Independent Spirits: The Faith & John Hubley Story

12:00AM / Wednesday, February 02, 2005Print Story | Email Story

North Adams - Until the late 1950â€™s Disney Studios was the main source for animated films, producing commercially successful films that catered to a mainstream audience. This changed in 1955 when the marriage of animators Faith and John Hubley began not only a loving union that spanned more than two decades, but a collaborative partnership as well. The documentary Independent Spirits: The Faith and John Hubley Story, showing at MASS MoCA on Thursday, February 10, at 8pm, focuses on the careers and the joint works of these Academy Award-winning animators and the ways in which they re-defined animation through innovative graphics and experimental sounds. With the opening of their own studio, Storyboard, the Hubleys adhered to the belief that animation could deal with serious issues and, therefore, make a difference in the world. Following the film will be a post-screening discussion with the Hubleys' daughter, renowned animator Emily Hubley. â€œThe Hubleys could take on anything in terms of subject matter: nuclear annihilation, the Cold War, overpopulation, the death and rebirth of creativity. They seemed to be limitless, in terms of their daring, and what they wanted to put into animation â€“ what they felt animation could handle,â€ according to John Canemaker, animation historian and filmmaker. Directed by film historian Sybil DelGaudio, Independent Spirits explores the artistic works of Faith and John Hubley and their abilities to blend humor, intelligence, and social commentary into their animation. The couplesâ€™ ultimate goal was not to depict a cartoon mouse being chased by a cartoon cat, but "to increase awareness, to warn, to humanize, to elevate vision, to suggest goals, to deepen our understanding of ourselves and our relationship to one another." Asking audiences to use their imaginations, the Hubleys introduced non-traditional techniques to the world of animation, including a blend of watercolor, wax crayons, and multiple exposures and lighting from beneath the camera. These techniques gave the films a spontaneous appearance and emphasized the free-form graphic approach that is now known as Hubley-style animation. Independent Spirits also addresses the passion, spirit, and commitment of independent artists trying to exist in a culture of compromise and tradition. In the costly realm of filmmaking, independent artists are often tempted to negotiate their personal beliefs and visions by taking commissioned jobs in order to fund their own pieces of work. Having worked on separate projects before their partnership in 1955, Faith and John each brought their own unique qualities to the table. Before working with Faith, John nurtured his artistic brilliance at the Disney Studio while Faith, whose experience in a tough New York City neighborhood formed her rebellious spirit and deep respect for cultural diversity, worked in Hollywood as a sound effects and music editor and script supervisor. Though television shows like Sesame Street commissioned the Hubleys to create animation shorts, the couple never deterred from a promise made in their wedding vows, â€œto make at least one independent film a year;â€ a promise that Faith Hubley maintained after her husbandâ€™s death in 1977 until her own passing in 2001. Director Sybil DelGaudio is best known for her four-part series entitled Animated Women. The series won recognition at many festivals and museums, and was honored with an Emmy Award and a CINE Golden Eagle. DelGaudio teaches film studies and production at Hofstra University, where she is professor and chair of the Department of Audio/Video/Film. She is a film historian whose reviews and articles are published widely, and she is a frequent speaker and panel moderator on topics relating to film theory and animation. Tickets for Independent Spirits: The Faith and John Hubley Story are $6. MASS MoCA members receive a 10% discount. Tickets are available in advance through the MASS MoCA Box Office located off Marshall Street in North Adams from 11 A.M. until 5 P.M. (closed Tuesdays). Tickets can also be charged by phone by calling 413.662.2111.

iBerkshires.com Text Ads

rk MILES Blding Materials

Are You Ready to Update Your Home? Start With rk MILES. 4 Locations (800)670-7433

www.rkmiles.com

Greylock Youth SummerFest

Come join in on the wealth building fun! August 3-8. Click for event details. Insured by NCUA.

www.greylock.org

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Williamstown Homeowners Facing 7 Percent Hike in Tax Rate

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
02:03PM / Sunday, August 23, 2026

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Property owners will pay nearly a dollar more per $1,000 of assessed value in the current fiscal year under a tax classification proposal that goes to the Select Board on Monday evening.

According to a memo prepared by town Assessor Christopher Lamarre, the FY27 tax rate will be $15.16 per $1,000 of property value, an increase of 96 cents, or 6.8 percent, from the $14.20 per $1,000 property owners paid in the fiscal year that ended on June 30.

The increase is because of a 9.12 percent hike in the levy based on the budget and fiscal articles approved for FY27 at May's annual town meeting.

In FY26, the town collected $21.9 million from property taxes; this year, it needs to collect $24.1 million to pay its bills, a rise of $2.2 million.

That is by far the largest hike in the last 10 years — the period covered by data readily available on the town's website. In FY26, levy grew by 5.8 percent, following an eight-year period where the largest jump was 5.52 percent in 2018.

At the same time, the town continued to see growth rate in the tax base that does not keep up with rising costs. In FY27, "new growth" is pegged at $18.2 million, yielding just $258,004 in new tax revenue — far below the $2.2 million in needed revenue.

The total of taxable property in town in FY27 is $1.6 billion.

View Full Story