Lawson lauds film festival’s diversity

By Linda CarmanPrint Story | Email Story
WILLIAMSTOWN – The sixth annual Williamstown Film Festival may have the broadest mix of topics and genres as it showcases independent films, according to Executive Director Steve Lawson. The festival starts Friday, Oct. 24, with the black comedy “Eulogy,” featuring a high profile cast as dysfunctional mourners, and continues through the following Sunday, Oct. 31, culminating with the classic horror “Frankenstein” in a salute to Halloween. “In terms of diversity, this may be the best mix we’ve had,” Lawson said last week as the opening drew near. “In programming, we really made a conscious effort to go across the board and hit a range of subjects and types of films, shorts, documentaries, narratives.” And, he said, “I’m very conscious of what films work where. What works at Sunday brunch may not be ideal for opening night.” Important in scheduling is the availability of artists for appearances, and there are 30 here this year. “Everyone wants Fridays and Saturdays,” Lawson said, wryly. The artists are an important draw, he said, because, “People want to hear the backstory.” “Primer,” scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 23, at 3:30 p.m., won the grand jury prize at Sundance. “Shane Carruth wrote, directed, edited, composed the score, produced and stars in it, and he spent only $7,000. For everything,” Lawson said, adding that the film also won the Alfred P. Sloane prize of $25,000 for science. “Eulogy” will open the festival with a high-profile cast, including Debra Winger, Piper Laurie and Rip Torn, depicting members of what Lawson described as “an incredibly dysfunctional family gathered for their father’s funeral.” This year is the festival’s first with film showings Saturday and Sunday nights at Images Cinema. “It may be a one-year wonder, but who knows?” Lawson said. The traditional program of all shorts will be held Saturday, Oct. 23, at noon. The breakfast seminar Saturday at 10 a.m. at The Williams Inn will feature a panel tackling the topic of financing a movie, titled, appropriately enough, “Follow the Money!” Lawson, while looking ahead to the festival, took time to recall some previous ones, particularly three years ago, when the festival opened 10 days after the attacks of 9/11. Lawson said the opening film, “Super Trooper” was “silly and raunchy and just what people needed for distraction.” This year, film and stage star Alec Baldwin will show and discuss one of his favorite films before the annual champagne gala. “I expect it will have something to do with politics,” Lawson said, noting the upcoming election and Baldwin’s activism. In previous seasons, the festival has honored director John Frankenheimer and actors David Strathairn and Sigourney Weaver, and hosted the American premiere of “The Sweatbox “ and “The Human Stain.” Lawson’s fervency for film is a natural outgrowth of his interest in theater and the timing of his growing up in an era of great foreign films. “It grew out of being an actor, really,” he said. “And when I was growing up in the mid to late 60s, there was an explosion of foreign films _ Bergman, Truffaut, Anonioni — and they in turn inspired a lot of American directors.” Lawson remembers fondly a winter study course at Williams College taught by Charles Thomas Samuels focusing on Antonioni’s “L’Avventura” and Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Lady Vanishes.” At Williams, Lawson helped run the film society. “I feel very lucky to be involved in the Williamstown Film Festival,” he said, crediting Robert Ware, festival board president, as “very much a leading force.” Ware, with Lee Harrison and Howard Garbarsky and recent Williams College graduates Gene Klein, David Nicoll and Kara Webber all serve on the festival’s board. Lawson, whose many contacts in film and television were invaluable in launching a film festival, recalls being told by Ware, “Now go raise your own salary.” “After the first year, we had a $350 profit,” he said. But major supporters, such as Lawson’s Williams classmate George Estes and local banks, soon lined up. Lawson’s long association with the Williamstown Theatre Festival was another strong suit. It was through former WTF apprentice Keri Putnam, with the Los Angeles office of HBO that HBO became a sponsor, as did the Writers Guild East, Coca-Cola and A & E. The documentary “Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and The Holocaust” will be given its Massachusetts premiere Oct. 30 at 10:30 a.m. It includes footage from “The Great Dictator,” “Schindler’s List” and others. Another film shown at Sundance is “Down to the Bone,” directed by Debra Granik and featuring Vera Farmiga, who was honored there for her performance as a small-town working class mother who fights her addiction for the sake of her children but falls into a destructive affair. The film “p.s.” by Dylan Kidd, the writer-director of “Roger Dodger” shown here previously, features Laura Linney as a Columbia University admissions officer encountering an applicant who looks like her old — and dead — high school boyfriend. Scheduled for Oct. 30 at 2:45 p.m., the film’s high-powered cast includes Gabriel Byrne, Topher Grace and Marcia Gay Harden in its New England premiere. Lawson not only planned this year’s lineup, he appears in one of its films, “A Touch of Greatness,” about his elementary school teacher Albert Collum, who launched a citywide Shakespeare festival. “As a 14-year-old, I played Oberon, Romeo and Macbeth,” Lawson recalled. “Part of the fun is seeing that a lot of us are involved in the arts, and some are going to be here.” The film will be shown in memory of the teacher, who died last year. For complete information about the films and scheduling, log onto the www.williamstownfilmfest.com.
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Lanesborough Fifth-Graders Win Snowplow Name Contest

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — One of the snowplows for Highway District 1 has a new name: "The Blizzard Boss."
 
The name comes from teacher Gina Wagner's fifth-grade class at Lanesborough Elementary School. 
 
The state Department of Transportation announced the winners of the fourth annual "Name A Snowplow" contest on Monday. 
 
The department received entries from public elementary and middle school classrooms across the commonwealth to name the 12 MassDOT snowplows that will be in service during the 2025/2026 winter season. 
 
The purpose of the contest is to celebrate the snow and ice season and to recognize the hard work and dedication shown by public works employees and contractors during winter operations. 
 
"Thank you to all of the students who participated. Your creativity allows us to highlight to all, the importance of the work performed by our workforce," said  interim MassDOT Secretary Phil Eng.  
 
"Our workforce takes pride as they clear snow and ice, keeping our roads safe during adverse weather events for all that need to travel. ?To our contest winners and participants, know that you have added some fun to the serious take of operating plows. ?I'm proud of the skill and dedication from our crews and thank the public of the shared responsibility to slow down, give plows space and put safety first every time there is a winter weather event."
 
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