This year’s Williamstown Film Festival line-up includes the first documentaries in its four years of existence. The three documentaries include a recent addition to the line-up, the U.S. premiere of a groundbreaking behind-the-scenes look at the making of a Disney animated feature. That film, The Sweatbox, will be the centerpiece of WFF’s annual gala/tribute at the Clark Art Institute. Highlights of the festival, which starts Friday, also include a program of shorts, a trivia contest, and seminars for discussion.
“We have artists — directors, producers or actors — coming for every feature,†said festival director Steve Lawson. The festival experience here is “not just going to a movie,†but involves talks with insiders, he said. “There’s something about that face-to-face thing that’s really meaningful.â€
“Our mission is to showcase the best new things people haven’t seen,†said Lawson. “We always have shown, and will continue to show, films that have not been released yet.â€
“It’s nice that most of the films this year are slated to be released,†he said, adding that that happy state of affairs has not always been the case.
The hip, black comedy Roger Dodger, which kicks off the festival Friday, Oct. 18, at Images Cinema, will open the following weekend in New York and Los Angeles, as will Love in the Time of Money, an updating of Arthur Schnitzler’s classic play, La Ronde. Love . . . will be screened Saturday, Oct. 19, at 3 p.m. at Images.
Documentaries will be the topic of a breakfast seminar Saturday, Oct. 19, at 10 a.m. at Water Street Grill, where Rick Derby, Jeff Blitz, and Sean Welch, whose films are being shown this weekend, will explore “The Lure of the Real.â€
The documentaries, Spellbound, and Rocks With Wings, and The Sweatbox, are “great for children of all ages,†said Lawson.
Spellbound, a documentary on eight aspirants for the championship of the National Spelling Bee, is “a festival hit,†said Lawson. “It started at Tribeca and Toronto, and it comes to us from Aspen and then goes to Hawaii. Happily, the director and producer are coming to us and not to the Hamptons.â€
Director Jeff Blitz and producer Sean Welch are flying in from Los Angeles to discuss their film at a brunch screening Sunday, Oct. 20, at Images. Bagels, coffee and juice will be served at 9:30, preceding the New England premiere of Spellbound at 10 a.m.
The first documentary to be shown, Rocks With Wings, will be screened Saturday, Oct. 19, at noon. Shot over 10 years, the film recounts the journey of a Navajo high-school girls’ basketball team, and the team’s intense young black coach, to the state finals.
Director/producer Rick Derby will answer questions afterwards.
A recent addition, lined up after the brochure had been printed, is a third documentary — The Sweat Box — about the making of a Disney animated feature, the first time Disney has allowed anyone to look behind the scenes.
Co-director Trudie Styler is married to Sting, who appears in the film with Eartha Kitt.
“We’re getting the American premiere,†said a clearly pleased Lawson. The film premiered at Toronto’s film festival last month.
“It’s the first time Disney’s let an outside crew document the blood, sweat, and tears of how the ‘Mouse’s House’ operates — and what a roller-coaster ride it is!â€
“It’s a joy to be showcasing The Sweatbox,†said Lawson. “In the first year we include documentaries, how appropriate to make a great one the climax of the festival.â€
The U.S. premiere of The Sweatbox will be the centerpiece of the festival’s annual gala/tribute Oct. 26, the festival’s second Saturday, at the Clark Art Institute, said Lawson. The film’s co-director and producer John-Paul Davidson will fly over from London for a lunch seminar and the screening.
Following a champagne/dessert party in the Clark courtyard, at 8 p.m., the 85-minute film will be screened in the auditorium at 9 p.m. The screening of the film, starring Sting (the original composer of the film-within-the-film), John Goodman, David Spade, and the legendary Eartha Kitt, was confirmed only days ago.
The film arrives at WFF through Williamstown board member Stephen Hannock, a friend of Sting and Styler, who recommended the film to Lawson. After viewing a tape, Lawson enlisted Hannock’s help in contacting Styler and Davidson, who agreed to give Williamstown the U.S. premiere.
