Two Frenchmen Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire and Greg Babeau definitely belong among the more interesting of the Bushwick bar owners. Not only have these filmmakers by profession started a gallery in the basement of their bar, Bizarre; a photography book publishing company, Bizarre Publishing (whose largest success yet was Meryl Meisler‘s Disco Era Bushwick: Tale of Two Cities), they have recently co-founded Bizarre Productions, a movie production company, the goal of which is to produce “indie, experimental and provocative films,” told us Jean-Stéphane.
BIZARRE teaser by Etienne Faure by etienne-faure
The first piece Bizarre is co-producing is called not very surprisingly–Bizarre. Directed by French director Etienne Faure, the movie follows a story of a French runaway teenager who arrives to New York and takes refuge in a Brooklyn underground cabaret bar aka Bizarre, becoming immersed in its eccentric, liberating world of outcasts. The trailer, exclusively featured by Indiewire unveils many well-known Bushwick faces and their current shows such as Bushwick Burlesque, The Circus of Dreams with Matthew Silver, The Folk Circus, Wild Torus, and T.B.A with Merry Cherrie. “We are very happy that the film will give a worldwide homage to their talent,” told us Jean-Stéphane.
“This story started when a friend and French director Etienne Faure, came at Bizarre to visit me, and saw the atmosphere and what was happening on stage, those incredible and amazing shows,” told us Jean-Stéphane. “He has been immediately seduced by the performers and the place and asked me if he could do a film there, around and about Bizarre, shooting only in the building, in the bar, on stage and in the house. I said of course, you’re welcome. He came few months later with a story, some actors and a small crew,” he continued.
Recent feature of Bizarre on The New York Times reveals that Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire who owns the Bizarre building and lives in the apartment above the bar, indeed found the building in 2008 to shoot a movie there. After seven years, his dream is finally coming true.
Bizarre premiers tomorrow in the Panorama Section at the 2015 Berlin International Film Festival. Berlin premier will be hugely celebrated also in Bushwick by a party in Bizarre bar by with Berlin artists and performers.
