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FILMCOLUMBIA 2018, OCTOBER 20-28, WILL OFFER AN ECLECTIC ARRAY OF
FEATURES, SHORTS AND DOCUMENTARIES AT MORRIS MEMORIAL, MANY WITH
AREA CONNECTIONS, AS WELL AS OTHER SPECIAL EVENTS FOR FILM LOVERS
“[R]EVOLUTION IS UNCOMFORTABLE,” A LIVE, MULTIMEDIA PERFORMANCE
FEATURING INTIMATE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT PRESSING SOCIAL ISSUES,
WILL BE PRESENTED AT PS21 IN CHATHAM ON OCTOBER 21
FESTIVAL TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW FOR CRANDELL THEATRE MEMBERS
AND WILL GO ON SALE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC OCTOBER 13
(Chatham, NY–October 8, 2018)—FilmColumbia 2018, Columbia County’s premier annual cultural event marking its 19th year in Chatham, NY, will offer a wide-ranging collection of film screenings, panel discussions, a live multimedia performance—and even a trivia contest—all designed to complement the festival’s outstanding primary schedule of screenings. FilmColumbia 2018 runs from October 20-28, including a special benefit tribute to acclaimed actor and Columbia County resident Brian Cox, October 19-20.
A slate of 16 movies will screen at the Morris Memorial in Chatham. All of them—dramas, documentaries and animation—tell original stories in compelling ways. The list includes, among others, Darcy, about an idealistic 15-year-old who faces a difficult, life-impacting decision and which was shot in Pallenville, NY, in Greene County; a stellar program of six shorts, including one shot in Canaan, NY; Animation for Grownups, a collection of the best of cutting-edge animation followed by a panel discussion with several animators; Write When You Get Work, a rom-com heist thriller featuring Emily Mortimer and Columbia County’s Scott Cohen that screened at SXSW; When We Grow Up, shot in Chatham and Ghent, NY, and using an all-female crew; and documentaries Constructing Albert, about the famous and influential Barcelona restaurant El Bulli, and Virgin Blacktop: A Skate Odyssey, an uplifting and sometimes heartbreaking story about a group of New York City skateboarders in 1977.
Also during the festival, FilmColumbia is partnering with PS21, a not-for-profit organization in Chatham dedicated to the performing arts, to present [R]evolution is Uncomfortable on Sunday, October 21, from Hudson-based documentarian/photographer/videographer JD Urban. He describes the montage of short films, monologues, and live music as “an interview series featuring candid conversations with everyday people about how their personal experiences have shaped their political beliefs.” As part of an ongoing project called the Everyday People Project, on Wednesday, October 24-Saturday, October 27, Urban will be filming brief conversations with FilmColumbia attendees at The Gallery@Chatham on Main Street, which will be screened the following day at local eateries Pieconic and Our Daily Bread. Some of those interviews may become part of Urban’s upcoming documentary on the making of art.
Rounding out the variety of offerings of FilmColumbia 2018 are a live edition of Film Jeopardy! on October 25, complete with snacks and prizes; the annual Children’s International Shorts Program on October 27; and FilmColumbia mainstay celebrations Pub Party on October 26 at People’s Pub and the Post-Sneak Peek party on October 27 at the Blue Plate.
The complete FilmColumbia 2018 lineup is available at http://www.filmcolumbia.org/.
Online tickets and All Film passes for Crandell Theatre members are on sale now on a first-come, first-serve basis, including the highly anticipated Sneak Peek, an unannounced film that traditionally joins the list of Oscar contenders, which will screen at on Saturday, October 27. FilmColumbia sales for the general public will begin on Saturday, October 13, at 9 a.m. For details of ticket sales procedures, please go to http://www.filmcolumbia.org/ before purchasing.
FilmColumbia 2018 is programmed by Peter Biskind, the executive and co-artistic director of the festival, and co-artistic director Laurence Kardish. Biskind is an author, film historian, contributing editor at Vanity Fair and Esquire, and past executive editor of Premiere magazine. His new book, The Sky is Falling: How Vampires, Zombies, Androids, and Superheroes Made America Great for Extremism, has just been published. Kardish is senior curator emeritus for film and media at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. Calliope Nicholas is the managing director of the festival.
The Crandell Theatre is a volunteer, not-for-profit organization whose mission is to promote and develop the appreciation of film to enrich the social, cultural and educational experience of the community, and to renovate and revitalize the Crandell Theatre as a cornerstone of culture in Chatham, NY. The theater is Columbia County’s oldest and largest movie theatre with 534 seats and was built in 1926 by Walter S. Crandell, as a vaudeville house. It features mainstream and independent films daily, seven days a week, and hosts the FilmColumbia festival each year in October. We encourage you to become a member today.