The Village Voice Best of 2003 series at BAM draws to a close tonight with a screening of one of the best independent films of last year, Raising Victor Vargas. Directed by Peter Sollett, the film is an emotive coming-of-age story set in the LES. What makes Vargas work are the performances which Sollett successfully inspired from his virtually unknown cast. He first found these actors while working on his student short, Five Feet High and Rising, which was based on the same premise as Vargas. A Q&A with Sollett will follow tonight's 6:45pm screening.
Also worth checking out is BAM's Four with Pacino series running in honor of the 4th. It features screenings of some of the Bronx boy's finest, Panic in Needle Park (1971), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), Cruising (1980) and Scarface (1983).
