
Americans.
“We have to take look at
Christopher Columbus as a
symbol that represents the Italian-
American community of yesterday
and today,” he said. “The point
of the matter is to take history in
context.”
“The 38th Annual Brooklyn
Columbus Parade” 18th Avenue
beween 61st Street and Benson
Avenue in Bensonhurst, (718) 259–
2828, www.fiaobrooklyn.org. Oct.
12 at 1 pm. Free.
Underground movie: Annapurna Sriram
portrays a homeless woman living in
New York City’s tunnels in “Feral,”
screening at the Bushwick Film Festival.
Andrew Wonder
The best reads
— handpicked by
some of the best
Bklyn bookstores
Greenlight
Bookstore’s pick:
“Dominicana,” by
Angie Cruz
This book, set in the
mid-1960s, follows the
immigration story of 15-yearold
woman coming from
the Dominican Republic to
Washington Heights to enter
into a somewhat arranged
marriage to a much older
man. It is set at the cusp
of Washington Heights
becoming predominantly
Dominican, and at a cultural crossroads, when
both the Dominican Republic and New York City were
experiencing massive periods of change. It is an immigrant’s
story, and conveys the strength necessary to be an immigrant
facing the unknown: the bravery, language barriers, the tough
choices one has to make, how difficult it is. And despite how
much strength it takes, this story conveys how demeaningly
people can treat immigrants. Full of pride, love, emotion, sex,
one really shocking pigeon scene, family, strength, and warmth,
I cannot recommend “Dominicana” highly enough.
— Rebecca Fitting, Greenlight Bookstore 686 Fulton St.
between S. Elliott Place and S. Portland Avenue in Fort Greene,
(718) 246–0200, www.greenlightbookstore.com.
Community
Bookstore’s pick:
“Ill Nature,” by Joy
Williams
This classic collection of
essays on environmentalism
by Joy Williams is even more
urgent, more outraged and
outraging, and more bitingly
funny now than when it was
written nearly 20 years ago.
A howl against apathy,
cynicism and cowardice
that manages to include a
piece narrated by Ted Kaczysnki’s
cabin. A transcendentally inspired touch.
— Samuel Partal, Community Bookstore 43 Seventh Ave.
between Carroll Street and Garfield Place in Park Slope, (718)
783–3075, www.commu nityb ookst ore.net.
Word’s picks: “Slay,”
by Brittney Morris
2019 has been a year of strong
debuts and “Slay” continues that
trend. With this young adult
novel, Morris delivers with an
incredible story that ties in
heavy social issues with the
excitement of online gaming.
I loved seeing a Black geek
girl in action, coding and
creating space in a world that
wasn’t necessarily designed
for her. Morris sprinkled
some serious Black Girl
Magic on this one!
— Kim Small, Word 126
Franklin St. at Milton Street in Greenpoint, (718)
383–0096, www.wordbookstores.com.
Italian battalion: The 38th annual Columbus Parade will celebrate Italian-American
culture with floats and a block party along 18th Avenue in Bensonhurst on Oct. 12.
Federation of Italian American Organizations of Brooklyn
/www.syndicatedbk.com)
/www.fiaobrooklyn.org
/www.greenlightbookstore.com
/www.commu
/www.wordbookstores.com
/www.syndicatedbk.com
/www.fiaobrooklyn.org
/www.greenlightbookstore.com
/www.commu
/ore.net
/www.wordbookstores.com
