Filmed thirty-two years ago, Grey Gardens told the extraordinary story of Edith Bouvier Beale and her daughter Edie, who lived in seclusion within the decaying walls of their 28-room East Hampton mansion (called “Grey Gardens”). The two eccentric women had been living there for most of their adult lives, entertaining one another with oddball theatrics and over-the-top camp. For instance, Edie was famous for her exaggerated costumes, particularly her “revolutionary costume” of a sweater wrapped around her head, tacked in place by an ornate broach. Filmmakers Albert and David Maysles scored a hit with Grey Gardens, and it became an overnight cult classic.

This year, the Maysles brothers created a feature-length follow-up to Grey Gardens, cut wholly from unseen footage shot for the original in 1974. The new film, The Beales of Grey Gardens, allows the video footage to speak for itself. There are no interviews or voiceovers. It’s simply life as the Beales lived it, unfiltered and erratic. While the Beales’ lives have been documented since then in print and even in a Broadway musical, these films mark the only time that these dramatically-inclined women stood before the lens, making them important historical and social documents.

Saturday, August 19 at 8pm. Hallwalls Contermporary Arts Center,

341 Delaware Ave (854-1694). $7