Crandell Theatre

by Larry Kardish Cannes is the mother of all film festivals. Not only because of where (on the Cote d’Azur) and when (mid-spring) it takes place, but because, at its core, Cannes is a festival for film professionals. Unlike most other festivals, which serve the citizens of their locations, Cannes requires anyone who attends its Official Selection to be accredited. If in its Paris office the organizers of the festival grant an accreditation (there are more applications than accreditations) to someone as a professional in a particular cinema field (actor, director, producer, writer, press, film festival organizer, etc.), then that person is invited, free of charge, to attend screenings. Free of charge is nice, but one still has to get to the south of France, only to find both accommodation and food, especially in Cannes itself, quite pricey. The Competition…

by Peter Biskind A behind-the-scenes look at what has made The Crandell’s FilmColumbia Festival, approaching its 25th anniversary this fall, the toast of the town. Speaking for the Crandell board, I’m happy to assure Chatham’s movie lovers that the renovation slash restoration of the theater is proceeding on schedule, and will be finished in plenty of time for the theater’s 100th anniversary next year. Running a single-screen theater at a time when even the multiplexes are struggling to stay alive is no small thing, but with the help of our loyal audience, we’ve managed to scrape by, furnishing Chathamites with a regular diet of studio and indie hits, despite the fact that the big studios often demand that we run their films for two or three weeks, which is fatal to our box office. We’re particularly proud of our annual…

by Larry Kardish The Berlin International Film Festival, known as the Berlinale, ended on Sunday, February 23, the day Germans went to the polls. I suppose this was appropriate, as the first Berlin Film Festival, which took place in 1951 on the initiative of an American serviceman in Berlin, a city then in ruins and divided into four districts each administered by an Allied occupying force, was established to “showcase” the culture of the “free world.” In short, the Festival began as a political gesture aimed at the civilian population of Berlin, and for the next seventy-four years, through the creation of West Germany and East Germany, and the building and the dismantling of the Berlin Wall, it has remained, more than less, an artistic event inflected by politics. This year, the 75th edition of the Berlinale, now under the…