The Sweatbox premiere takes the place, this year, of a specific honoree, and is the centerpiece of the festival’s annual gala/tribute.
Davidson will recount anecdotes about the five-year process of making the film, and about working closely with Sting, and will take questions from the audience. Davidson will be guest of honor at a 1 p.m. lunch seminar at eleven restaurant in the MASS MoCA complex in North Adams, at which he’ll discuss a career making award-winning documentaries on topics ranging from Gore Vidal and the Dalai Lama to Venetian gondoliers and Brazilian transvestites.
“This’ll be a fascinating departure for us,†said Lawson. “And a great opportunity; the premiere of a delightful film.â€
This weekend, Rodger Dodger features Campbell Scott as the cynical playboy uncle who sets out to educate his young nephew about women, and, said Lawson, receives an education in the process himself.
“They both learn a lot about women,†said Lawson. “The film is a lot of fun.â€
Co-stars are Isabella Rossellini, Jesse Eisenberg and Jennifer Beals. The 8 p.m. screening will be followed by the festival’s opening night party at Mezze on Water Street. Scott, who has performed at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, is the son of theatre and film greats George C. Scott and Colleen Dewhurst.
“We never try to reach for a particular theme. We just try to get good movies,†said Lawson. But this year, he said, “Several films are set in New York City, so it’s an oblique tribute to New York. It’s interesting. We hadn’t planned it.
“A lot of films are about kids — Rocks With Wings and Spellbound. It was nothing I reached for, it just happened,†he said.
Some films are about romance, and some of these categories overlap, he said.
The Sweat Box, The Safety of Objects, and XX/XY, are slated for release in 2003.
“We’re getting ‘em now,†said Lawson.
Love in the Time of Money takes the Schnitzler classic play La Ronde and updates its sexual roundelay in modern-day New York City. The cast includes Peter Buscemi (Fargo), Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos), Jill Hennessy (Crossing Jordan), and Carol Kane. Director Peter Mattei will take questions after the screening Saturday, Oct. 19, at 3 p.m.
MASS MoCA joins WFF in presenting the East Coast premiere of The Perfect You, shown Saturday, Oct. 19, at 8 p.m. at MASS MoCA’s Hunter Center in North Adams. An offbeat look at romance today, its co-stars, Chris Eigerman (Barcelona, and The Last Days of Disco) and Jenny McCarthy (MTV’s Singled Out) co-star as young urban singles who can’t help hooking up despite their mutual dislike. Eigerman was an apprentice at WTF in 1995, said Lawson. Director Matt Miller and Lawson will answer questions after the film, followed by a party in the lobby.
The following evening, Sunday, Oct. 20, WFF and Images join to present The First Annual Tinseltown Trivia Contest, which Lawson and Peter Giordano will conduct as masters of ceremonies.
“That’s going to be a ton of fun,†said Lawson, noting that the Clip Shop’s team is called Hairspray; another team is called the Manchurian Candidates. One of the eight teams of three members each, is comprised of Williams College students.
Between the two weekends, the festival offers free screenings in the Clark auditorium on South Street. Titles, dates and times are listed on WFF’s website.
Weekend Two begins with XX/XY, a smart, sexy first feature by Austin Chick tracing the power of attraction among college friends. The budding artist is played by Mark Ruffalo of You Can Count on Me. The film will be shown at Images Friday, Oct. 25, at 3 p.m., with the director answering questions afterwards, and a party at The Orchards to follow.
The all-shorts slot will be shown Saturday, Oct. 26 at Images at 10 a.m.
“Due to the flood of quality short films submitted, it was decided to set aside one slot for a collage of the most intriguing ones,†said Lawson.
“Even though we can only afford to bring in artists for the feature films, some of the artists involved in the shorts said they’d come anyway on their one dime.
“And we love having them. I think that means you’ve sort of arrived, in a funny sort of way,†said Lawson.
