11 – 13 September 2026
A landmark programme of restored and rediscovered films exploring the work and legacy of filmmaker Howard Brookner through William S. Burroughs, Robert Wilson, downtown New York and the cultural memory of the AIDS era. The season marks Aaron Brookner and Paula Vaccaro’s 15-year effort to recover, preserve, remaster and return Howard Brookner’s films and archive to audiences.
Howard Brookner (1954–1989) emerged from the artistic energy of downtown New York in the late 1970s and early 1980s, making films from within the overlapping worlds of radical literature, experimental theatre, music, performance and independent cinema. Working closely with figures including William S. Burroughs and Robert Wilson, he developed an intimate and deeply collaborative form of documentary filmmaking, capturing not only the artists themselves but also the communities, creative processes and cultural movements surrounding them.
In 1987, Brookner began work on his first narrative feature, Bloodhounds of Broadway, starring Madonna, Matt Dillon and an all-star ensemble cast. He died from AIDS in 1989, aged 34, shortly before the film’s release. For many years, his earlier films were largely unavailable, while the extensive collection of film, sound and production materials behind his work was believed to have been lost.
In 2011, his nephew, filmmaker Aaron Brookner, began searching for the missing films and materials. Together with producer Paula Vaccaro, he established a long-term project to recover, preserve, restore and reactivate Howard’s work. What began as a personal search developed into a wider undertaking involving filmmaking, archival research, restoration and the recovery of an important chapter of independent and queer cultural history.
This season brings that history together through four acclaimed films. Burroughs: The Movie (1983, remastered 2014) and Robert Wilson and the CIVIL warS (1985, restored and re-released in 2025) reveal Brookner’s extraordinary access to two highly influential artists, and his ability to film creative lives and processes from the inside.
Uncle Howard, which premiered at Sundance and the Berlinale in 2016, follows Aaron Brookner’s search for his uncle’s missing archive and his attempt to understand the life, work and cultural world Howard left behind.
NOVA ’78, directed by Aaron Brookner and Rodrigo Areias, premiered at Locarno in 2025 and opened MoMA’s Doc Fortnight in 2026. The first new feature to emerge from Howard Brookner’s recovered archive, it draws on never-before-seen footage filmed around the 1978 Nova Convention, the landmark New York gathering celebrating William S. Burroughs. Featuring an extraordinary constellation of writers, musicians and artists, including Patti Smith, Laurie Anderson, Philip Glass, Frank Zappa, Allen Ginsberg and Brion Gysin, the film opens a vivid window onto a moment when punk, performance, radical literature and the avant-garde collided.
Seen together, the films create a conversation across generations about artistic collaboration, authorship, queer history, cultural memory, loss and survival. They also raise urgent questions about archives themselves: who preserves independent cultural work, how lost histories are recovered, and how materials created in one era can acquire new meanings and reach new audiences in another.
A landmark programme of restored and rediscovered films exploring the work and legacy of filmmaker Howard Brookner through William S. Burroughs, Robert Wilson, downtown New York and the cultural memory of the AIDS era. The season marks Aaron Brookner and Paula Vaccaro’s 15-year effort to recover, preserve, remaster and return Howard Brookner’s films and archive to audiences.
Howard Brookner (1954–1989) emerged from the artistic energy of downtown New York in the late 1970s and early 1980s, making films from within the overlapping worlds of radical literature, experimental theatre, music, performance and independent cinema. Working closely with figures including William S. Burroughs and Robert Wilson, he developed an intimate and deeply collaborative form of documentary filmmaking, capturing not only the artists themselves but also the communities, creative processes and cultural movements surrounding them.
In 1987, Brookner began work on his first narrative feature, Bloodhounds of Broadway, starring Madonna, Matt Dillon and an all-star ensemble cast. He died from AIDS in 1989, aged 34, shortly before the film’s release. For many years, his earlier films were largely unavailable, while the extensive collection of film, sound and production materials behind his work was believed to have been lost.
In 2011, his nephew, filmmaker Aaron Brookner, began searching for the missing films and materials. Together with producer Paula Vaccaro, he established a long-term project to recover, preserve, restore and reactivate Howard’s work. What began as a personal search developed into a wider undertaking involving filmmaking, archival research, restoration and the recovery of an important chapter of independent and queer cultural history.
