From London to the ‘Burg … First Impressions

Tourists, however good for the economy, tend to plague the city and although I do not live here, I don’t like to classify myself as one. I like to believe that I am 1/10 New Yorker, but that concept is thrown out by the fact that I have only just begun to explore Brooklyn and in particular Williamsburg and Greenpoint. When you exit the subway at Bedford Avenue you are taken to a non-fat New York; the tourist’s being the fat. The vibe is chilled and the air filled with creative vision, whatever the medium. There is culture galore, and I am excited to breathe in as much as I can.

My first few days in the area were a blur. A fast learning of streets and a new meaning of the word ‘hipster,’ which I am led to believe has a different connotation to its London meaning. The areas in London that carry a similar vibe tend to be pretentious and ketamine-ridden however so far I have yet to encounter either, which makes for an interesting change. Graffiti and street art are all around as well as musicians, artists and writers alike.

The World Cup began on Friday and the first interesting game was scheduled for Saturday; USA vs England. A bit more was expected from the English, who not only played badly but actually gave the Americans a goal! One thing that I love about the World Cup is not only does it give us a distraction from our lives for a month it also makes it socially acceptable to drink copious amounts of beer before 11am.

The independent film scene in Brooklyn, and beyond, was represented by the Brooklyn International Film Festival which ended yesterday. The films were showing in two cinemas; Brooklyn Heights Cinema and also the IndieScreen, which is the cinema in Williamsburg that opened just in time for the festival. I happened to catch the last showing of Gabi on the Roof in July at the IndieScreen. The film was very raw, focusing on a very realistic relationship between Gabi and her older brother Sam (played by the film’s director, Lawrence Michael Levine). The film was made in a not-so-conventional way; they cast the actors before the script was even finalized, but this gave the movie more depth as it allowed Levine to get the actors more in tune with their own characters, which in turn led the way for the story being told. The film was a perfect way to introduce myself back to New York, as Gabi’s character can be related to easily, and I find myself relating. We have all at some time or other, tried to find ourselves in this city and occasionally we can get a little bit side-tracked.