(Chatham, NY—September 22, 2022)—FilmColumbia, now in its 22nd year and Columbia County’s premier annual cultural event, will once again light up the screen with the very best–and the latest–national and international films. Screening some 45 films from October 21 – 30, FilmColumbia 2022 will feature festival-favorite releases from acclaimed directors Laura Poitras, Darren Aronofsky, Luca Guadagnino, James Gray, and Sarah Polley, and lauded performances from Anne Hathaway, Timothée Chalamet, Tilda Swinton, Anthony Hopkins, Hugh Jackman, Laura Dern, Sigourney Weaver, Jessie Buckley, and Frances McDormand, among many others.
Urgent, timely and dazzling new films screening at this year’s festival include Call Jane, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, Bones and All, The Whale, The Son, and Women Talking. Each film stirred audiences and critics during their recent festival premieres at Sundance and in Venice, Cannes, Toronto, Tribeca and Telluride. For the full schedule of screenings, visit https://crandelltheatre.org/filmcolumbia/schedule-2022/.
FilmColumbia’s special events, which annually include the “Saturday Sneak” film revealed just before the screening, are legendary. Special screenings at this year’s festival include Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in a tribute to Sony Pictures Classics for its 30th anniversary. The film will be introduced by its screenwriter, Chatham’s own James Schamus. And just in time for Halloween, a late-night screening of George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead 3D will be shown in all its gory glory.
We are also thrilled to announce that our popular Screenwriting Workshop is back this year at FilmColumbia. Moderated by actor/producer Scott Cohen (Gilmore Girls, The 10th Kingdom, The Americans, South Mountain) and writer/director Anastasia Traina (Horton Bliss, Street Time, Sullivan and String), the workshop lets participants hear their screenplays–in–progress read by professional actors and then discussed by Cohen and Traina to help bring their ideas to the next level.
If a film is screened at FilmColumbia, there’s more than a good chance it will be nominated for a host of awards, including Oscars, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and more. See which films from festivals past went on to win Academy Awards or have already won top prizes at other festivals.
The festival is programmed by Peter Biskind and Laurence Kardish. Biskind is an author, film historian, contributing editor at Vanity Fair and Esquire, and past executive editor of Premiere magazine. His latest book is The Sky is Falling: How Vampires, Zombies, Androids, and Superheroes Made America Great for Extremism. Kardish is senior curator emeritus for film and media at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. Calliope Nicholas is the long-time managing director of the festival.
Online ticket sales to FilmColumbia 2022 for Crandell Theatre members will begin on October 8 at 9 a.m. on a first-come, first-serve basis. Online sales to the general public will begin on October 15 at 9 a.m. For details on ticket sales procedures, please go to https://crandelltheatre.org/filmcolumbia/. This year’s health and safety protocols, relaxed and mask-friendly, will be posted on the FilmColumbia website.
FilmColumbia was recently recognized by MovieMaker Magazine as one of the “25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World.” The magazine cited the festival’s exceptional programming and charming Hudson Valley location as top reasons to attend. Said Tim Molloy, MovieMaker‘s editor-in-chief, “Obviously a lot of New Yorkers are now discovering the beautiful small communities just a short drive from New York City, and we think they’ll be delighted to learn more about FilmColumbia, a fest that blends a gorgeous location, local color (both people and leaves) and Oscar-caliber films, lovingly programmed by a revered team with exquisite taste.”
What are you waiting for? See you on Main Street at the Crandell this October!
Crandell Theatre, Inc., is a 501(c)(3), not-for-profit organization dedicated to enriching the cultural vitality of the region through film programming that challenges, inspires, educates, and entertains. The theater is supported by ticket sales and earned revenue, contributions of members and friends, and private and public grants, including the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature. In 2017 the Crandell Theatre, built in 1926 and Columbia County’s oldest and largest, was listed on the federal and state registers of historic places. For information, visit the website, crandelltheatre.org, or call 518-392-3445.