Long before the success of the short film, The
Tombs…
Many years before the hit independent film Blackout which would boast an ensemble that
included, Jeffrey Wright, Zoe Saldana, Melvin Van Peebles, Latanya
Richardson-Jackson, Michael B. Jordan and a host of other NYC notables.
And before Nora’s Hair Salon…
There was Amour Infinity.
Jerry Lamothe’s debut film, Amour Infinity (A Brooklyn Love Story) was shot in
2000.
In the movie, the odds are stacked up against Derek, a young
East Flatbush, Brooklyn man (Jerry Lamothe). He’s lost his job and his
girlfriend of five years and the mother of his child just left him as
well. Seeing no end to his streak
of bad luck, he almost gives up until he stumbles across Amour (Jamie
Burton-Oare), an old friend from high school. From then on, this urban tale of
street life, hardships, and love begins to take shape. But as he attempts to
prioritize fatherhood, love, loyalty, a son, and a secret, what will each cost
him?
ActNow Foundation’s New
Voices in Black Cinema and the Creatively
Speaking Film Series are proud to present this special screening of Amour
Infinity on the big screen to NYC audiences for the first time in close to a decade on May 16th
at 4pm and 8pm at MIST Harlem – 46 West 116th Street in Harlem,
NYC. Lamothe and special guests
will be at the Q&A following the 8pm screening. Tickets are now available HERE. For more information go to
ActNowproduction.org
Shot on a single DV camera (Canon XL1) for $45,000, Amour Infinity is regarded by many as an
underground cult classic. Inspired by a trip to ABFF (then known as the
Acapulco Black Film Festival in 1999) where he attended the actors boot camp ran
by Bill Duke and Robert Townsend, Lamothe returned home to Brooklyn, where he
would write, produce, direct and star in the film.
At a time when DV was frowned upon amongst the upper tier
film festivals (35mm still ruled), the film was found ineligible to screen at
some festivals, after already being accepted. Today, over 95% of film
submissions around the world are digital, putting Lamothe among the original of digital visionaries.
Despite these obstacles, the film is now celebrating its 13-year
anniversary and continues to find an audience. It film premiered to a sold out
crowd at the Urbanworld Film Festival in 2000 and would win several film
festival awards, experience a limited engagement in theaters, including a 2–day
run at BAMcinematek courtesy of ABFF’s Film Life and air on several television
networks, including ABC and TVOne.
Amour Infinity serves
as a perfect case study and confirmation, that even with limited resources,
through perseverance and commitment, filmmakers today have more than enough
tools needed to make a movie. As
we’ve reported in S&A in the past, Lamothe is currently in pre-production
on his 5th feature film, The
Promise Keeper, starring Garcelle Beauvais, Jimmy Jean-Louis, and Edwidge
Danticant. His award-winning short film The Tombs also airs nationally this Saturday on Badami Productions’ African-American Short Films tv show. Check your local listings (in NYC its on CBS 2).
