Experiencing Interruptions?

Brooklyn Roses

In Brooklyn Roses, filmmaker Christine Noschese blends documentary and fiction to re-examine her childhood and her mother’s feminist struggles in the 1950’s and 60’s working class Brooklyn.

When her mother dies, Noschese returns to her childhood home to decide what to keep and what to discard. When her mother was still alive, she shot her narrative film in the same house.

Sorting through her mother’s belongings, and props left over from the film, she realizes how her perceptions have changed and that the characterization of her mother in the earlier film did not tell the whole story.

Recording new documentary footage, Noschese deconstructs the fictional narrative and asks compelling questions about narrative and documentary storytelling and each form’s unique capacity to convey truth.  

  • Christine Noschese
    Director
    Christine Noschese is a writer, director and producer of both documentary and fictional films. Her film Keep On Steppin’ won Best Short at the Newberry Port Documentary Film Festival. June Roses, a fictional narrative, premiered at the Museum of Modern Art in New York at New Directors/New Films. Her documentary Metropolitan Avenue was broadcast nationally on PBS and other channels, and received the prestigious John Grierson Award for Best Documentary; it was also nominated for a National Emmy for Best Director and over 2,000 copies were distributed by the MacArthur Foundation Noschese’s work has been supported by the New York State Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the New York Council on the Humanities, The Ford Foundation, The Paul Robeson Foundation, and the Women in Film and Television Foundation,
  • Christine Noschese
    Writer
    Christine Noschese is a writer, director and producer of both documentary and fictional films. Her film Keep On Steppin’ won Best Short at the Newberry Port Documentary Film Festival. June Roses, a fictional narrative, premiered at the Museum of Modern Art in New York at New Directors/New Films. Her documentary Metropolitan Avenue was broadcast nationally on PBS and other channels, and received the prestigious John Grierson Award for Best Documentary; it was also nominated for a National Emmy for Best Director and over 2,000 copies were distributed by the MacArthur Foundation Noschese’s work has been supported by the New York State Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the New York Council on the Humanities, The Ford Foundation, The Paul Robeson Foundation, and the Women in Film and Television Foundation,
  • Christine Noschese and Bill Jennings
    Producer
    Bill Jenning's feature film Harlem Aria was the winner of audience awards for best picture at The Chicago International Film Festival, The Urbanworld Film Festival, The Pan African Film Festival, Woodstock Film Festival as well as a special commendation from the Maryland Film Festival. It was the Centerpiece Selection of the National Black Arts Festival, an official selection of the Toronto International Film Festival and the Munich International Film Festival among others. Harlem Aria was release in the US in 2011 by Magnolia Pictures and was distributed in several countries including Germany, United Kingdom and France. The film is now available in all major video venues including Netflix and iTunes. Bill finished Principal Photography on Spell, a feature length narrative film, in October 2011. The film is currently in post-production. Bill also recently completed a experimental film triptych: Three Poems. He is currently working on another series of experimental films based on Haikus. In 2011 he founded Black X: The African Diaspora Experimental Film Series in collaboration with the Albert Maysles Institute in NYC, of which he is a member of the Board of Directors. Recent writing projects include an adaptation of the Victor Pelevin novel Buddha’s Little Finger for Intrinsic Value and Go East Productions of Moscow, Russia, which is scheduled to begin production in September 2012. The screenplay received the Berlin Medienboard Development Grant. As a member of the Director's Guild of America, Bill worked as an Assistant Director on major studio films such as Clean Slate, Airheads, Beverly Hills Cop III, Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey, New Jack City, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, Storyville, and Boomerang. He also worked as an Assistant Director on the television series such as Saturday Night Live, The Cosby Mysteries, Central Park West, New York Undercover, Prince Street and Dellaventura.
  • Sari Caine
    Key Cast
    "Rosemarie"
    Sari Caine is a NYC bred actress, playwright, musician and chess instructor. She is the co-Artistic Director/co-founder of the critically acclaimed theater company, Slightly Altered States. She began making TV commercials at age 3 and has appeared in Orange is the New Black, The Knick, Story of Vice and other shows. She has performed off-Broadway and regionally. Sari’s plays include: Titus Rex, Mr. Landing Takes A Fall, The Chess Lesson and The Thing About Dan. In New York, her work has been produced and developed at The Flea Theatre, The Lark, Dixon Place, Symphony Space and St. Clement’s Theatre. Mr. Landing Takes A Fall won the Bottletree Award in Canada, was shortlisted for the Ronald Duncan award in England. It was accepted into the Women’s Theatre Festival in Memphis. Sari starred in Christine Noschese’s films, June Roses and Brooklyn Roses and the short films, Jack the Ripper’s First Time and Everything Goes Wrong. She received an MFA in playwriting from Hunter College, studying with Tina Howe and Arthur Kopit. She is a member of Sag-Aftra, Actors Equity and the Dramatist Guild.
