BIFF to screen ‘The Ghost of Peter Sellers’
Great Barrington — Berkshire International Film Festival’s BIFF Selects series will screen the documentary film “The Ghost of Peter Sellers” Sunday, March 1, at 10:30 a.m. at the Triplex Cinema.
In 1973, Peter Sellers, one of the biggest comedy actors at the time, embarked on a pirate comedy for Columbia Pictures. He lost confidence with the film immediately and tried to sabotage it, first firing the producers before turning on his friend (and the film’s young director) Peter Medak. Despite an illustrious career and the passing of 43 years since the unraveling production, Medak is still reeling from the disastrous experience and healing the wounds inflicted by Sellers and the film’s failure.
Tickets are $10 for BIFF REEL Friends and $12 for soon-to-be REEL Friends. For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or contact the Berkshire International Film Festival at (413) 528-8030 or kelley@biffma.org.
–E.E.
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David Levering Lewis to discuss ‘W.E.B. Du Bois Then and Now’
Stockbridge — The Stockbridge Library, Museum & Archives will welcome author David Levering Lewis Saturday, Feb. 29, at 4 p.m. to discuss his two-part biographies of W.E.B. Du Bois in a talk titled “W. E. B. Du Bois Then and Now.”
Lewis was twice the winner of the Pulitzer Prize, in 1994 and 2001, for parts one and two of his biography of W. E. B. Du Bois. He is the first author to win Pulitzer Prizes for biography for two successive volumes on the same subject. The author of eight books and editor of two more, Lewis concentrates on comparative history with special focus on 20th-century social history and civil rights. His interests include 19th-century Africa, 20th-century France and Islamic Spain. In 2019, Lewis became the first recipient of the town of Great Barrington’s first W. E. B. Du Bois Legacy Award honoring recipients for “embodying and preserving W. E. B. Du Bois’ legacy as a scholar and activist for freedom.”
The event is free and open to the public. Donations are welcome. For more information, contact the Stockbridge Library, Museum & Archives at (413) 298-5501 or info@stockbridgelibrary.org.
–E.E.
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Journalist Nickole Hannah-Jones to speak on racial injustice
Williamstown — New York Times Magazine journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones will discuss “Reflections on 1619 and the 400 Years that Built a Nation” Wednesday, Feb. 26, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Williams College ’62 Center for Theatre & Dance.
Hannah-Jones covers issues of racial injustice for the New York Times Magazine and is the curator of the publication’s 1619 Project, which details the 400-year legacy of slavery in America. She is currently writing a book on school segregation called “The Problem We All Live With,” to be published later this year. Her New York Times Magazine piece “Worlds Apart” won the National Magazine Award for “journalism that illuminates issues of national importance” as well as the Hillman Prize for Magazine Journalism. In 2016, she received a Peabody Award and George Polk Award for radio reporting for her “This American Life” story “The Problem We All Live With.” She was named Journalist of the Year by the National Association of Black Journalists, and was also named to the Root 100. Hannah-Jones co-founded the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting with the goal of increasing the number of reporters and editors of color.
The event is free and open to the public. Tickets are required. For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or call the Williams College Office of Communications at (413) 597-4277.
–E.E.
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Liberation of Auschwitz to be commemorated
Pittsfield — On Thursday, Feb. 27, at 10:45 a.m. at Knesset Israel, the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires will mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz with a program presented by educator and writer Hugh Black.
The liberation of Auschwitz occurred Jan. 27, 1945, when soldiers of the 60th Army of the First Ukrainian Front opened the gates of Auschwitz Concentration Camp. For this program, Black will discuss the subject from the literary perspective. Among the authors and books will be Primo Levi’s “Survival at Auschwitz,” Antonio Iturbe’s “The Librarian of Auschwitz,” Andrea Pitzer’s “One Long Night: A Global History of Concentration Camps” and Yisrael Gutman’s “The Anatomy of the Auschwitz Deathcamp.” There will also be discussion around the topical concerns of today.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires at (413) 442-4360 x10. The program precedes a kosher lunch at noon, for which there is a $2 suggested donation for adults over 60 years of age and $7 for all others. Advance reservations are required for lunch and can be made by calling (413) 442-2200 before 9 a.m. on the day of the program.
–E.E.
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Great Barrington Public Theater seeks stories about bears
Great Barrington — Great Barrington Public Theater is looking for a few live storytellers to present their original, creative bear stories during its “Bear Tales” Solo Performance Fest Thursday, May 28, through Sunday, June 7, at Bard College at Simon’s Rock’s McConnell Theater.
Said artistic director Jim Frangione: “We’ll work with submissions and present a few stories as part of the solo festival. The story can be about a real encounter with a bear, but doesn’t have to be. Get creative, make one up, and let us hear from you. We’re looking for a good bear story, and you’ll have a roaring good time telling it.”
Stories must be original, can be true or fiction, should be no longer than eight minutes and can be told in any form. Great Barrington Public Theater is most interested in hearing from folks in and around the Berkshires. Stories and contact information should be sent to to greatbarringtonpublic@gmail.com by Wednesday, April 1.
–E.E.
