Maysles Documentary Center is non-profit cinema founded by Albert Maysles to empower young Harlem filmmakers with a film community. It really is a vibrant community.
Maysles News
African and African Diaspora Film
The 31st New York African Film Festival screens more than 90 African and Diaspora films from 30 countries on the theme “Convergence of Time;” from May 8-30, 2024. The Festival starts at Film at Lincoln Center in Manhattan’s Upper West Side, from Wednesday-Tuesday, May 8-14, 2024. $17. All-Access $99. The Festival continues at Maysles Documentary Center in Harlem from May 17-19, and ends as FilmAfrica from May 24-30 at the DanceAfrica festival at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). 🇧🇷 🇨🇬 🇨🇩 🇪🇬 🇫🇷 🇬🇭 🇮🇳 🇰🇪 🇳🇦 🇳🇬 🇷🇼 🇸🇳 🇸🇱 🇿🇦 🇹🇿 🇺🇸 🇿🇼
New York African Film Festival 2025 Celebrates Fluid Horizons in Films from Mother Afrika
FILM AT LINCOLN CENTER, Upper West Side, Manhattan
MAYSLES DOCUMENTARY CENTER, Harlem, Manhattan
BROOKLYN ACADEMY OF MUSIC (BAM), Fort Greene, Brooklyn
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About
Albert Maysles (1926-2015) and his brother David Maysles (1931-1987) were pioneers of Direct Cinema documentary filmmaking which uses lightweight portable film equipment and is improvisational instead of directed.
They did this before the video era, when filmmaking was still an expensive, heavyweight production. The style is related to cinéma vérité and the work of Henri Cartier-Bresson, the father of street photography and modern photojournalism.
This style is perfect for New York City where real life can be really surreal.
The Maysles Brothers most famous documentaries are “Salesman” (1969), “Gimme Shelter” (1970) the Rolling Stones 1969 Tour movie, and “Grey Gardens” (1975).
Kazembe Balagun is Executive Director in 2024.
Typical Events
New York African Film Festival screens films from Mother Afrika and the Diaspora at Film at Lincoln Center, Maysles Documentary Center, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM).
Maysles Documentary Center Tickets
Maysles Documentary Center
343 Lenox Avenue/Malcolm X Blvd
(between 127th and 128th St, opposite Sylvia’s)
Harlem, Manhattan
Subways
(2)(3) to 125th St
(A)(C), (B)(D) to 125th St
Trains
Danbury, Harlem, or Hudson lines to Harlem-125th St
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