In the News: Woman’s Search for Meaning

Berkshire Edge‘s “Women on the Verge” columnist Sarah Wright spoke with documentary filmmaker Marisa Fox about her new film, My Underground Mother. “As writer, director, and producer of My Underground Mother, she makes it her mission to unlock hidden Holocaust history. Specifically, Fox sets out to decode her mother’s many mysteries,” writes Wright. READ MORE HERE To buy tickets to My Underground Mother and the Q&A directly following with Fox and producer Deborah Shaffer, click here. The film screens on Sunday, October 19 at noon.  

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In the News: Crandell Theatre Reopens in Chatham After Historic Restoration

Albany Times Union reporter Katherine Kiessling talks with Executive Director Mirissa Neff and VP of Theater Operations on the Crandell Board of Directors Nick Van Alstine in a feature story released the day of the reopening. READ MORE HERE Left to right, first row, above: John Lillis, President, Crandell Theatre, Inc., Mirissa Neff, Executive Director, Chatham Mayor John Howe, Stephen Lang, Tina Lang, New York Assemblymember Didi Barrett, Walton Goggins, Nadia Conners. Second row (behind Goggins and Conners): Dan Wrenn, District Representative for Gov. Kathy Hochul, and Logan Gooley, District Representative for New York State Senator Michelle Hinchey. Photo by John Shea.

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In the News: Stephen Lang: Avatar Superstar, Hollywood Journeyman, Local Guy, and FilmColumbia Honoree

When FilmColumbia rolls out the red carpet at the newly reopened Crandell Theatre in Chatham this week, the festival’s 2025 honoree will need no introduction. Around Columbia County Stephen Lang, the journeyman actor turned international household name, is just a recognizable neighbor and Crandell regular. In an exclusive interview with RI, Lang talks about his career and life in Columbia County.   READ MORE HERE  

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Notes from TIFF 2025

by Larry Kardish The Toronto International Film Festival just celebrated its 50th anniversary. It began a half century ago with typical municipal bravado as “The Festival of Festivals,” and indeed, it quickly became one. A behemoth with over 210 feature films, all of major interest, shown over ten packed days, TIFF 2025 was expansive, inclusive, and a true treasure chest of recent cinema. Films that premiered at other major festivals like Berlin, Cannes and Venice, were shown along with a significant number of world premieres. Many of those films were from the U.S., as Hollywood jumpstarts its Oscar campaigns in Toronto. Torontonians love their festival and attend it in droves, filling theaters as early as 8:30 am every morning and enduring long waits in rush lines to take the seats of no-shows. TIFF is located in a hideous but contained…

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Welcome Back!

Crandell Theatre Reopening Schedule October 15, 2025 11 am – 1 pm: Public Open House. Members of our community will be among the first to see the new Crandell, before screenings restart just 48 hours later for the opening of FilmColumbia25. October 17, 2025 FilmColumbia 2025 Opens. The Crandell will resume public film screenings on Friday, October 17, to coincide with the opening of the FilmColumbia festival. This year’s 25th anniversary festival will feature 40+ expertly curated films and talkbacks with filmmakers and stars. Actor Stephen Lang will be honored at the festival’s catered Kick-Off Party during opening weekend. His latest film, Avatar: Fire and Ash, is set to release this December. Advance discounted tickets for members only will go on sale online and outside the theater, during Chatham OctoberFeast, on October 4. Join today to receive this premium member…

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FilmColumbia Returns October 17 – 26

25 Years of Exceptional Films Past FilmColumbia patrons know that for two weeks in October you’re in for a fall harvest like no other. This 25th anniversary year, we look forward to welcoming you back into a newly renovated, restored and refurbished Crandell Theatre. A few of the festival’s many exciting highlights include: Nuremberg, featuring powerhouse performances by Russell Crowe, Rami Malek, Michael Shannon and Richard E. Grant during the trial of the century Nouvelle Vague, Richard Linklater’s delightful tribute to Jean-Luc Godard that recreates the making of the film that launched the auteur’s singular style A Private Life, a sophisticated and spritely whodunit starring a French-speaking Jodie Foster as a renowned American psychoanalyst in Paris Sentimental Value, writer/director Joachim Trier’s follow-up to his hit The Worst Person in the World, once again starring actress Renate Reinsve in an intense family drama with…

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The Crandell Appoints Mirissa Neff Executive Director

(Chatham, NY—July 1, 2025)—Effective today, the Crandell Board of Directors is thrilled to announce the appointment of Mirissa Neff, former board member and VP of Programming, as the theater’s new Executive Director. Neff, a journalist and filmmaker with decades of experience telling human stories through the lens of art and culture, is deeply knowledgeable about all aspects of the film industry. She and her family have longstanding ties to Chatham, and her son is a student in the Chatham Central School District. She is strongly engaged in Chatham and the surrounding communities, and is committed to new and diverse programming. “The Crandell will be excellently positioned, under her leadership, to explore and present amazing film and non-film programming in our newly renovated theatre,” says President John Lillis. “We cannot believe our luck in having this wonderful opportunity to have Mirissa…

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The Crandell Appoints Sue Baer to the Board

(Chatham, NY—June 23, 2025)—Sue Baer fell in love with the movies at the Crandell in middle school. Now she’s bringing that passion for cinema full circle as a new Board Director of the Crandell Theatre Board of Directors. An accountant and lifelong Ghent resident, Baer was appointed by the Board at their May meeting. Led by Board President John T. Lillis, the Crandell Board is comprised of six Executive Committee Officers and nine Directors. Crandell Executive Director Brian Edward Leach is an ex officio member of the Board. Baer, a mother to two children who is retired from public accounting, now travels, rides horses, and teaches yoga on Main Street in Chatham at Roots Holistic Wellness. She will join the Crandell Board’s Finance Committee. “Sue’s considerable acumen as a CPA for 32 years and as a very successful local business…

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