NOVA ’78
Portugal, Great Britain, USA | 2025 | 78 min | col.| English, Portuguese, French
From November to December of 1978, the Entermedia Theater in New York hosted “Nova Convention,” a celebration of William S. Burroughs’ genius that was as unconventional as its inspirator was. To the court of the cult writer flocked some of the protagonists of the New York scene in the quality of excellent disciples, such as Laurie Anderson, Patti Smith, Allen Ginsberg, Philip Glass, and many others, including the adopted Californian Frank Zappa. Each artist focuses on one aspect of the ‘bad teacher’s’ admirable ingenuity and interprets it based on their own flair, demonstrating how many different personalities have taken inspiration from the author of Naked Lunch. Howard Brookner’s integral footage of those evenings was found and restored from 2012 to 2024 by his nephew Aaron and Rodrigo Areias, who miraculously saved the material from the fog of time, creating an extraordinary testament to the wild, creative years when the streets of New York were the scene of a transformation in music and the arts in general. (E.S.)
Local Time
- Timezone: America/New_York
- Date: 08 Nov 2025
- Time: 13:00
Location
- Cinema La Compagnia - Via Camillo Cavour, 50/R, 50121 Florence
Organizer
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Aaron Brookner
Aaron Brookner is an American-British writer, director, producer. He studied film at Vassar College and began his career assisting on Jim Jarmusch’s Coffee and Cigarettes and Rebecca Miller’s Personal Velocity, before directing the documentary short The Black Cowboys (2004). His latest release was Robert Wilson & the CIVIL warS (1985).
Other Organizers
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Rodrigo Areias
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Rodrigo Areias is a film director and producer. He graduated in Sound and Image at the School of Arts and he took a specialisation in film Direction at Tisch School of Arts at NYU. His latest feature documentary, Blue Breath, premiered in Locarno FF First Look and won the Festivals of Ismailia, Pristina and Kalajoki.
