EVENT TIMING

11 am — IRL Doors at UNDO

11:30am — Screening begins

(in-person & online)

1pm — CineClub Conversation

(in-person & online)

LOCATIONS

IRL @ UNIONDOCS
352 ONDERDONK AVE
RIDGEWOOD, NY

ONLINE – 11:30AM

Artistic Differences, produced by UnionDocs and hosted by Cíntia Gil, is our cineclub that gathers online and in-person on the first Saturday of every month! Each month, we invite you to watch a film that demands deeper discussion. Think Saturday morning cartoons, but instead it’s visionary documentary art from across the globe, programmed by the brilliant Cíntia Gil!

For our first meeting of the year, we’re thrilled to present Happer’s Comet by Tyler Taormina, a haunting meditation on suburban isolation. Shot entirely at night during the 2020 lockdown, with just a crew of two and no sound equipment, the entire soundscape of the film was crafted by Taormina himself in post-production, giving the film a uniquely personal and atmospheric depth.

We couldn’t agree more with Ryan Coleman from Bomb Magazine, when he wrote:

“There are always so many young filmmakers working tirelessly to become ‘emerging voices’ that it can be hard to know how to train your ear, but the work of Tyler Taormina is a genuine revelation.”

In this nocturnal mosaic, we follow suburban residents as they move through the quiet hours of the night, some slipping through the darkness on rollerblades, capturing an eerie sense of intimacy and alienation.

There are two ways to join!

In-person: Visit our Ridgewood space! Grab a ticket to save your spot. UNDO Members can attend for free with their Member Coupon Code at checkout.
Online: Stream the event live from wherever you are—just sign up!

Following our convening, we’ll gather your insights, questions, and reflections to create a longform podcast interview with Taormina—a collective dive into the film’s themes and creative process. Want to be part of this inspiring dialogue? Join the club and add your voice to the mix!

Program

Happer’s Comet by Tyler Taormina

62 mins, 2022

A mid-night mosaic of a suburban town steeped in alienation. While peering into the late night moments of many residents, we notice that some of them quietly escape into the dark of night via rollerblades.

Program Duration: 62 mins

Bios

Tyler Taormina is a film director based in Los Angeles whose debut film, Ham on Rye, premiered at Locarno Film Festival and went on to receive critical acclaim, including Best Films of the Year lists from The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Slant Magazine, and more. His work explores vast ensemble casts and draws influence from ’60s European art cinema and ’90s kids’ television.

Born in Portugal, Cíntia Gil studied at the Escola Superior de Teatro e Cinema (Lisbon Theatre and Film School) and holds a degree in Philosophy from the Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto (Faculty of Arts and Humanities at the University of Porto), where she has also taught seminars on aesthetics. From 2012 to 2019, Cíntia Gil served as co-director and then director of Doclisboa, Portugal’s most important and steadily expanding documentary film festival, where she launched the Ibero-American lab Arché. From 2019 to 2021 she has directed Sheffield DocFest.