APRIL 11 - APRIL 17, 2013 29 culture briefs COMPILED BY MELISA STUMPF SPRING BEAUTY How about free tours from April 3 to the 24 at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden that will focus on the Japanese plant collections and specialty gardens— including cherry trees, the C.V. Starr Bonsai Museum, and the Tree Peony Collection? The tours will kick off at 1 p.m. on Wednesdays and at 11 a.m. on Saturdays; while you’re at the garden, check out handpicked items, inspired by the Garden’s blossoms and Japanese aesthetics, in BBG’s Garden Shop. For more information about Hanami, Sakura Matsuri, and Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s cherry blossoms, please visit bbg.org/discover/ cherries. GALA AT THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM The Brooklyn Museum will celebrate Brooklyn’s creative community on Wednesday, April 24, with its annual fundraising gala—to commence at 6:30 p.m. Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres will be served before a sit-down dinner. “The Brooklyn Artists Ball” will be followed by an after-party at 9 p.m. that includes dessert, dancing and a special installation created by artist Luis Gispert and music by DJs Atlanta De Cadenet Taylor and Andrew Andrew. Tickets to the ball start at $1,000, and tables of eight start at $10,000. Tickets to the After-Party are also available. To purchase tickets, visit http://ball.brooklynmuseum. org/index.html or contact Inga Glodowski at 718-501-6436 or inga. glodowski@brooklynmuseum.org. SEASON WRAP PARTY Start planning for May. Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts will host a party on May 23—to take place on the stage of the magnificent Walt Whitman Theatre on the Brooklyn College campus—that will include hors d’oeuvres and a complimentary martini bar provided by The Brownstone; also, there will be fabulous door prizes including Broadway theater tickets, and a special performance by the flamenco trio Flamenco: inside/out. “Brooklyn continues to be viewed more and more as an arts destination,” says Yvonne Riley-Tepie, event co-chair and vice president, U.S. Field Marketing for TD Bank. Tickets are $100 and may be purchased at www. BrooklynCenterOnline.com/specialevents. asp or by calling 718-951- 4600 x 3326. “The Warrior and the Savior” Movie directed by Ridgeite nominated for eight awards at South of France film festival BY MELISA STUMPF mstumpf@homereporter.com Despite the busyness, Bay Ridge still has that “small-neighborhood type of feel,” exclaimed the director of a 2012 film called “The Warrior and the Savior,” which was 90 percent shot in the neighborhood, and which has garnered a host of nominations at the Saint Tropez International Film Festival. Among the eight categories for which the movie was nominated are Best Film and Best Feature Film, and just maybe the setting had something to do with it. Director Salvatore Sorrentino is proud to say that he lived in Bay Ridge until he was 19 when he moved to Staten Island. “I wanted to show a different part of New York to everyone,” Sorrentino noted, saying he encourages other filmmakers to use the “very scenic” Bay Ridge as a filming destination, and addressing the fact that “not everything is over the Brooklyn Bridge (in Manhattan).” Along with his film buddy, Mark Spataro, who wrote the story and the the script, the ambitious partners created the film—based on a tale about two South African children who become orphans because of the AIDS and HIV epidemic—from scratch. The drama is aimed at making Americans aware of the ongoing situation in South Africa. “They need help; people are trying, but they need more,” he explained, saying that the duo is hoping to raise as much consciousness as possible and get people to donate to HIV charities. Bay Ridge, the filmmaker said, was very welcoming to the crew. They acquired permits to shoot outside, and locations such as the Around the Clock Deli became part of the film. Third Avenue between Bay Ridge Parkway and 74th Street and Shore Road Park can also be spotted in the movie. The shoot took 33 days in total. “If you come from there, you feel the hominess of it,” the director said. “But if you don’t come from there, and you were far into the streets, it could be very intimidating. Everyone is set into their own routine; there are a lot of cars. “I take myself out of my shoes and wow, how fast everyone moves!” Sorrentino said, adding that the experience was as exciting as it was interesting. The two kids cast as protagonists, Thamela Mpumlawana, 10, and Shecinah Mpumlawana, six, flew in from Canada, so to them Bay Ridge was completely new. Overall, the message is “No matter how hard things, if you keep pushing and moving forward, you will make it out of the darkness you’re in,” said Sorrentino. These were kids who were alone, living on the streets of New York City, he added, and if they overcame the hardships, then anyone can do the same. Going through a divorce himself, he said the movie is aimed at showing that when you think you have it bad, “look at someone else, they have it worse.” Watch the trailer by visiting http://vimeo.com/44326351. Sorrentino and Spataro are working on a new film called “House on Shady Lane,” a horror movie planned to be filmed in the Brooklyn and Staten Island areas, so get ready for another of their creations! Mark Spataro and Salvatore Sorrentino. The protagonists, played by Thamela and Shecinah Mpumlawana, in Bay On the movie set. Ridge.
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