Aaron Brookner (born December 22, 1981) is an American film director and scriptwriter. His debut feature film was ''The Silver Goat'' (2011), the first feature film made for

iPad The iPad is a brand of tablet computers developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple that run the company's mobile operating systems iOS and later iPadOS. The IPad (1st generation), first-generation iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010. ...

exhibition. He produced the restoration of cult classic '' Burroughs'', directed by

Howard Brookner Howard Brookner (April 30, 1954 – April 27, 1989) was an American film director. He produced and directed the documentary ''Burroughs (film), Burroughs'' about William S. Burroughs (1983), ''Robert Wilson and the Civil Wars'' on theatre direct ...

, which was re-released by

The Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home video, home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films". A "sister company" of art film, arth ...

. His film '' Uncle Howard'' was selected as part of the US Documentary Competition at the 2016

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

Early life and career

Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

, he studied film at the prestigious

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...

. His uncle, the late

, directed '' Bloodhounds of Broadway'' with

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

and

Matt Dillon Matthew Raymond Dillon (born February 18, 1964) is an American actor. He has received various accolades, including a Screen Actors Guild Award and two Independent Spirit Awards alongside nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, ...

. Visiting the set of that film was one of Aaron's early life memories and inspiration to become a filmmaker. Among his early work in filmmaking, he assisted the production of

Jim Jarmusch James Robert Jarmusch ( ; born January 22, 1953) is an American film director, screenwriter and musician. He has been a major proponent of independent film, independent cinema since the 1980s, directing films such as ''Stranger Than Paradise'' ...

's ''

Coffee and Cigarettes ''Coffee and Cigarettes'' is a 2003 independent anthology film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch. The film consists of eleven short stories which includes the earlier three short films; themes are often comedic and depressed, share coffee a ...

'' and ''

Personal Velocity ''Personal Velocity: Three Portraits'' is a 2002 American drama film written and directed by Rebecca Miller. It stars Kyra Sedgwick, Parker Posey, and Fairuza Balk as three women who escape from their afflicted lives as each struggles to flee fro ...

'' by

Rebecca Miller Rebecca Augusta Miller, Lady Day-Lewis (born September 15, 1962) is an American filmmaker and novelist. She is known for her films '' Angela'' (1995), '' Personal Velocity: Three Portraits'' (2002), '' The Ballad of Jack and Rose'' (2005), '' Th ...

. Before doing fiction films, he worked as a director of music videos such as Shake it for the band The Johns, I'm In Love With Your Knees, a collaboration between the singer/songwriter

Austin Thomas Austin Edison Thomas (25 March 1939 – 15 May 2018) was an Aruban fencer. He competed in the individual foil and épée events at the 1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () ...

, guitarist

Lenny Kaye Lenny Kaye (''né'' Kusikoff; born December 27, 1946) is an American guitarist, composer, and writer, notable for his work with the Patti Smith Group, his contributions to music magazines, and his garage rock retrospective anthology '' Nuggets' ...

of Patti Smith’s band, and acclaimed American novelist

Nick Tosches Nicholas P. Tosches (; October 23, 1949 – October 20, 2019) was an American journalist, novelist, biographer, and poet. His 1982 biography of Jerry Lee Lewis, ''Hellfire (Nick Tosches book), Hellfire'', was praised by ''Rolling Stone'' magazi ...

. He was the director and cinematographer on a long feature documentary about

Budd Schulberg Budd Schulberg (born Seymour Wilson Schulberg; March 27, 1914 – August 5, 2009) was an American screenwriter, television producer, novelist and sports writer. He was known for his novels '' What Makes Sammy Run?'' (1941) and ''The Harder They ...

, the Hollywood writer.

''The Silver Goat''

He shot his first long feature in 11 days with a microbudget and cast and crew as investors alongsid
Pinball London Ltd
the production company in London responsible for the film. The film was finished in April 2012 and released exclusively for iPad as the first film to be done exclusively for this platform. It was the 1st film released as an app in the UK, Europe and Latin America. The launch happened in London, UK, on May 10, 2012 on board of a routemaster bus. It was the 1st ever iPad premiere on the move. The Silver Goat has been downloaded in 22 countries to date, reaching #15 of the top 50 entertainment apps in the UK, and #13 in Czech Republic.

''Burroughs: The Movie''

In 2014 Brookner re-released Howard Brookner's '' Burroughs'' about Beat icon

William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist. He is widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major Postmodern literature, postmodern author who influen ...

, following a long search to find a print of the film. In September 2015

announced that they would release the film on Blu-ray and DVD for the first time, arriving as part of their December 2015 slate.

''Uncle Howard''

'' Uncle Howard'' is a feature documentary by Aaron Brookner. The documentary follows Aaron's search for and restoration of

's archives including Burroughs and Robert Wilson and the Civil Wars. Simultaneously the film tells Howard Brookner’s story from his early filmmaking career at

NYU New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a non-denominational all-male institutio ...

, through his three completed features and up until his death in 1989. The film features contributions from numerous colleagues and friends of Howard’s and is executive produced by

. On 2 December 2015, the

announced the film as part of the US Documentary Competition category at the 2016 festival.

Awards

* NewNowNext MTV award for The John's Shake it * Audience Award Rochester Film festival for The Black Cowboys

References

External links

* * http://www.aaronbrookner.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Brookner, Aaron 1981 births Living people American male screenwriters People from Greenwich Village Vassar College alumni Film directors from New York City Screenwriters from New York (state)