For the past ten years, high school students have been attending free Friday night film screenings at MoMA, spending some time after each film talking with curators, educators, and filmmakers. Recently we’ve experimented with different types of events for teens, such as artists’ talks, gallery activities, and art-making workshops, which means there’s something happening for young artists almost every Friday from October through May. Greeting visitors as they arrive for these events is an impeccably dressed young filmmaker named Michael Brawley, who has been an essential part of the program—first as an attendee, then as a volunteer—for years. We asked Michael his opinion about film, the Oscars, MoMA’s Teen Programs, and more.
Michael Brawley and Anne Morra at MoMA
Do you remember the first film you ever saw? How old were you? What was the experience like?
I really wish I could remember my first movie but I can’t. I have vague memories of stuff from when I was about seven. Things like, She’s All That, Power Rangers: The Movie, The Rugrats Movie, which if I remember was pretty awesome. Just a lot of kid stuff. Actually my mom told me once that I would cry in movie theaters when I was a kid. So it’s pretty ironic I want to make the thing that used to make me cry.
What are you favorite films, and why?
My top ten films of all time are, The Dark Knight, King Kong, Pan’s Labyrinth, Once, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Spider-Man 2, Little Manhattan, Hot Fuzz, (500) Days of Summer, and Let the Right One In. It’s difficult to describe why these are my favorites. The first time I watched those films I instantly fell in love with them. I actually started to miss the movie and I had to watch it again as soon as possible. I saw The Dark Knight in IMAX three times, and then a fourth time during the re-release, a new record, so of course I really loved that film. But what makes a film my absolute favorite is if it has all the elements. I mean, comedy, drama, romance, action, suspense—all of that while having a great script is just incredible.
What film made you want to look at films more closely and write about them in a way different than before?
Actually it wasn’t a film but a character I created. I was about eleven or twelve and I was sitting in art class, bored. So I drew this superhero and named him Eagle. And this was before I had ever thought about becoming a director. I think at the time I wanted to be a chef or a video game designer or something. So after I drew him, I gave him a backstory and that eventually became a full written-out story by eighth grade. Since then I’ve completely altered it, and made it into what I think is a pretty original superhero story that probably won’t get made for another fifteen years. But developing that over the years gave me some inkling of how a movie should flow, and what makes a bad superhero movie bad and what makes a good superhero movie good.
Are there directors you admire, and why?
From the beginning, I was all about Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro. Watching their films and watching them direct, I’m just always surprised. When Peter Jackson’s King Kong came out, it was my favorite movie for three years. I immediately bought the production diaries that came out months later. It came in this really cool Carl Denham briefcase and had production art, but the best parts were the diaries. It was literally every part of making King Kong and I got to really see him work and see his process. Guillermo is just a fantastic writer/director, as is Jackson. And that really resonated with me. That they not only direct their films but write them too. And you can just tell they absolutely love what they do.
Do you agree with the winners of the Academy Awards? If not, who would you have given awards to?
The Academy Awards is something I have a lot of issues with. I mean I still watch it every year, it’s like my Super Bowl, but it has its problems. Yes, I am glad The Hurt Locker won. Of all the films that were nominated for Best Picture, I’m still trying to figure out how The Blind Side was nominated and Star Trek wasn’t. The Hurt Locker was definitely the best of the lot, but Star Trek was my favorite movie of last year so in my head, that was the real Best Picture winner. And I would have given Oscars to all the films they overlooked, like In the Loop, (500) Days of Summer, and Moon. No performance was better than Sam Rockwell’s in Moon that year. In a perfect world, it would have won Best Picture, Score, and a Best Actor statue for Rockwell. But the Academy didn’t even acknowledge it.
You have your own film blog—why? What do you write about on your blog? Who reads your blog?
I was watching Julie & Julia one night and it was all about this woman writing about what she loves while hoping to get the attention of her idol. I took that idea and put it into going to the School of Visual Arts. I was probably in the sixth or seventh grade when I first saw the poster for SVA. It was on a train and I was looking into high schools at the time. So I wrote their number down and called a few weeks later and the woman who answered told me it was a college. So I was out of luck. But I never forgot about it. So I applied last year but it wasn’t happening then. So this year I’m going to give it one more shot. And I started the blog to sort of get some attention, like “Hey, I’m here. This is what I have to offer.” And it was my uncle who suggested I start writing movie reviews. So I began incorporating that into my blog. And the rest are just of things that I find funny online and any random ramblings I have. The name of the blog is My (possibly) Ill Fated Attempt to Get Into SVA.
Alejandro Duran (back row, right) and Michael Brawley (back row, second from right) during In the Making: Summer at MoMA 2006.
Have you made any films/videos? Do you want to be a filmmaker? You’ve written scripts; is that a direction you would like to pursue?
I made my first short film about four years ago through MoMA. It was a summer program called In the Making, and Alejandro Duran told me about it and helped me get in. So there was a group of teens just learning about films the whole summer and eventually getting to make one. In between then and now I’ve made short editing projects online and recently made my first documentary about my trip to Mississippi to help rebuild homes for Hurricane Katrina victims. But, yes, my goal is to become a director/writer. So far I’ve written four scripts, with about twenty other scripts waiting to be written.
What drew you to the MoMA free teen night film program? What has the free teen night program taught you about film?
I was about a month into high school and saw an awesome poster for a program called Friday Night at the Movies. Back then it was only films, and afterward the educators would have a discussion with the teens that came. So when I first saw the poster, I was like, “This is perfect for me.” I mean, it was free movies and pizza. The only way it could be more perfect was if they gave out free money. So my very first time going to the program was October of 2005. They were showing The Nightmare Before Christmas, and I was actually kind of late. But when I got there it was really cool seeing this movie that I had never seen on the big screen. And that was one of the main things that I liked about Friday Night at the Movies, and now Free Teen Nights. It gives teenagers a chance to see their favorite movies again, or even movies that they hadn’t seen before, the way they were meant to be seen. So I was an attendee for about two years and eventually started volunteering and signing people in. Now it’s four years later since my first night, and I’m still doing that while also reviewing the films they show every week.
What have you learned from the educators and curators you’ve met at MoMA?
The people that work at Free Teen Nights are some of the coolest people I have ever met. Nate, Anne, Marit, Alejandro, José—they rarely take things too seriously and know how to make the work environment fun. They have made a huge impact on me, from the things that I write to all the opportunities I’ve had because of them. I honestly can’t imagine not going to the MoMA every Friday and talking with the educators and curators. And unfortunately, if I don’t get into SVA this will be my last year volunteering for them because I would be going to college out of state and won’t be able to come every Friday.
In ten years, where do you see yourself? Are you working in the film industry?
In ten years, I hope to God I am not still getting coffee for directors. Hopefully I’ll be a somewhat established filmmaker and working pretty steadily. Hopefully making some great sci-fi/action films and getting to make my own scripts, but it’s always difficult to know where I might be.