Unquestionably one of the best movies with LGBT content to premiere at this Sundance Film Festival was filmmaker Aaron Brookner’s delightful tribute to his filmmaker Uncle that who he adored and who sadly died of AIDS in 1989 at the tender age of 34.
Howard Brookner packed a lot into his short life and left a small but powerful and impressive portfolio of work when he passed. His thesis at New York Film School led him to making the definitive documentary on William S. Burroughs the seminal ‘Beat Generation’ Poet and novelist which was an enormous critical success. It didn’t just introduce the young filmmaker to other underground cult figures such as Lucien Carr, Allen Ginsberg and John Giorno, but the movie was shot by Tom DiCillo and the sound recordist was Jim Jamusch, who makes an appearance in this documentary. What comes over in Aaron’s profile on his Uncle so loud and clear was how this enigmatic man was determined to leave his mark on the world, and even the diagnosis of the illness that would rob him of his life would not stop him working hard to finish his last movie “The Bloodhounds of Broadway” which starred Matt Dillon and Madonna.
It’s very easy to see why Aaron Brookner wanted to get this all on film, as it’s an excellent record of a remarkable man that made an important contribution to early queer cinema ……. and he was also quite a handsome charmer at the same time.
P.S. Our full review of Uncle Howard will be published soon, and we will also be keeping track of the movie’s journey, so check back here.
Labels: 2016, culture, documentary
