Rural Route Film Festival

Organized by Alan Webber, Rural Route Film Festival

This is the tenth annual edition of the Rural Route Film Festival, which showcases international films that take the road less traveled, transporting viewers to places far outside of the city. One of the themes of this year’s festival is a focus on the ancient pagan cultures of Eastern Europe. Highlights include a 50th anniversary screening of Sergei Paradjanov’s Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, American indie star Josephine Decker in person with Butter on the Latch, the North American premiere of Ukrainian director Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk’s documentary Krasna Malanka, and Aleksei Fedorchenko’s Celestial Wives of the Meadow Mari. The lineup also includes the world premiere of Daniel Peddle’s Sunset Edge. Film screenings will be accompanied by live world/folk music, and food from Bear Restaurant with chef Natasha Pogrebinsky in person. A closing night program takes place at the Brooklyn Grange rooftop farm on Northern Boulevard, just a few blocks from the Museum.

Live music schedule:

Saturday, August 9, at 4:00 and 6:45 p.m.: the Brooklyn-based Iona Scottish Session Players traditional/psychedelic Scottish fusion featuring fiddle, guitar, and boarder pipes (small bagpipes)

Sunday, August 10, at 4:15 p.m.: the experimental folk harmonies of Hydra, a three-woman group (including Sarah Small, lead actress from Butter on the Latch) who sing songs in Alabanian, Macedonian, Spanish, English, and “HydraGibberish.” 

Tickets for each program are $10 public and free for Museum members. A $27 Rural Route Festival Pass is available for all programs taking place at the Museum. To guarantee access to individual screenings, Festival Pass holders may reserve tickets in advance by calling 718 777 6800 or emailing [email protected].