The final film, Oct. 27, a Sunday, at 10 a.m. is The Safety of Objects, directed by Rose Troche, who also directed Go Fish. The cast includes Glenn Close, Dermot Mulroney, Timothy Olyphant, Patricia Clarkson, Mary Kay Place and Joshua Jackson.
“It explores four suburban families, and it may remind people of American Beauty, but it’s so much more compassionate,†said Lawson.
The festival has mushroomed, he said.
“Last year, we had seven indie features and five shorts,†said Lawson. “To go from that to nine features and 17 shorts this year means more artists to talk to, to soothe.
“I feel like a combination psychiatrist, Machiavelli and travel agent.â€
The energetic and enthusiastic Lawson brings to the film festival a lengthy background in performing arts. He has long been associated with the Williamstown Theatre Festival, and he has written both for the theatre and television, including for the critically acclaimed series St. Elsewhere.
“At first, when we’d call artists, they’d confuse us with the Williamstown Theatre Festival,†he said. “Now WTF sometimes gets calls meant for us.â€
Lawson’s summer and fall are given over to the film festival, then he switches gears to run the Writers in Performance series for the Manhattan Theatre Club, which runs from March to May.
Tickets for WFF events are available at the door, or a festival pass can be purchased for $160, a savings of $25, or weekend passes are available, for each weekend, at $65 and $100, a savings of $10.
Memberships are available at various levels.
The festival Ticket Line, new this year, is 458-9900; the fax is 458-2702, and the website is www.williamstownfilmfest.com.
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Berkshire County Homes Celebrating Holiday Cheer
By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
There's holiday cheer throughout the Berkshires this winter.
Many homeowners are showing their holiday spirit by decorating their houses. We asked for submissions so those in the community can check out these fanciful lights and decor when they're out.
We asked the homeowners questions on their decorations and why they like to light up their houses.
In Great Barrington, Matt Pevzner has decorated his house with many lights and even has a Facebook page dedicated to making sure others can see the holiday joy.
Located at 93 Brush Hill Road, there's more than 61,000 lights strewn across the yard decorating trees and reindeer and even a polar bear.
The Pevzner family started decorating in September by testing their hundreds of boxes of lights. He builds all of his own decorations like the star 10-foot star that shines done from 80-feet up, 10 10-foot trees, nine 5-foot trees, and even the sleigh, and more that he also uses a lift to make sure are perfect each year.
"I always decorated but I went big during COVID. I felt that people needed something positive and to bring joy and happiness to everyone," he wrote. "I strive to bring as much joy and happiness as I can during the holidays. I love it when I get a message about how much people enjoy it. I've received cards thanking me how much they enjoyed it and made them smile. That means a lot."
Pevzner starts thinking about next year's display immediately after they take it down after New Year's. He gets his ideas by asking on his Facebook page for people's favorite decorations. The Pevzner family encourages you to take a drive and see their decorations, which are lighted every night from 5 to 10.
In North Adams, the Wilson family decorates their house with fun inflatables and even a big Santa waving to those who pass by.
The Wilsons start decorating before Thanksgiving and started decorating once their daughter was born and have grown their decorations each year as she has grown. They love to decorate as they used to drive around to look at decorations when they were younger and hope to spread the same joy.
"I have always loved driving around looking at Christmas lights and decorations. It's incredible what people can achieve these days with their displays," they wrote.
The Wilsons' invite you to come and look at their display at 432 Church St. that's lit from 4:30 to 10:30 every night, though if it's really windy, the inflatables might not be up as the weather will be too harsh.
In Pittsfield, Travis and Shannon Dozier decorated their house for the first time this Christmas as they recently purchased their home on Faucett Lane. The two started decorating in November, and hope to bring joy to the community.
"If we put a smile on one child's face driving by, then our mission was accomplished," they said.
Many homeowners are showing their holiday spirit by decorating their houses. We asked for submissions so those in the community can check out these fanciful lights and decor when they're out.
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