uncle-howard

Not only does Jim Jarmush have Paterson and Gimme Danger this fall, but he also produced — and is featured in — Uncle Howard, a new documentary from director Aaron Brookner, which explores the life and work of his uncle, a New York filmmaker who died of AIDS in 1989. An intimately personal reflection on his life, Howard Brookner directed Burroughs: The Movie, about the beat generation writer, but it looks like the ambitions of the documentary go beyond just his work.

We said in our review, “How many great filmmakers have been lost as a result of disease and human catastrophe? That seems to be the question on the mind of documentary filmmaker Aaron Brookner in his debut film, Uncle Howard, a deeply personal piece of work that offers both an introduction (or re-introduction?) to the director’s uncle — a once-burgeoning independent filmmaker who died of AIDS in 1989 at just 31 years of age — and a somber meditation on talent lost.”

Also featuring Allen Ginsberg, James Grauerholz, Sara Driver, Brad Gooch, Robert Wilson, Matt Dillon, Madonna, and more, check out the trailer .

Uncle Howard is an intertwining tale of past and present––the story of filmmaker Howard Brookner, whose work captured the late 70s and early 80s cultural revolution, and his nephew’s personal journey 25 years later to discover his uncle’s films and the legacy of a life cut short by the plague of AIDS.

Uncle Howard poster

Uncle Howard opens on November 18.

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