Opening Night of the 2023 Brooklyn Film Festival

This year the 26th edition of the Brooklyn Film Festival commences at Windmill Studios in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn. The opening night film was Forgive Me Father directed by James Biberi. It's a drama thriller based in New York where a man comes home after 25 years in prison and meets a young woman in the apartment building that lives he in which changes his trajectory in going straight. The film discusses how ex convicts tries to maintain a right path but when dealing with personal demons it can be a complicated process. The film features a lot of well known actors from New York including Aida Turturro from the Sopranos. Inspired by true events the film is a dark yet enlightening story where doing good deeds is not always good or even legal (without giving away the plot) James Biberi who also plays the lead (Daniel Graves) gives a commanding performance where his inner conflicts gets the best of him.

Hana Lauer who plays the young woman who gives the main character his last chance at redemption gives a great performance and the script was phenomenal. The backdrop of the city gives the film a gritty look and progress throughout Daniel's transgressions from night to day. The flashback sequences tells us how Daniel may feel vindicated by doing certain deeds and teases us a bit about his back story. The story is not usually a opening night film but it is great to set the tone of the festival which focuses on human lives. A great film that we hope to see in more festivals and maybe streaming platforms. Be on the lookout for our interview with James at Opening Night on Spotify coming next week.