Film Forum

Philip Hartman’s NO PICNIC

Philip Hartman · 1986 · U.S. · 87 min

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Philip Hartman’s priceless artifact of New York’s pre-gentrification East Village follows down-and-out jukebox operator Macabee Cohn, played with deadpan melancholy by David Brisbin, who wanders the cheap tenements, dive bars, and derelict streets of the East Village in search of a mysterious woman in a striped dress. NO PICNIC premiered at the 1986 Sundance Film Festival, where Peter Hutton won the Best Cinematography prize for his gorgeously evocative black-and-white imagery, working with producer Doris Kornish, Emmy Award–winning director Mike Spiller as assistant cameraman, animator Lewis Klahr as boom operator, Christine Vachon as assistant sound editor, with assistance from, among other notables, Jacob Burckhardt and Jeff Preiss. Scored by Ned Sublette, the soundtrack features The Raunch Hands, Fela Kuti, Charles Mingus and Student Teachers. Hartman co-owned The Great Jones Cafe, which introduced Cajun cooking to downtown NYC, became a magnet for the indie film and music communities, and flourished for 35 years until its closure in 2018. Using his gumbo money, and drawing on the rich talent of the Jones community, Hartman wrote and directed NO PICNIC in the summer of ‘85. Wim Wenders' company, Grey City, came aboard as executive producer and the film was accepted to Sundance, but still needing $25k to finish post-production, Hartman co-founded Two Boots Pizzeria on Avenue A, now a beloved New York institution. He would also go on to make EERIE (1995), a feature starring Felicity Huffman & Will Arnett. A FILM DESK RELEASE FREE PIZZA OFFER! Show your NO PICNIC ticket stub or ticket purchase confirmation email at any Manhattan Two Boots location and get a FREE SLICE OF CHEESE PIZZA during our run.