Brett:

In addition to being the overnight concierge here at the tower, I’m a contributing editor and film critic for the Boston Herald, and I was the film critic for the Boston Phoenix for about a decade. I didn’t study film at school, it just has always been a passion of mine. I actually went to the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and then got my first job as a graphic designer at Arnold in Boston. For years, I would go to the Harvard film archive every weekend and spend Friday-Sunday there, watching every film I could get my hands on. Reviewing them was a natural next step.

After working in the advertising world for 20 years, I was looking for a change. A friend who was also a concierge introduced me to the industry and it felt like a good fit. I’ve always been nocturnal, so working overnights is great for me. Also, it allows me the flexibility to see all the daytime screenings for the films I have to review.

Selecting the films for movie nights is great fun, but most of all I like connecting with the residents. Whether talking about cinema after a screening or engaging with them as the overnight concierge, I take pride in keeping residents happy and problem free. I’ve always been very comfortable talking to people - little known fact, my nickname used to be “the cruise director.”

I always have a theme based on the season or the month, but also give consideration to picking family-friendly options for the earlier screening, and to celebrating the life of a director or actor that we have recently lost. I like to show both famous films and lesser known pictures, so residents that come regularly to the screening room will get a depth and breadth of knowledge of cinematic history as well.

That is impossible to say! There are just too many. I can tell you one of my favorite directors is Yasujirō Ozu. He’s a Japanese director that makes incredibly touching films about the human condition. Tokyo Story is probably his most well known - deservingly so - but I also love Late Spring, about a widower father and his only daughter. She is in her late 20s and single, and the story deals with their relationship as she cares for her father and he tries to find her a husband.

I expect La La Land, Manchester by the Sea and Moonlight to take home quite a few. Of course there are other pictures I would’ve liked to have seen nominated, Everybody Wants Some! and Hunt for the Wilderpeople are two great ones. I’m looking forward to hosting the La Vie Oscar Night party and seeing who ultimately wins.