Award-winning filmmaker Spike Lee has partnered with the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) to launch a new festival celebrating the borough’s rich legacy of film, art, music and culture.
The two-day event, titled “Playback: The Brooklyn Watch Party,” is scheduled for November 6–7 and will bring together filmmakers, artists, musicians and community members for a weekend dedicated to showcasing Brooklyn’s creative spirit. The festival is being presented by Spike Lee, Clara Wu Tsai, BAM and producer Nicholas Ma.
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Festival organizers say Playback is designed to be more than a traditional film festival. The inaugural event will feature film screenings, live performances, conversations with cultural icons, art installations, community pop-ups and a free block party, creating an immersive celebration of the borough’s artistic identity.
One of the festival’s highlights will be a special screening of Spike Lee’s 1994 classic Crooklyn, followed by a discussion featuring Lee, actress Alfre Woodard and other special guests. The programme will also include repertory films selected by guest curators and conversations exploring Brooklyn’s influence on film, music and storytelling.
Lee, whose films including Do the Right Thing, Crooklyn and She’s Gotta Have It have helped define Brooklyn’s place in American cinema, said the festival will celebrate the borough’s unique culture while bringing people together through storytelling and the arts.
Clara Wu Tsai said the goal is to create a new type of cultural festival that reflects Brooklyn’s diversity and creative energy.
“With Playback, we are setting out to create a new kind of film festival—one that brings together people who share a love of storytelling through film,” Wu Tsai said.
BAM President Tamara McCaw described the festival as an opportunity to celebrate the artists and communities that have shaped Brooklyn’s cultural identity while strengthening the borough’s tradition as a global center for creativity.
Founded in 1861, BAM has long been one of New York City’s premier cultural institutions, presenting world-class theatre, dance, music and film. Organizers believe the partnership with Spike Lee is a natural fit given the filmmaker’s decades-long connection to Brooklyn and his enduring influence on American cinema.
The festival is expected to attract residents, visitors and film enthusiasts from across the region while providing a platform for both established and emerging artists. Organizers hope it will become an annual tradition that celebrates the stories, people and neighborhoods that make Brooklyn one of the world’s most vibrant cultural destinations.
