Williamstown — The Oakley Center at Williams College is the sponsor of a film festival of local artists, titled "Homegrown: Film and Video from North Berkshire County." The festival will take place on Sunday, March 12, beginning at 7 p.m., at Images Cinema on Spring Street. The event will last approximately three hours, with Q&A sessions with the filmmakers at the halfway point and at the end. "Homegrown" is free and open to the public.
Later in the spring, the Oakley Center will present "Extreme Documentary," which will bring to Williamstown documentary talent from around the world. "Homegrown," on the other hand, is in recognition of work being done by a number of local filmmakers. It will include a variety of film genres, from comic micro-shorts to feature-length documentaries. Each participant will screen a work of approximately 10 to 15 minutes in length. The program will include:
Deborah Brothers, costume director and lecturer in theatre, will present an excerpt of her film "Four Episodes from A New Orleans Mardi Gras."
Benjamin Brown '06 will show a 15-minue clip from "Pasajes de Junin." The film follows the struggles of five activists from a mining town in rural Ecuador.
Sandra Burton, Lipp Family Director of Dance, will show an excerpt of her work on the life and career of the legendary dancer and choreographer Chuck Davis.
Paula Consolini, coordinator of experiential education, will present an excerpt from her film "Breaking the Mold," the story of an employee buyout and the transformation of the people involved.
David Edwards, the Carl W. Vogt '58 Professor of Anthropology, will present an excerpt from his documentary "Kabul Transit," an associative -- at times surreal -- film about contemporary Afghanistan and the ways in which multiple and conflicting elements of the past persist in its present.
Liza Johnson, assistant professor of art, will show her short film "Desert Motel." The film is centered on a weekend getaway in the California desert, where the protagonist, Leslie, and her girlfriend run into Connor, a friend from home. Leslie stuns everyone when she crosses a line trying to understand the new kind of manhood that Connor introduces.
David Lachman, a North Adams resident, will present three of his short films: "Flower to Flower," "This is Art my Friend," and "Homemade."
Julia Morgan-Leamon, a local artist and member of the Williams College Museum of Art's staff, will show her video "Looking for Betty." Oblivious to the U.S. military exploits that frame her, the film's protagonist, Betty, inspects herself in the mirror of the video camera.
Amy Podmore, associate professor of art, will present her series of comic shorts, "Disappearing Acts." A humorous portrayal of "loss of self," it brings attention to the negotiation necessary between give and take that we experience in daily life.
Shawn Rosenheim, professor of English, will show an excerpt from his feature-length documentary on Biosphere 2, "Home Sick." As Rosenheim describes it: "8 people, two years, three acres. Grow your food. Recycle your waste. Breathe your own air. No one ever said paradise was fun."
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Pittsfield Parks OKs Annual Events, Hears Wahconah Park Idea
By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Parks Commission signed off on some annual city events on Tuesday.
Commissioners approved the 80th annual Eggstravaganza Egg Scramble, the Westside Legends' 6th annual Easter egg hunt, and another lineup of Eagles Band concerts in the park. The Eagles Community Band is in its 90th year.
Pittsfield's 80th egg hunt will be held at The Common on Saturday, April 4 (rain date April 11) from 10 to noon. The free event is open to children ages 2-11 and will feature a balloon artist, a face painter, the Easter bunny, and, of course, plastic eggs filled with small prizes.
The Westside Easter Egg Hunt, organized by the Westside Legends, is on the same day, April 4, from 1 to 3 p.m at Durant Park. It was scheduled to not conflict with the city's event, and will include tabling from community organizations, and some raffles.
City officials are also planning an opportunity to appreciate the Wahconah Park grandstand's century of history in Pittsfield. Demolition is currently out to bid, and prices are expected the first week of March.
"We want to have some conversation around opening up the grandstand one last time for the community to come in and look around and share memories," Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resources Manager James McGrath reported.
"I think it would we'd be remiss if we just brought in the wrecking ball and people were like, 'Wait a minute, I didn't have a chance to have one last look out from my favorite spot in the grandstand,' So we're going to figure out how to do that, how to get that done safely, and just how to celebrate this with some folks."
He has been in touch with Larry Moore of Berkshire Baseball to share facts about the park, "and just remind people how much of a storied past Wahconah Park has had, and just keep hope alive for the next iteration of Wahconah Park, whatever that looks like."
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Shane Faucher scored 18 points. Sammy Bullett added 14, and Connor Hinkell and Brayden Durant added 13 and 11, respectively, as Drury won its 11th straight game, improved to 19-2 and captured its first Western Mass title since 2023. click for more
The Holyoke wrestling team Saturday took the final two championship bouts to pull away for the title by a 12-point margin over Mount Greylock at the Western Massachusetts Division 3 Championships. click for more