This season brings that history together through four acclaimed films. Burroughs: The Movie (1983, remastered 2014) and Robert Wilson and the CIVIL warS (1985, restored and re-released in 2025) reveal Brookner’s extraordinary access to two highly influential artists, and his ability to film creative lives and processes from the inside.
Uncle Howard, which premiered at Sundance and the Berlinale in 2016, follows Aaron Brookner’s search for his uncle’s missing archive and his attempt to understand the life, work and cultural world Howard left behind.
NOVA ’78, directed by Aaron Brookner and Rodrigo Areias, premiered at Locarno in 2025 and opened MoMA’s Doc Fortnight in 2026. The first new feature to emerge from Howard Brookner’s recovered archive, it draws on never-before-seen footage filmed around the 1978 Nova Convention, the landmark New York gathering celebrating William S. Burroughs. Featuring an extraordinary constellation of writers, musicians and artists, including Patti Smith, Laurie Anderson, Philip Glass, Frank Zappa, Allen Ginsberg and Brion Gysin, the film opens a vivid window onto a moment when punk, performance, radical literature and the avant-garde collided.
Seen together, the films create a conversation across generations about artistic collaboration, authorship, queer history, cultural memory, loss and survival. They also raise urgent questions about archives themselves: who preserves independent cultural work, how lost histories are recovered, and how materials created in one era can acquire new meanings and reach new audiences in another.
Programme
Friday 11 September, 6.30pm
UK PREMIERE
Nova '78 + Q&A
A time capsule of the 1978 Nova Convention, bringing together never-before-seen footage recovered from Howard Brookner’s archive, featuring William S. Burroughs, Philip Glass, Frank Zappa, Patti Smith, Laurie Anderson and other cultural radicals at the explosive crossroads of punk, performance, literature and the avant-garde.
Saturday 12 September, 4pm
Burroughs: The Movie
Howard Brookner’s landmark documentary and the only feature portrait made in close collaboration with William S. Burroughs. Filmed over five years and featuring Allen Ginsberg, Patti Smith, Terry Southern and others, it offers an intimate and revealing exploration of Burroughs’s life, work and enduring cultural influence.
Saturday 12 September, 6pm
UK PREMIERE
Robert Wilson and the CIVIL warS
An intimate behind-the-scenes portrait and the sole documentary record of Robert Wilson’s unfinished opera the CIVIL warS, created for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Arts Festival. The film captures the ambition, chaos and brilliance behind the one major work Wilson was unable to complete, featuring Philip Glass, Lucinda Childs, David Byrne, Etel Adnan and other close collaborators.
Sunday 13 September, 4pm
Uncle Howard
Award-winning and BIFA-nominated, Uncle Howard follows Aaron Brookner’s search for the lost archive and legacy of his uncle, filmmaker Howard Brookner, whose life and career were cut short by AIDS. Featuring Madonna, Jim Jarmusch, Tom DiCillo, Sara Driver, Robert Wilson, William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg and others.
Friday 11 September, 6.30pm
UK PREMIERE
Nova '78 + Q&A
A time capsule of the 1978 Nova Convention, bringing together never-before-seen footage recovered from Howard Brookner’s archive, featuring William S. Burroughs, Philip Glass, Frank Zappa, Patti Smith, Laurie Anderson and other cultural radicals at the explosive crossroads of punk, performance, literature and the avant-garde.
Saturday 12 September, 4pm
Burroughs: The Movie
Howard Brookner’s landmark documentary and the only feature portrait made in close collaboration with William S. Burroughs. Filmed over five years and featuring Allen Ginsberg, Patti Smith, Terry Southern and others, it offers an intimate and revealing exploration of Burroughs’s life, work and enduring cultural influence.
Saturday 12 September, 6pm
UK PREMIERE
Robert Wilson and the CIVIL warS
An intimate behind-the-scenes portrait and the sole documentary record of Robert Wilson’s unfinished opera the CIVIL warS, created for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Arts Festival. The film captures the ambition, chaos and brilliance behind the one major work Wilson was unable to complete, featuring Philip Glass, Lucinda Childs, David Byrne, Etel Adnan and other close collaborators.
Sunday 13 September, 4pm
Uncle Howard
Award-winning and BIFA-nominated, Uncle Howard follows Aaron Brookner’s search for the lost archive and legacy of his uncle, filmmaker Howard Brookner, whose life and career were cut short by AIDS. Featuring Madonna, Jim Jarmusch, Tom DiCillo, Sara Driver, Robert Wilson, William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg and others.
