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The new exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York, located along Manhattan’s “Museum Mile,” features Madonna, MTV, Run-dmc, Talking Heads, Sonic Youth, John Zorn, Liquid Liquid, Max Roach, Fort Apache Band, and much more.

“During the Eighties, there was a community-driven musical renaissance in New York City. It was an era of creativity and genre-defying performance that, in my mind, stands as one of the most influential in musical and cultural history,” says Sean Corcoran, the museum’s curator of prints and photography. “That wide range...

Must of the Month

A great way to celebrate Pride this year is with The Signifyin’ Works of Marlon Riggs, a Criterion Collection box set that pays tribute to an essential voice in LGBTQ+ cinema and Black filmmaking. Before his death of HIV/AIDS complications in 1994, Riggs created a vital body of work that includes the sensual and poetic “Tongues Untied” — a film decried on the senate floor by Jesse Helms, and recommendations don’t come much higher — the incisive documentary “Color Adjustment,” about the history of Black characters on American TV, and brilliantly moving personal and experimental films like “Black Is… Black Ain’t” and “Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien (No Regrets).” This compilation of a singular artistic voice belongs in every library.

New Indie

Carrie Coon and Jude Law gave firecracker performances in the under-seen “The Nest” (IFC/Shout Factory) from director Sean Durkin (“Martha Marcy May Marlene...

“Martha: A Picture Story,” a feature documentary about trailblazing graffiti and street photographer Martha Cooper, has been acquired for North American distribution by Utopia.

Cooper was an American photojournalist and the first female staff photographer at the New York Post in the 1970s. She is best known for capturing New York City graffiti in the ’70s and ’80s. Her 1984 book “Subway Art” illustrated the subculture in New York’s transit system.

The commercial failure of the book forced Cooper to leave graffiti behind, moving on to photograph other hidden gems of the city. Only decades later would she realize her influence. Many street artists refer to “Subway Art” as a street art staple. The documentary follows Cooper’s struggle to navigate her way through this new culture while embracing her passion for capturing the creativity that helps people rise above their environment.

Utopia’s noteworthy titles include “Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets,...

‘Knives Out.’

Disney’s Frozen 2 dominated the cinema business last weekend without matching its stellar Us results while Studiocanal’s crime caper Knives Out proved to be effective counter-programming.

Meanwhile Rialto launched Adrian Noble’s Mrs Lowry & Son on 43 screens, ringing up $48,000 and a decent $184,000 including revenues from festivals. The English comedy stars Timothy Spall as the artist L.S. Lowry and Vanessa Redgrave as his overbearing mother.

Selina Miles’ feature documentary Martha: A Picture Story, an alternate content release which profiles intrepid American photojournalist Martha Cooper, clocked $15,000 from limited sessions plus $29,000 from festivals for Umbrella Entertainment.

The winner of the Sydney Film Festival Documentary Audience Award, the film follows Cooper as she roams around Berlin, New York and Baltimore and her adventures come to life with archival footage and tales from subjects and peers.

The Aacta Awards to be announced on Wednesday are unlikely to give any box office momentum to the victors,...

‘Sequin in A Blue Room’.

Sydney Film Festival announced its audience awards today, with best narrative feature awarded to Samuel Van Grinsven’s Sequin in a Blue Room and best documentary to Selina Miles’ Martha: A Picture Story – both Aussie films.

Sequin in a Blue Room, a queer coming-of-age story, is Van Grinsven’s debut feature, completed as part of an Aftrs Masters project and produced by Sophie Hattch. It stars Conor Leach in his film debut, alongside Jeremy Lindsay Taylor and Anthony Brandon Wong.

Martha: A Picture Story, documents the life and work of NYC photo journalist Martha Cooper. It is the first full length documentary film from Miles, and was executive produced by Jennifer Peedom and and produced by Daniel Joyce.

Two other Australian films – Ben Lawrence’s Hearts and Bones and Imogen McCluskey’s microbudget debut Suburban Wildlife – were also voted in the top five narrative films,...