The filmmakers behind documentary Smash The Control Machine: Howard Brookner & The Western Lands (director Aaron Brookner, producer Paula Vaccaro and executive producer Jim Jarmusch,) have just launched their IFP Fiscal Sponsorship campaign, to help realise their intimate biography of filmmaker Howard Brookner. The website allows them to accept tax deductible donations, which will help make their fascinating and personal project a reality.
Smash The Control Machine tells the story of Aaron’s relationship with his uncle Howard, the director known for his documentaries Burroughs: The Movie and Robert Wilson and the Civil Wars and the period fiction film Bloodhounds of Broadway (which starred Madonna, Rutger Hauer and Matt Dillon.) Howard Brookner was an early collaborator of directors Jim Jarmusch (Mystery Train, Only Lovers Left Alive) and Tom DiCillo (Living In Oblivion, When You’re Strange) and he worked with them as his respective Sound Recordist and Cinematographer on Burroughs: The Movie.
Aaron & Howard Brookner
Tragically Howard Brookner died of AIDS in 1989 (when Aaron Brookner was 7), leaving behind him a wealth of home video and film material, as well as his professional body of work. This vast collection of materials is the starting point for Aaron Brookner, who was inspired to become a director by his uncle. Aaron plans to retell his uncle’s short but fascinating life, in conjunction with his own discovery of the archives. Given Aaron’s relationship with Howard and Howard’s work with Burroughs, Jarmusch and DiCillo, the film promises to be an intimate look at the life of a man central to the creative scene of 1980’s New York.
If you would like to make a tax deductible donation to aid the production of Smash The Control Machine, you can visit the official IFP Smash The Control Machine page and click Make a Contribution. For a short taster of the film, take a look at the intriguing clip below.
For more information on Smash The Control Machine please visit the official Pinball London website.
