In 1996 a college friend insisted I see Trees Lounge because it was largely filmed in her hometown of Valley Stream, New York. Turns out both she and the movie’s star/director/writer Steve Buscemi were raised in that Long Island burg. The tale of a self-sabotaging drunk features a who’s-who of NYC actors including Chloë Sevigny, Elizabeth Bracco, Debi Mazar, and more. If Nineties independent cinema is your vibe, you can’t do much better than early Buscemi – who’ll be in attendance for the Sept. 13 screening for a moderated chat with Richard Linklater. – James Renovitch
