THE BRIDE
In the shadowy, obscure and mostly silent world world of The Bride, a woman, garbed in a wedding dress and veil, directly engages the mirror and “seeing eye” of the camera, as she confronts both codified ritual and internal pressures–rooted in family, conventions, and social expectations–while undergoing a dramatic metamorphosis. A short experimental film based on a poem by Egyptian writer, Jaylan Salman.
New edition of No Man’s Brooklyn. Signed copies available for pre-order directly through me (Paypal or Venmo). Digital copies are available for prospective reviewers. Can also be purchased through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other cyber-outlets soon.
“Biscello succeeds in bringing to life both Daniel as well as the intriguing milieu that created him: stoops, city parks, 40-ounce bottles of malt liquor.”–KIRKUS
NO MAN’S BROOKLYN
From the valentine boneyards of working-class Brooklyn, comes a tale of first love, lost innocence, tragedy, and healing. Daniel Trovato, having left his native Bensonhurst years ago to start a new life in L.A., is recently sober and enjoying cult success through his Sworn Witness series of graphic novels. When he receives word that his childhood love, Anya, has died from an overdose, he is compelled to return to the “old neighborhood.” It is there that he will walk through the ghostly twilight of an unfinished past, and revisit both the romantic lore and shadow life of his youth. The enduring torch he’s carried for Anya, “the girl from nowhere,” who was found in a trash can and adopted by a Russian family; the hazy circumstances of his mother’s suicide when he was fourteen; glacial estrangement from his father; the street-and-concrete beats and rhythms of an urban boyhood. Ultimately, No Man’s Brooklyn is about the mythic journey we take to meet our core self, and a lyrical testament to the words of Dylan Thomas: “The memories of childhood have no order, and no end.”
A series of experimental stills from our short film, THE BRIDE, which we plan to shoot in February.
I wrote the script to The Bride, based on a story concept by Jaylan Salman, which was inspired by her poem, “You can’t dress me up, Auntie A.” From these seeds, a collaboration of misfit sensibilities was channeled into cinema.
ABOUT: In the shadowy, obscure, and mostly silent world of THE BRIDE, a woman, garbed in a wedding dress and veil, directly engages the mirror and “seeing eye” of the camera, as she confronts both codified ritual and internal pressures–rooted in family, conventions and social expectations–while undergoing a dramatic metamorphosis.
It was a pleasure working with the supple-minded, vision-eyed, Michael Falasco, on the Sub-Versive photo series. Two hybrid snaps from our collaboration.
“In a world like this one, it’s difficult to devote oneself to art body and soul. To get published, to get exhibited, to get produced often requires ten or twenty years of patient, intense labor. I spent half my life at it! And how do you survive during all that time? Beg? Live off other people until you’re successful? What a dog’s life! I know something about that! You’re always recognized too late. And today, it’s no longer enough to have talent, originality, to write a good or beautiful book. One must be inspired! Not only touch the public but create one’s own public. Otherwise, you’re headed straight for suicide.” — Henry Miller
In honor of Henry Valentine Miller’s birthday (December 26th, 1891).
Stalking new language,
New edition of my fourth novel coming soon.
From the valentine boneyards of working-class Brooklyn, comes a tale of first love, lost innocence, tragedy, and healing. Daniel Trovato, having left his native Bensonhurst years ago to start a new life in L.A., is recently sober and enjoying cult success through his Sworn Witness series of graphic novels. When he receives word that his childhood love, Anya, has died from an overdose, he is compelled to return to the “old neighborhood.” It is there that he will walk through the ghostly twilight of an unfinished past, and revisit both the romantic lore and shadow life of his youth. The enduring torch he’s carried for Anya, “the girl from nowhere,” who was found in a trash can and adopted by a Russian family; the hazy circumstances of his mother’s suicide when he was fourteen; glacial estrangement from his father; the street-and-concrete beats and rhythms of an urban boyhood. Ultimately, No Man’s Brooklyn is about the mythic journey we take to meet our core self, and a lyrical testament to the words of Dylan Thomas: “The memories of childhood have no order, and no end.”
From the series, “Interior Lighting for Lost Cinema”
John Biscello 