Clark Art Screens 'Girlfriends'

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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — On Thursday, Feb. 20, the Clark Art Institute screens the latest installment in its Hollywood Auteurs film series, "Girlfriends" (1978), at 6 pm in the Manton Research Center auditorium.

Presented in partnership with Images Cinema, this series captures the explosion of creativity, critical acclaim, and box office success that Hollywood directors found after the fall of the studio system.

According to a press release: 

When her best friend and roommate abruptly moves out of their Manhattan apartment to get married, Susan (Melanie Mayron) finds herself adrift in both life and love. A wonder of American independent cinema by Claudia Weill (who, when she was admitted to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as a director in 1981, was one of only four women ever to have received that honor), Girlfriends is a remarkably authentic vision of female relationships that has become a touchstone for makers of an entire subgenre of films and television shows about young women trying to make it in the big city. This 1970s New York time capsule captures the complexities and contradictions of women’s lives and relationships with wry humor and refreshing frankness. (Run time: 1 hour, 26 minutes)

Free. Accessible seats available; for information, call 413 458 0524. For more information, visit clarkart.edu/events.

 


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Williamstown Housing Trust Agrees to Continue Emergency Mortgage, Rental Programs

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The board of the town's Affordable Housing Trust at its December meeting voted to extend its mortgage and rental assistance programs and discussed bringing in some consultants early next year before embarking on any new programs.
 
Chair Daniel Gura informed the board that its agreements with Pittsfield's Hearthway Inc., to administer the Williamstown Emergency Rental Assistance Program and Williamstown Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program was expiring at the end of the year.
 
Gura sought and obtained a vote of the board to extend the programs, born during the COVID-19 pandemic, through the end of January 2026, at which time the board plans to sign a new long-term agreement.
 
"In 2024, we distributed $80,000," through the programs known as WERAP and WEMAP, Gura said. "This year, to date, we gave $16,000, and Ihere's $17,000 left. … It's a little interesting we saw a dropoff from 2024 to 2025, although I think there were obvious reasons for that in terms of where we are in the world."
 
Gura suggested that the board might want to increase the funding to the programs, which benefit income-qualified town residents.
 
"If you look at the broader economic picture in this country, there's a prospect of more people needing help, not fewer people," Thomas Sheldon said in agreeing with Gura. "I think the need will bump up again."
 
The board voted to add an additional $13,000 to the amount available to applicants screened by Hearthway with the possibility of raising that funding if a spike in demand is seen.
 
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