Chicago Schedule

SATURDAY AUGUST 18

PROGRAM 3 | 1:00 pm Buy Tickets

MESSENGER
USA 2006 | DV 7 min.
Dir. Gary Beeber
Follow Kamikaze, the legendary bicycle messenger, for one year as he works the gritty streets of NYC. Kamikaze, who recently turned 50, has been employed as a bicycle messenger for over 25 years.

BACK TO BACK
USA 2002 | 16mm 4 min.
Dir. Heather Lenz
A cycling enthusiast builds an unusual bicycle for himself and his wife and learns there is more to bike riding than winning races.

REVOLUTIONS PER MINUTE
UK 2005 | 16mm 8 min.
Dir. Joseph Knowles
A jazz-inflected documentary tells the story of a day in the life of a bicycle factory.

EAT! SLEEP? BIKES!
USA 2007 | DV 26 min.
Dir. Sasha Edge
Four friends embark on the FURNACE CREEK 508, a 508 mile, non-stop, 46 hour bike ride through Death Valley, California, climbing and descending 35,000 ft. on fixed gear bicycles.

WE JUST WORK HERE
USA 2007 | Super-8 40 min.
Dir. Brian Vernor
Every luscious shot in this film exudes love of the bicycle. This film follows the workers of Santa Cruz Bicycles from the factory to the trails, streets and track. The track shots are so beautiful they would inspire any street fixie rider to head for their local track. Legendary skater Rob Roskopp founded a company on passion for the bicycle. The workers of Sana Cruz share this passion through playing and working together.

PROGRAM 4 | 3:00 pm Buy Tickets

BFF DVD
Some of the most popular and fun shorts at the BFF.

KIEST PARK
USA 2005 | 16mm 5min.
Dir. John Ayala
A seven year old leaves his parents and his block for the first time to explore, observe and destroy in a vast new world.

THERE IS A FLOWER IN MY PEDAL
CANADA 2004 | DV/16mm/Super8 4min.
Dir. Andrea Dorfman
A rhythm of mixed media reminds us to dust off the old bike and go for a ride.

HOLLAND TUNNEL
USA 2002 | DV 4 min.
Dir. Neistat Brothers
Bike ride through the Holland Tunnel.

ON TIME
USA 1985 | 16mm 7min.
Dir. Ari Taub
This comedy classic short, shown worldwide, marked the debut of director/screenwriter Ari Taub and captured the spirit of low budget filmmaking in New York City. Jimmy a bicycle messenger from the Albatross Courier Company, takes us through the streets and boroughs of New York to deliver a package “on time”. Braving the perilous city streets, there’s nothing Jimmy can’t handle, or is there?

DIVERSION IN BRAZIL
USA/BRAZIL 2002 | 16mm/DV 5min.
Dir. Bobby Carter
Take a journey to the neighborhoods of Sao Paulo and discover Brazil’s freestyle underground featuring: Balu, Daniel Molina, Leonardo Claro, and Marcos Paulo De Jesus.

MONSTER TRACK VII
USA 2005 | Video 7min.
Dir. Lucas Brunelle
This alleycat is fixed-gear only. It was set on one of the coldest days of the year in New York City. Catch the intensity of riding in New York with some of the world's most-skilled city riders.

INES BRUNN – KUNSTRADSHOW
Germany 2000 | Video 5min.
Dir. Masc Coenen & Ines Brunn
Dance, acrobatics, gymnastics—all on a fixed gear.
Ines Brunn introduces us to her style of riding called “Artistic Cycling”.

SKI BOYS
Canada 2006 | Super8 8 min.
Dir. Benny Zenga
The last reels of the Ski Boys, which document their inventive exploits in rural Ontario during the early 70's.

BIKING IN THE BIBLE BELT
USA 2005 | DV 12min.
Director: James Plumlee
There are many obstacles to riding a bicycle in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This short is a glimpse into their strong and varied riding scene.

SOME THINGS RIDE A BICYCLE
USA 2006 | Video 45sec.
Dir. Chris Jolly
This is a series of chalkboard animations of various funny objects riding bicycles.

LUCAS BRUNELLE VIDEO
USA 2006 | DV 12min.
Dir. Lucas Brunelle
Over one million people have downloaded his videos.
Lucas takes a bike and a camera where no woman or man has biked before.

PROGRAM 5 | 5:00 pm Buy Tickets

THE NEW HAPPY HOUR
USA 2007 | Super8 2 min.
Dir. Brian Vernor
Racing checkpoint with guns in the Californian mountains.

KLUNKERZ
USA 2006 | DV, 8mm, 16mm, DigiBeta 88 min.
Dir. Billy Savage
The history of the modern mountain bike. This film documents the rise of a huge cultural movement that was pioneered in Marin County on the trails of Mt. Tamaipais. Mountain Biking was born out of the creative scene surrounding the San Francisco Bay Area hippy and rock world of the sixties and seventies. This film features the characters of this day such as Gary Fisher, Joe Breeze, Charlie Kelly and Alan Bonds.  The races began amongst friends getting stoned and partying and flying down the mountain on their pre forties bikes with fat tires: “Klunkerz.” These fun escapades turned into a sport that changed and maybe even saved the bike industry.  Now all over the world you see people riding mountain bikes.

