PLAYBACK: THE BROOKLYN WATCH PARTY to Present Questlove, Turturro, Stevenson
The curators have selected classic films including Soul Soul, The King of Comedy, Salaam Bombay!, and The Battle of Algiers to screen and discuss.
Playback: The Brooklyn Watch Party, a new two-day festival celebrating the borough's artists, storytellers, and communities, announced the first group of guest curators, who will program the event in partnership with iconic Brooklynite and filmmaker Spike Lee: Academy Award-winning filmmaker and multiple GRAMMY Award-winning musician Ahmir 'Questlove' Thompson; Emmy Award-winning actor, director and writer John Turturro, who stars in the upcoming film The Only Living Pickpocket in New York; and founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative Bryan Stevenson. Additional guest curators and other special guests are to be announced.
Co-hosted by Lee and Clara Wu Tsai, owner of New York Liberty, Brooklyn Nets, and Barclays Center, the inaugural festival is being produced by filmmaker Nicholas Ma (Won't You Be My Neighbor, Unfinished Business), in association with BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music), and will take place November 6-7, 2026 at BAM.
The guest curators have selected the following films for the festival:
- Questlove has selected Soul to Soul (1971), directed by Denis Sanders, and The King of Comedy (1982), directed by Martin Scorsese.
- Bryan Stevenson's films are Salaam Bombay! (1988), directed by Mira Nair, who will join him in conversation, as well as City of God (2002), directed by Fernando Meirelles.
- John Turturro will show The Battle of Algiers (1966), directed by Gillo Pontecorvo, and Divorce Italian Style (1961), directed by Pietro Germi
- Spike Lee will screen his seminal work Crooklyn (1994) to kick off the festival on Friday evening.
After or before special screenings of their chosen films, the guest curators will participate in moderated discussions with special guests to dive into the films' lasting impact on today's culture, and their meaning and significance to each curator's life and work.
On Friday, November 6, Playback's opening night will begin with a celebratory procession with the curators, including introductions from Nicholas Ma and Spike Lee, before a screening of Crooklyn (1994), Lee's deeply touching portrait of the city. In partnership with The Soapbox Presents, the screening will be followed by a talkback with Lee and Crooklyn stars Alfre Woodard, Zelda Harris, Cinqué Lee, Joie Lee and more.
The curators' selections will screen later Friday evening and on Saturday, November 7. Throughout the day on Saturday, Playback and The Soapbox Presents will host a free afternoon block party outside BAM, featuring music from Soul Summit and Bring Your Own Vinyl, the work of artist Katie Merz, as well as games, food, drinks, and more.
A full schedule of programming can be found on playbackbk.com. Tickets are available to BAM members starting September 29, and open to the general public on October 1.
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