Uncle Howard

Howard Brookner isn't a name that many people know. He was a young film-maker in the 1980's who died of AIDS, aged 34. He made a highly acclaimed documentary about the writer William Burroughs and a mainstream movie, "Bloodhounds of Broadway" with Matt Dillon and Madonna but little else is known. Now his nephew Aaron Brookner has made a portrait of his uncle, "Uncle Howard", that reclaims him for posterity. Luckily for Aaron, Howard left a lot of film behind, of his work and of his life and moved in circles that included, not just Burroughs, Zappa and Warhol but film-makers like Jim Jarmusch and Tom DiCillo who were more than happy to talk about Howard. What emerges is a fascinating picture of a talented and beautiful man whose life ended much too soon. It's also a wonderful picture of a society, many of whose inhabitants are no longer with us. It's honest, enlightening and very moving and Aaron Brookner is to be commended for giving it to us.