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Uncle HowardHoward Brookner's films captured the cultural revolution in New York City. Twenty-five years after his death, his nephew rediscovers his legacy that includes the lost negative of Burroughs: The Movie.
“an indelible, must-see ode to gay New York.” – New York Times
“it’s impossible to remain unmoved.” – Andrew Pulver, The Guardian
When Howard Brookner lost his life to AIDS in 1989, the 35-year-old director had completed two feature documentaries and was in post-production on his narrative debut, Bloodhounds of Broadway. Twenty-five years later, his nephew, Aaron, sets out on a quest to find the lost negative of Burroughs: The Movie, his uncle’s critically-acclaimed portrait of legendary author William S. Burroughs.
When Aaron uncovers Howard’s extensive archive in Burroughs’ bunker, it not only revives Burroughs: The Movie for a new generation, but also opens a vibrant window on New York City’s creative culture from the 1970s and ‘80s, and inspires a wide-ranging exploration of his beloved uncle’s legacy.
Connecting with Howard’s friends, lovers, and collaborators (like Jim Jarmusch) through the treasure trove of outtakes and video diaries he discovers, Aaron constructs at once a paean and an elegy to a complex, creative man—cut down, like so many others of his generation, in his prime, but who lived his short life to its fullest.