PROGRAM 6 | 7:00 pm Buy Tickets

BICYCLE SAMBA
UK 2005 | DV 2min.
Dir. Sophie Clements
Samba on bicycles! All sounds directly from the bikes - no added or altered sounds.

PARK(ING) DAY
USA 2007 | DV 16min.
Dir. Matthew Passmare
Welcome to this park in a metered parking spot.

RIDING BIKES & ROBBING TRAINS
UK 2006 | Various Mediums 3min.
Dir. Philip Parkin
BRIT DOCS Selection

THE BICYCLE: FIGHTING AIDS WITH COMMUNITY MEDICINE
Canada 2006 | DV 14min.
Dir. Katerina Cizek
An intimate look at AIDS through the eyes of Pax Chingawale, a resident of South Africa.

AYAMYE*
GOODNESS, KINDNESS, GENEROSITY
USA 2007 | DV 40 min.
Dir. Eric Matthies, Tricia Todd
In Ghana, a rural village eagerly awaits a shipment of recycled bicycles from the United States. The majority of the bikes are sold in a colorful frenzy to pay for shipping costs, while the best bikes are set aside to take to the village.
Ayamye* chronicles the lives of Nurse Letitia and Seth before they get the bicycles and again one year later. These two individuals are very different from each other, the common thread being the need for transportation and the wish for positive development in their community. “Ayamye” is a moving, life-affirming film that proves sustainable solutions to crisis are not always complex.

PROGRAM 7 | 9:00 pm Buy Tickets
MESSENGER SHORTS

DAO & THE ART OF BICYCLE INVENTION
UK 2006 | Various Mediums 3min.
Dir. Danny Beck
BRIT DOCS Selection

KO MASUDA: LIFE AND PROCESS
Japan 2006 | DV 3min.
Dir. Marc Blake
A short video capturing the unique life and process of Ko Masuda - artist, designer, Buddhist monk.

WOLFPACK. THE HUSTLE RIDE
USA 2007 | DV 3min.
Dir. Donny Digital
A bicycle crew running a weekly 30-45 mile fast-paced ride known as "The Hustle Ride" across the streets of Los Angeles.

ON THE BOARD: FREECALL MESSENGERS IN SAN FRANCISCO
USA 2007 | DV 9min.
Dir. Dan Gingold
This short documentary examines the advantages and challenges of "freecall" dispatch by following one S.F. messenger company.

WRITTEN IN THE STREETS
UK 2006 | DV 11 min.
Dir. Philip Diprose
This is an open portrait of London couriers.

AFTER THE FALL
USA 2006 | DV 8 min.
Dir. Marshall Pierce
A juxtaposition of Milwaukee, a glowing industrial city, and the people who choose to live there by bike.

HUNGER IN THE CITY
USA 2007 | Video 7 min.
Dir. Paola Gomez
The L.A. Burrito Project is a group of people that get together once a week and feed homeless people in downtown L.A. via bicycles.

AN APOLOGY
USA 2007 | 3 min.
Dir. Neistat Brothers
The Neistat Brothers make a movie for the BFF every year. Here is an apology.

DOUBLE RUSH
USA/France 1986 | Video 7 min.
Dir. Aziz Rahman & Jessica Agullo
Before email and before fax, there was just one way to get a package across town. This documentary shows some of the best bike messengers of the ‘80s jamming in traffic and telling their story.

BICYCLE FOR SLEEPING OR MAYBE DRUNK OK
USA 2007 | DV 4min.
Dir. Ross Harris
Guatemalan artist Edy Arturo Lopez Peralta shows off his one of a kind bicycle. Awesomeness ensues.

FAST FRIDAY
USA 2007 | DV 8min.
Dir. David Rowe
A local track bike event held at Cadence Clothing in Seattle, Washington, which aims to support the scene by gathering riders together on “Fast Friday.”

NIGHT OF THE LIVING BICYCLES
CYKLERNES NAT
Denmark 2006 | Animation 7min.
Dir. Louise Falck Bruun
Markus is hanging out with his friends one night when strange things begin to happen, not only in Copenhagen, but all over.

TRACK KAIJU
USA 2007 | DV 20min.
Dir. Michael Green
World Champion Fixie King Shino and his travel companion journey from Tokyo to do battle in N.Y.C.’s most legendary, intense alleycat: Monster Track.

LUCAS BRUNELLE WORLDWIDE BROADCAST USA 2007 | DV 10 min.
Dir. Lucas Brunelle
The famous Lucas Brunelle travels the world from London to Mexico City to New York.  In this year’s update of his worldwide adventures you see the emerging bike movement through his helmet cam.