September 2, 2008 - REEL 13, Thirteen/WNET's weekly Saturday night filmfest, shines a spotlight on the city in September with two indie features.
From Flushing hair salons to the downtown arts scene, Saving Face shines a loving light on family, rebellion, and the 7 train. Premiering on REEL 13 Saturday, September 20 at 10:55 pm on Channel Thirteen, the film stars Joan Chen (The Last Emperor) as a traditional Chinese widow who shocks her workaholic surgeon daughter when she shows up on her doorstep - pregnant. To help her mom "save face" and avoid the taboo of an unmarried pregnant woman in the Chinese community, she sets out to help her mom find Mr. Right. But she must also deal with her own problems - accepting her budding relationship with another woman. The film was an official selection for both the Sundance and Toronto Film Festival and was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award.
The life of hip, punk-rock, single moms comes into high relief in Brooklynite Ilya Chaiken's directorial debut film, Margarita Happy Hour, premiering Saturday, September 27 at 12:30 am on Channel Thirteen. Zelda, queen of the downtown arts scene in Brooklyn, is a young mother living with her baby, her writer boyfriend, and a bunch of friends in a loft. Every afternoon, she and her girlfriends and their children get together at the local watering hole (Elora's on Prospect Park West) to celebrate and commiserate about the vicissitudes of single (and not so single) motherhood and worse - the encroaching maturity they've put off for so long.
REEL 13 is Channel Thirteen’s weekly movie showcase for classic, short, and independent films. Every Saturday night beginning at 9 pm viewers can catch a Classic hosted by Neal Gabler, followed by a Short selected by visitors to Reel13.org who vote for their favorite of three shorts every week. The evening ends with an Indie, hosted by Richard Peña, Program Director of the Film Society of Lincoln Center. If you are a filmmaker and would like your short film to be considered for selection, go to Reel13.org to upload your film.
