Filmmaker with local roots tells “a story about transformation”

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A Eureka moment, perseverance in the face of adversity, and a deck of credit cards were the prime ingredients for documentary filmmakers who spoke Saturday on “The Lure of the Real” as part of the Williamstown Film Festival. Rick Derby, who grew up in Hinsdale, took 13 years to make his documentary titled Rocks With Wings, recounting the dramatic journey of a Navajo girls’ high school basketball team to the New Mexico state championship. “It’s a moment of clarity, less then a breath, and you think, ‘Holy shit, this is it!’ Now my life is committed to doing this,” said Derby, describing how he chose his topic, and who called his film “a story about transformation.” “Where documentary falls off is into preaching and politically correct hogwash,” he said. Derby, along with Jeff Blitz and Sean Welch, director and producer, respectively, of prizewinning and U.S. festival circuit favorite Spellbound, spoke on the obstacles and tribulations a documentary filmmaker must overcome to first, make the film, and second, get it out to an audience. And the filmmaker’s journey can itself be a dramatic one. “Sean and I didn’t have any credits at all,” said Blitz. “We were just a couple of guys who happened to own a video camera contacting National Spelling Bee families. . . If I was a parent I’d probably say No.” Blitz was a graduate student in film, taking a break from actively trying to figure out the topic for his first documentary when he happened to see the final rounds of the 1997 National Spelling Bee on television. “I could tell there were incredible stories behind these kids, and an intense drama that played out here,” he said. “I had never competed in a spelling bee, and I wasn’t particularly interested in spelling . . . but I felt responsible for bringing to life an American story.” Welch initially rebuffed Blitz’s pitches to come on board, then relented when he saw, in Blitz’s apartment, “computer printouts with all these kids’ bios and photos and a map of the United States with push pins. I always wondered what would’ve happened had it not been me at the apartment but an F.B.I. agent.” “It’s so expensive,” said Blitz. “I had foolishly thought if it was us, and the little video camera that we owned, it would be almost free.” Said Welch, “the film was made by Jeff, Sean, Master and Visa.” Their first visits with the families were “just talk, without equipment, to get to know them,” he said. In response to a question, he said they remain in contact with the families. “They’re really proud of (the film),” he said. Said Derby, “You can tell when a documentary hits the nail on the head.” His voice conveyed emotion as he quoted the Mexican father in Spellbound saying “’I’ve accomplished my life’s journey’” (through his child’s achievement). Moderating the discussion at the Water Street Grill Saturday were Williams College English professor and member of the WFF board of directors Shawn J. Rosenheim, and festival director Steve Lawson. The festival, in its fourth year, resumes this weekend. “It’s an intensely creative process,” said director/producer Derby. Said Blitz, “Every choice you make as a filmmaker comes from such a personal place. If (the subjects) are comfortable with you, they’ll open up. “(A documentary film) is a very weird blending of the filmmakers’ story and your story.” The documentarians, despite penury, maintained their determination to retain creative control, and not to compromise their vision. “The more we talked about it (signing on early with HBO or the Learning Channel), we decided to go out and do it ourselves, to take the risk,” he said. Blitz and Welch said “we don’t answer questions about how much it cost, but it was a heck of a lot of money.” And while “most documentarians dream of a theatrical release, more realistically, it’s likely to be television.” Spellbound is scheduled for release in theaters this spring. Rocks With Wings will air on PBS Dec. 11 (check local listings). Derby has “a very long resume” working on Hollywood feature films and on Dateline, but his documentary took “a tremendous amount of sacrificial toll,” he said. “As a creative documentary maker you’re really on your own,” he said. Derby recalled that he “got bounced around” among funders who tried unsuccessfully to pigeonhole his film in the various categories of Indian, African-American, women, and sports. As for what to tackle next, Blitz said he is “waiting for whatever is going to be number two to come to me in the same way. Part of creating my own luck is letting the project find me. I intend to hang on and let that happen.” Welch said he intends to “sleep for two or three months.” Derby’s projects include a romantic comedy set in Israel, a remake of Sullivan’s Travels, and a series on hockey. Asked to name their movie-making heroes, Derby named Erroll Morris, documentarian who made The Thin Blue Line. Derby’s wife Sandra Fong-Ging , who was also involved in the movie, named her husband who, despite “no money and so much rejection from people really stuck to it . . . He’s a hero to me even though he hasn’t made a lot of money.” The couple were accompanied by their daughter Kemly, 31/2, whose Navajo name, “Nanabah” means the continuing circle of life. Derby, as a teenager growing up on Ashmere Lake in Hinsdale, came to films at Images, where his documentary was screened Saturday in its New England premiere. In rehab for adult children of alcoholics, he watched educational films and remembers thinking, “Damn, I could do much better than that.” His first documentary was Voices of Sarafina, a behind the scenes look at that 1980s musical, a musical he calls “1980s politically correct hogwash.” “I had worked on big films, and I thought, ‘Is this all my life is going to be?’ When I thought about documentaries I thought that was something you did when you couldn’t get a job in film.” But a psychic he consulted told him he would work in documentaries and, overriding his objections, assured him “You’re going to love working in documentaries,” because the form would challenge his artistic creativity. Derby was at the Telluride Film Festival when he learned from some doctors from Shiprock, N.M., about the prowess of the Shiprock High School girls’ basketball team, all Navajo players, and their intense young black coach. “Everything derailed,” said Derby. “I really wanted to do something with that,” calling the film a story of “heart and blood.” Derby said he is glad fate took a hand. “It comes together when it does,” he said. “Documentaries are kind of metaphysical.” “The creative process of making documentaries is organic, holistic.” Blitz said “I had in mind what perfect shape it would be, and I had to let go and follow the story. I was trying not to be too committed to the story that I was telling.” Similarly, Derby’s film is vastly more complicated than the story of a demanding black coach who takes on a team of “oppressed, fatalistic Navajo and makes them successful.” “Sometimes stories pick you,” he said, adding, “The Lady Chieftains won this year’s state championship, by the way.” Derby recalled watching films at Images as a youngster, and spoke of how living in an area so full of culture allowed him to “cross over into that world.” His film, he said, has met a “mixed reaction” in Shiprock. “It’s a home movie for Shiprock,” he said. “A lot of the players have said to me, ‘Now I understand.’ The players have embraced the film.” But, he noted, it took eight months before he was “finally allowed to show the film at Shiprock High School.” After the screening, Derby talked to this reporter about growing up in a hilltown where only two television channels were available, and of riding his bicycle for miles to catch a bus to Pittsfield to go to the movies. He also attended plays at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and the Berkshire Theatre Festival in Stockbridge. “It fed me,” he said. He graduated from Wahconah Regional High School in Dalton in 1976, went to Westfield State for two years, and transferred to Boston University where he graduated with a major in film and English in 1980, then headed for New York City, where he still lives. “Most people in my family worked with their hands, and film making is pretty much cobblering, with your hands,” he said. “In film school I saw a lot of people making films about a homeless person, a dancer or a painter,” he said. “I said I’m not going to make a film until I have something to say.” Navajo culture is, he said, “not a natural fit” with modern American society. “It was interesting to me to see how this conquered people, enduring this invisible holocaust, resurrect themselves,” he said. “How did they do it and not lose themselves? Was this cultural vestige lost or enhanced?” The girls’ team lost their first serious attempt at the championship “because forces were not aligned properly. In our culture, it’s win at all costs. With Navajo culture, they couldn’t win unless it was in a holistic way.” “I stopped seeing the reservation as a desolate place,” he said. “Shiprock because the ultimate home.” “Somebody signed me up to this before I was born,” he said.
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Friday Front Porch Feature: A Charming House Like New

