Maybe, like us, you are trying to ignore it…but those nights are getting a little colder! As the “official” cultural season nears its end, BIFF reminds you that we are going to keep the film coming as the leaves change, right through those white wintry days, and into the sunny, shiny spring! We’ve got some exciting things planned for the next couple of months, we thought you might like to check out…And if you like what you see, JOIN US!
Become a Reel Friend, and support film in your community. With your help, we can continue to bring you the best in indie film, filmmakers and events year-round!
A HISTORY OF ISRAELI CINEMA
September brings the second half of Raphael Nadjari’s A HISTORY OF ISRAELI CINEMA on the 19th at 11am at the Triplex.
Berkshire Eagle columnist, Leonard Quart, who is Professor Emeritus of Cinema Studies at the College of Staten Island and at the CUNY Graduate Center as well as a Contributing Editor at Cineaste, will be present to introduce the film and for a Q&A afterwards.
Quart describes the film. “The documentary's second part covers the years 1978 to 2005 and examines the wave of films dealing with the Arab-Israeli conflict, and others offering a more personal approach to cinema, including films dealing with ignored groups like the ultra-Orthodox, women, gays, and Georgian immigrants, and directors like Gitai, Cedar, and Dover Kosashvili. Many of these films criticize Israeli society, but they are rarely didactic. They also pose the question, in a nation where social and political reality is inescapable, what is the function of cinema as a national narrative?”
The film is open to the public at matinee cost and free for REEL FRIENDS.
FULL SIGNAL
Ever wonder about our society’s dependence on technology? What if all that time on the cell phone is not actually so harmless? In October, BIFF will be presenting a must-see film for anyone interested in finding out the truth. Talal Jabari’s FULL SIGNAL talks to scientists around the world who are researching the health effects related to wireless technology; from veteran journalists who have called attention to the issue for decades; to activists who are fighting to regulate the placement of antennas and lawyers and law makers who represent the people wanting those antennas regulated. Filmed in 10 countries and 6 US states, FULL SIGNAL examines the contradiction between health and finance, one of the many ironies of the fight to regulate antenna placement.
We look forward to some wonderful guests to introduce the film for a Q&A afterwards.
B. Blake Levitt, featured as key expert in the film, is an award-winning journalist who has specialized in medical and science writing for nearly two decades. She has researched the biological effects of nonionizing radiation since the late 1970's, and is the editor/contributing author of Cell Towers, Wireless Convenience or Environmental Hazard? and the author of Electromagnetic Fields, A Consumer’s Guide To The Issues And How To Protect Ourselves.”
Starling W. Childs is a geologist, forestry consultant, and adjunct faculty member at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies who is focusing on the effects of electromagnetic radiation on other species. Mr. Childs is the President of The Berkshire-Litchfield Environmental Council and a partner in EECOS, an environmental land-use consulting firm.
Whitney North Seymour, Jr. is a former United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Seymour served in the New York State Senate and was a co-founder of The Natural Resources Defense Council ("NRDC"). Mr. Seymour has petitioned for certiorari in three cell tower cases to the U.S. Supreme Court. He currently serves as co-counsel with his daughter Gabriel North Seymour on a number of cutting-edge environmental and civil rights cases in federal courts in New York and Connecticut.
Gabriel North Seymour is a legal advocate for citizens and community organizations fighting to protect constitutional rights, environmental resources, preservation of landmarks, human rights, and birds and wildlife.
CROPSEY
For all you fright seeking film fans, don’t miss out on Joshua Zeman’s CROPSEY this October! In almost every community there is an urban legend floating around about a madman who disposes of children who aren't careful and become too curious about their surroundings. The boogeyman himself varies from town to town - even within the community itself - but the message is always the same: travel in packs and stay away from dangerous areas....or else! For kids on Staten Island in New York, that boogeyman was known as Cropsey, an escaped mental patient who would snatch kids off the street late at night. Filmmakers Joshua Zeman and Barbara Brancaccio grew up with the legend of Cropsey, but in 1987 the legend took on human form when Andre Rand, a former employee of the Willowbrook mental institute for children, was convicted of the kidnapping and murder of 13 year-old Jennifer Schweiger.
Zeman and Brancaccio teamed up to make the chilling documentary which begins with current and former residents of Staten Island - including the filmmakers - describing the creepy and varied legend. Director Joshua Zeman, who will be in attendance, comments, “We knew the Satan-worshipping stories as kids, as well as the stories about the tunnels. Every college, mental institution, prison, they all have urban legends about tunnels, and many of them are based in reality. What we discovered was quite shocking, though…"
BUGGED
In November, BIFF will be collaborating with the Berkshire Botanical Gardens to present a must-see film. Alien invaders have occupied America for 25 years. They live hidden among us. The Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) is in the top 100 "World's Worst Invasive Alien Species" and could destroy one third of America's trees. Don’t miss BUGGED: THE RACE TO ERADICATE THE ASIAN LONGHORNED BEETLE. Producer/Director, Emily V. Driscoll, will be in attendance. More to come...
(Director, Emily Driscoll)
With your support we can continue to bring you great film all year long. So if you like what you see and would like to see more join the REEL FRIENDS of BIFF!!
BIFF 2011 will be held June 2-5, and submissions will open October 1, 2010.
About BIFF
The Berkshire International Film Festival aims to create a world-class festival as an integral part of the cultural fabric of the Berkshires. BIFF will showcase not only the latest in independent feature, documentary, short, and family films but also lively panel discussions and special events focusing on filmmakers and talented artists from both sides of the camera.
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