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Brooklyn Express

The video tells a simple jazz musician’s story. On a typical day going to work, Art takes the train from his home in Brooklyn to his gig at a restaurant in the West Village in NYC. The music recreates the sounds, the mood, the energy, and the landscape as he crosses from Brooklyn to Manhattan on the D Line. Interspersed with actual live footage of the recording session, eventually he arrives at the piano at his gig...and the music starts again.

  • Sara Pettinella
    Director
    We Are One blood drum spirit
  • Jackson Notier
    Assistant Director
  • Art Hirahara
    Writer
  • Sara Pettinella
    Producer
  • Art Hirahara
    Producer
  • Marc Free/Posi-Tone Records
    Executive Producer
  • Nick O'Toole/Posi-tone Records
    Executive Producer
  • Art Hirahara
    Key Cast
    "pianist"
  • Donny McCaslin
    Key Cast
    "saxophone player"
  • Linda May Han Oh
    Key Cast
    "bass player"
  • Rudy Royston
    Key Cast
    "drummer"
  • Pat O'Leary
    Key Cast
    "bass player (restaurant)"
  • Sara Pettinella
    Key Cast
    "woman on train"
  • Jimmy Latigano
    Key Cast
    "restaurant worker"
  • Project Type:
    Music Video
  • Genres:
    Jazz, Music Video
  • Runtime:
    6 minutes 25 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    October 9, 2018
  • Production Budget:
    2,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Audio Shoot International Music And Film Festival
    Wexford
    Ireland
    July 7, 2019
    Winner Best Jazz Music Video
  • Queen City Film Festival
    Queen City
    United States
    October 3, 2019
    Winner
  • Raleigh Film & Art Festival
    Raleigh
    United States
    October 4, 2019
    Winner
  • Track Music Award
    online
    United States
    October 30, 2019
    Jazz Track Of The Month
Director Biography - Sara Pettinella

Born in Rome, Italy, Sara Pettinella studied art, design and photography in Italy and the United Kingdom. In 2002, she won the Interfaces Award (–Museum of the Photographic Image and Visual Arts, University of Rome) and she worked in theater and movie productions in Italy and Belgium from 1996 to 2003.

Since 2004, she has been active in the non-profit sector in Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa working with refugees and other vulnerable groups through photography and design. In 2011, she relocated to New York City, US, where she showcased her work and received photography awards.

Since 2014, she has been working on documentary projects, with a special focus on music and performative arts in US and Japan.

In 2017 she directed "We are One - blood drum spirit" an independent music documentary produced by musician and ethnomusicologist royal hartigan, that has been selected, screened and awarded by many festivals around the world.

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