Karen Ponzio Photos.
Townwide Tyler and DJ B to the T Jr. strike a pose.
Jazz floated in the air between whispers and animated conversations as people sipped wine and coffee and munched on pita chips and popcorn this past Thursday at Best Video. It was another installment of Lounge Night — a monthly event at the film and cultural center where, over the course of four hours, patrons are treated to movies, music, and conversations about both. On this night, the crowd was treated to three short films from the New Haven 48 Hour Film Project as well as music from DJs Townwide Tyler and B to the T Jr.
Julie Smith addresses the crowd.
According to Julie Smith, Best Video’s executive director, this event began back in September 2022 with the concept of playing some jazz and seeing “if people wanted a nice quiet place to come” and hang out twice a month. On that first night, Best Video member Tyler Bisson — who DJs under the name Townwide Tyler — stopped in and mentioned the idea of a listening bar, which has grown in popularity in other areas of the world, like Japan. He then offered to DJ and play more ambient music. They tried that the next month.
“It went over extremely well,” noted Smith. “We now have a crew of people that come specifically for this. We’re a cultural center, so were looking to get as many people here as possible to just check it out.”
As time went on, they decided to try Lounge Night once a month, mostly due to their event calendar becoming so busy. In 2023 they decided to try having live music during the event, with the Low Hats (which is, in full disclosure, a trio that includes arts editor Brian Slattery) debuting in February with dark lounge music sets. That month was also the first time the 48 Hour Film Festival shorts were screened. The screenings have now become a part of each Lounge Night, with many of those filmmakers and team participants gathering there to reconnect, talk film, and more.
“One of the main things I’m trying to do is create connection, not just between the people who come here, but also with the people we’re collaborating with,” said Smith. “We’re always looking for more people to have access to this archive because it is incredible, but also [we’re] working with other nonprofits to amplify everyone’s voices.”
Smith is proud that these nights have “a little bit of something for everyone.” To her, Best Video can be “almost like a salon, a flexible space that can be a place for people to just have conversations. I love watching it happen during Lounge Night.… you’ll see groups of people just start talking to each other because the room lends itself to that.”
“Without getting too esoteric, the whole idea behind art is it connects us,” she added. It “reminds us of humanity, so I want to have a space that reflects that.”
Smith emphasized that while she loves the music and movie events that the space has always had and will continue to have, she also likes providing a specific time where it is “quiet, chill, mellow.” That was echoed by Trish Clark, city producer for the New Haven 48 Hour Film Project, who appreciates the “cool low-key vibe” of Lounge Night. She is thrilled to be back at Best Video, where she has held festival events before, and to be working with Smith in this new endeavor.
“They already had this the first Thursday of every month, and they were like, ‘you could just show some films,’ and I was like, ‘that’s perfect,’” said Clark. “And it’s all about conversations and connections.”
48 Hour Film Project, for the uninitiated, is an annual worldwide event held in several cities, New Haven being one of them. Teams compete to make a film in 48 hours after receiving a specific character, prop, and line of dialogue the night before to use in that film. The completed films are then screened and awards are given in a variety of categories.
Attendees watch "Best Children's Book Ever"
Clark has been showing three short films from the festival during the 20-minute break in music at 7 p.m. for the past three Lounge Nights (the event runs from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. typically). Team members have been showing up to see their films, but they also have started to have patrons show up regularly to view them.
Clark has also been trying to come up with a theme for each month. The latest installment nodded to women’s history. The first month concentrated on genres. Last month featured three movies from the same year, which allowed viewers to see the same character, prop, and line of dialogue in all three.
“I have a list of 20 options of what I can do for themes, and I’m certainly open to any requests,” added Clark.
Registration for this year’s 48 Hour Film Project in New Haven opens May 23, with the event itself happening the last weekend in July. Clark is hoping people who are interested check out the films at Lounge Night and talk to others to see if it is a right fit for them.
“If you want to sign up a team, or come and meet a team, or join a team, that’s part of why we do it,” said Clark. “I like more teams, but if it’s your first year it’s nice to join a team and get your feet wet, just dip your toe in.”
On this particular Lounge Night, after a couple hours of jazz and many patrons enjoying drinks and noshing on the evening’s special snack — a hummus plate adorned with olives, pita chips and carrots to dip — Clark showed three films from previous festivals. “Greasetown,” by Jabroni Studios, focused on a lost bike in the city and the dedicated group trying to find it. “Beneath the Surface with Jaime Hill,” by Cineslinger, was a harrowing slice of a true crime podcast. “Best Children’s Book Ever,” by Straight Outta Storrs, used puppets in a darkly comedic way as a woman trying to impress an author and potential beau attempts to write her own children’s book. All three were received with cheers and applause.
My hummus plate: delightful.
The next two hours continued with music from the two DJs, who split their time at the decks while also making connections through the room. Bisson spoke about how he came to be involved in Lounge Night, while DJ B to the T Jr — a.k.a. Brendan Toller, who is also the host of Cafe Nine’s monthly Shake N Vibrate series — took over the music.
“I knew that Julie had stepped into the role as director, and I was aware that she was looking for some new experiences at Best that were more collaborative and offered kind of a new fold to the experience of seeing music,” Bisson said — something where “you’re here and communicating with friends and meeting people in the community, and not simply watching a performance.”
Bisson noted that in Japan’s listening bars, “you go and have a drink, and you listen to music, and it’s a really hifi system.” People are “really sharing their record collections and people come to listen to it.”
After attending the first Lounge Night, he said to Smith “you should have lounge music,” and offered to bring his equipment and DJ. Acting as the host, he typically brings in one other DJ; the two then trade 30-minute sets for the two hours, noting that “it gives them time to think about the transitions they want to make and think deeply about their own record collection.”
Townwide Tyler at the turntables.
On this night Bisson noted his choices were “spiritual jazz, soul jazz, fusion jazz stuff.” A producer of electronic music, he noted that he has been “fascinated by ambient music for a very long time, so the interest is sort of in genres that wouldn’t necessarily be danceable genres, but you would still feel good to listen to it in a group of people.”
“Lounge Night for us is about finding amazing tracks on otherwise sort of weird or un-listened to records,” he said. He pointed out the track that was currently playing — an instrumental version of “Wichita Lineman” by Tuxen, from the album Smilin Steel — and noted that “listening to it at home would be a different experience than listening to it with a group of people. It’s sort of lifting the crowd but it’s also still somehow blending into the room a bit.”
And as more people filled the room and gathered with friends, it felt like every one of them was contributing their own small part in making Lounge Night so special.
“It feels like this is a slow part of the reconnection process [post-Covid],” noted Bisson. “I love Best Video so much, and its exciting for me to be able to feel like for one night a month I’m a little part of the staff.”
Collaboration is key to Smith, and she noted before the films began that “we’re going to be doing a lot more collaborations like this [with New Haven 48 Hour Film Project] because it’s really important work and it’s fun.”
She is planning even more new collaborations for these events. Next month’s event will feature a wine tasting with local organic wine appreciation group Palm Wines, as well as food from Sanctuary Kitchen. She is hoping more and more people find their way to the beloved gathering space, whether it’s for the first time or as a returning member who enjoys the archive’s vast catalogue of films, knowing that it is a place where anyone can also simply be.
“It’s a place where I want everyone to feel comfortable, welcome, and safe,” Smith said. “People are desperate for human connection. Here you are not an algorithm.”
Best Video’s Lounge Night is held the first Thursday of every month from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. More information about each month’s event can be found on the Best Video website or via their weekly newsletter, which you can sign up for on their website.