  • Shareen Mitchell
    Key Cast
    "Dolly"
    Shareen Mitchell is a member of the Actors Studio, Shareen has appeared in more than a dozen films to date, including John Flynn’s Out for Justice, Mimi Leder’s Deep Impact and Martin Bell’s American Heart. She starred in Christine Noschese’s film June Roses and ten years later in Brooklyn Roses. On television, she was a co-star on Law and Order and Civil Wars and a series regular on Hudson Street. She has guest starred in Charmed, ER, X-Files, Melrose Place, Touched by an Angel, NYPD Blue, Law and Order, Hudson Street and many other notable series. She recently created Dresscue Me, a successful reality television series about her work. Off-Broadway, she appeared with Will Hare in the Actors Studio production of A Tantalizing and in New, for the Drama League New Directors Series. She has performed at many regional theatres, including the McCarter Theatre in Washington D.C. where she starred in The Perfectionist, directed by Emily Mann. She was nominated for an Ovation Award at the Laurel Grove Theatre for Tennessee in the Summer, directed by Barbara Bain and she appeared at the Santa Monica Playhouse in Mirage A Trois, directed by Chris DeCarlo. She is also the founder and owner of Shareen, an influential vintage clothing and design company in Los Angeles and New York City.
  • Chevi Colton
    Key Cast
    "Grandma"
    Born in New York City in 1921, Chevi Colton is a respected stage, film and television actress. She appeared in the original Broadway productions of Torch Song Trilogy, The Grand Tour, Cabaret, The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife, Roza, The Supporting Cast, and Over Here! Off-Broadway, she appeared in original productions of Bingo and O, Marry Me! and the Musicals in Mufti concert, 70, Girls,70. On television, Chevi appeared in popular series including The Job, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order, Just Looking, Quincy M.E., Simon & Simon, Working It Out and continuing roles in The Edge of Night and Tattletales. She was one-half of a lesbian couple in a memorable episode of Kat and Allie. Her last acting role was in an episode of TV’s The Job with Denis Leary. In films, Chevi is known for her performances in Falling in Love, Legal Eagles, Just Looking and June Roses and Brooklyn Roses.
  • David Kener
    Key Cast
    "Frankie"
    Brooklyn born David Kener is the Director of NYC Project Hope for Counseling in Schools, offering Creative Arts services to students and communities in the hardest hit areas of Hurricane Sandy.David worked as an actor for many years following his graduation from The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, studying with Sanford Meisner. He has performed on stages in the US and abroad, including The Signature Theatre, where he worked with Arthur Miller and the American Place Theatre, with Wynn Handman. David can be seen in the films Absolute Trust, Someone Like You, June Roses, Brooklyn Roses and Straight Right and the TV series Law & Order. David was the Executive Director of the American Place Theatre for 15 years, where he pioneered the Literature to Life Program, serving over 20,000 students annually in 25 states.
  • Stephen Girosulo
    Key Cast
    "David"
    Stephen Girasuolo is an actor, director and author who studied acting with Joseph Chaikin. This year (2017) he created The Holdouts, a new web series with Dan Menke as an ode to what some have called a vanishing New York, starring Kevin Corrigan (The Departed) and Jayce Bartok (The Cake Eaters.) He appeared in the recent film Man Underground and is featured in Christine Noschese’s film, Brooklyn Roses. He can be seen in the TV movie, The Many Trials of Tammy B and the series, The Path. Stephen’s play Orange Alert was performed at the Algonquin Seaport Theatre in New York City. He is the owner of Skyscraper Films, an entertainment production company in Manhasset, Long Island, New York.
  • Madlyn Mignone
    Key Cast
    "Aunt Anna and Herself"
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Feature, Other
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 25 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    November 1, 2017
  • Production Budget:
    250,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    digital and 16mm
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16.9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • International Festival Fic Auteur -Best Feature Documentary
    Guadalajara
    Mexico
    November 17, 2017
    Best Feature Documentary
  • Gulf of Naples International Independent Film Festival-Best Documentary
    Naples
    Italy
    May 27, 2018
    Best Documentary
  • Art of Brooklyn Film Festival-Best Feature Documentary
    New York City
    United States
    June 8, 2018
    Best Feature Documentary
Distribution Information
  • CrosbyStreetProductions
    Country: United States
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Christine Noschese