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

The home prior to renovations.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Are you looking for a newly renovated home with great space? Then this might be the perfect fit for you!

Our Friday Front Porch is a weekly feature spotlighting attractive homes for sale in Berkshire County. This week, we are showcasing 100 Autumn Drive.

This three-bedroom, two-bathroom split level was built in 1965 and is 1,396 square feet on 0.32 acres.

The house was completely renovated recently. It includes a one-car garage, and comes with appliances including a dishwasher and stove/oven, and other major appliances.

The house is listed for $359,500.

We spoke with owners Michael Zeppieri and Chris Andrews, who did the renovations. Zeppieri is an agent with Alton and Westall Real Estate Agency.

What was your first impression when you walked into the home?

Zeppieri: I purchased this home to do a full renovation flip and saw tremendous potential in this mid-century split level home that had not been updated since it was built in the 1960s, in a great North Adams neighborhood.

 

Andrews: The house was a much different house when we first purchased it in 2022 (photo attached is from about 2010.)  The interior was painted all in dark colors and we brightened it up with neutral colors. The transformation makes you feel like you are in a totally different house.  

 

 

What were the recent renovations, any standout design features?

 

Zeppieri: The house has had a complete reconfiguration including new kitchen with high-end appliances, ceramic tiled baths, hardwood floors, new windows and roof ... just to name a few.  All a buyer has to do is move in and enjoy.

 

Andrews: Yes, we renovated the entire house.  New windows, new roof, all new custom black gutter system, new blacktop driveway, hardwood floors were installed through out the house. New kitchen and bathrooms as well as painting the exterior and interior of the house.  New paver patio in the back yard.

 

What kind of buyer would this home be ideal for?

 

Zeppieri: The buyer for this home could be a first-time homebuyer or a retiree ... the location is close to attractions in North Adams ... and the property is located in Autumn Heights, which is a very small residential development with several long-term owners.

 

Andrews: This home is truly ideal for a variety of buyers. Whether a first-time homebuyer, a small family or even someone looking to downsize from a larger home.

 

 

What do you think makes this property stand out in the current market?

 

Zeppieri: The location, price and move-in condition of this home make it a true market leader in the North Adams Market.

 

Andrews: This house is completely renovated and in a desirable location of North Adams. The natural light in the home really makes the interior pop. And with all the upgrades the home stays quite cool in the summer months.

Do you know any unique stories about the home or its history?

Zeppieri: This home was built for the Gould family in 1969 and they lived there till 2010. It was always a family home during that time in which the Goulds had two children ... and Virgina Gould managed Mohawk Forest Apartments and was a very active resident of North Adams.

 

Andrews: Built in about 1965.

 

What do the current owners love about this home?

 

Zeppieri: As the current owner it was a fun project to transform this home and get it ready for its next adventure with a new family to enjoy for many years.

 

Andrews: No one has lived in the house since we purchased the home. The new owners would be the first to live in the house since the renovations have been completed.

 

 

What would you say to a buyer trying to imagine their life in this space?

 

Andrews: I would suggest seeing the house either on a sunny day or at twilight to really get a vision of how special the home feels.  

 

You can find out more about this house on its listing here.

*Front Porch Feature brings you an exclusive to some of the houses listed on our real estate page every week. Here we take a bit of a deeper dive into a certain house for sale and ask questions so you don't have to.

 

 

 

 

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