The Downtown Festival: The Joyless Economy + Q&A

The Joyless Economy a film by Marjorie Conrad
New York Premiere

A documentary that explores how a woman’s movie collection triggers her infidelity. Created for one viewer—the woman whose confessions are revealed through hypnotic second-person narration.

Director’s statement: I photographed the subject’s entire film collection, and, with few exceptions, preserved the order in the edit. She supplied the home movies. The words are hers, edited from months of interviews she recorded herself, answering my questions. Considering how specific she was in the way she chose to present herself, I knew this was as far as we could go. This documentary provides data. The elusiveness of the data is also data.

Screening followed by a conversation between director Marjorie Conrad, moderated by SPECIAL GUEST

ABOUT THE DOWNTOWN FESTIVAL:
The Downtown Festival is a multidisciplinary celebration of independent film, music, art, and culture held across Lower Manhattan each October. Founded and directed by filmmaker Rebekah Sherman-Myntti, the festival brings together artists across disciplines and generations through film premieres, anniversary screenings, live music performances, artist talks, and special one-night-only events. Programming is led by Sherman-Myntti and Associate Director Briana Bursten, with a focus on discovery, experimentation, community, and genuine artist-to-artist exchange. The festival’s film program runs October 9-18 at Roxy Cinema, with additional programming and special events taking place all over downtown.