Christine Noschese is a writer, director and producer of both documentary and fictional films. Her film Keep On Steppin’ won Best Short at the Newberry Port Documentary Film Festival. June Roses, a fictional narrative, premiered at the Museum of Modern Art in New York at New Directors/New Films. Her documentary Metropolitan Avenue was broadcast nationally on PBS and other channels, and received the prestigious John Grierson Award for Best Documentary; it was also nominated for a National Emmy for Best Director and over 2,000 copies were distributed by the MacArthur Foundation

Noschese’s work has been supported by the New York State Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the New York Council on the Humanities, The Ford Foundation, The Paul Robeson Foundation, and the Women in Film and Television Foundation,

She was a Directing Fellow at the American Film Institute Center for Advanced Film and Television Studies and received her M.A. from Goddard College in Media Studies. She is a founding member and former director of the National Congress of Neighborhood Women, a community-based organization in Brooklyn. Christine is on the faculty of Hofstra University’s School of Communication.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

From my first fictional short, Mary Therese, to my feature documentary, Metropolitan Avenue, my stories came from growing up in an Italian American family in a working class neighborhood in Brooklyn. In my films, I love to portray both the humorous and heartbreaking stories from that community. None are as autobiographical as Brooklyn Roses.
 
I originally wrote and directed a feature film about my childhood in the 1950’s, titled June Roses. The ‘50s were a decade I never romanticized. I created the June Roses narrative from memory; my own emotional truths and from stories told to me by my family. As a writer and director, I used my imagination to create scenes that rang true emotionally for me, whether or not they corresponded to actuality.
 
The death of my mother caused me to reexamine the depictions created in the fictional narrative, in particular, those of her.
 
In Brooklyn Roses, I interweave both narrative and documentary footage to re-examine my childhood and my relationship with my mother.
 
The original narrative feature is a coming of age story told during the social upheaval of the 1950’s and 1960’s and set in the working class Brooklyn neighborhood, I grew up in.  I witnessed the struggles for women’s liberation play out in my parents’ marriage and my mother’s determination to carve out a different future for her daughter.
 
The documentary footage records me as I sort through my mother’s belongings and also my memories of her. In deciding what to keep or leave behind, I am forced to confront my youthful perceptions and the depiction I created of her in the feature film.
 
What results is an emotional and compelling new understanding of her as a feminist and a revelatory exploration of
the relationship between documentary and fictional truth.
 
Along the way, I am forced to examine the complexity of our emotional relationships and how my perceptions have changed over time. In the end, I discover that truth is ephemeral, that our memory and perceptions are constantly evolving. Likewise, I discover that there is no narrative, or storytelling form that is complete and that I will always be sorting things out.