Chatham, N.Y. — FilmColumbia will mark its 20th anniversary Friday, Oct. 18 through Sunday, Oct. 27, with a schedule of more than 60 world-class independent and international features and documentaries, including this year’s winner of the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival; post-screening question-and-answer sessions with artists; and special tributes and events. Screenings and events will take place at the Crandell Theatre and Morris Memorial.
For the fourth consecutive year, the festival will present a special tribute to an acclaimed artist with ties to Columbia County. This year’s honoree is producer, distributor, writer and director James Schamus. An early supporter of FilmColumbia, Schamus ran the production company Good Machine and later became co-CEO of Focus Features. He has also written, co-written and directed many award-winning films, four of which will be screened at FilmColumbia 2019: “Adam”; “The Ice Storm”; “Driveways”; and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” which will be followed by a question-and-answer session with Schamus moderated by FilmColumbia executive director and co-artistic director Peter Biskind.
The geographic and artistic scope of FilmColumbia 2019 will be on display via feature and documentary films hailing from more than 15 countries, as well as the latest releases from award-winning directors Noah Baumbach, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, Alex Gibney, Ken Loach, Terrence Malick, and the late Agnes Varda. The festival also will feature standout performances by many of the world’s most lauded actors including Sterling K. Brown, Benedict Cumberbatch, Laura Dern, Adam Driver, Brendan Gleason, Isabelle Huppert, Scarlett Johansson, Greg Kinnear, Clive Owen, Tim Roth, Michael Shannon, Audrey Tatou, Marisa Tomei and Alfre Woodard.
On Sunday, Oct. 20, FilmColumbia 2019 will kick off with “Queen of Hearts,” in which Academy Award-winning director Deborah Shaffer tells the story of Audrey Flack, an acclaimed artist of the 1950s and ‘70s who has returned to the canvas for the first time in decades; and “Frankie,” which was nominated for the Palme d’Or at Cannes and stars Isabelle Huppert in the title role.
Among other noteworthy festival features are “Parasite,” this year’s Palme d’Or-winning serio-comic thriller about a poor Korean family that insinuates itself into an affluent one; “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” a story of female attraction in 18th-century France that won the Best Screenplay award at Cannes; “Marriage Story,” by Noah Baumbach, a dramatic tale of divorce starring Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver; “Young Ahmed,” the Dardenne brothers’ feature about a young man’s conversion to Islam and his dream of martyrdom through jihad that earned them the Best Director award at Cannes; and “Les Miserables,” which won Cannes’ Jury Prize, about three policemen struggling to keep the peace in contemporary Paris.
Several artists will participate in question-and-answer sessions with audiences following the screenings of their films, including:
- “Queen of Hearts” director Deborah Shaffer Sunday, Oct. 20;
- “South Mountain” director Hilary Brougher Tuesday, Oct. 22;
- “Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project” producer Kyle Martin Wednesday, Oct. 23;
- “Dinner Rush” director Bob Giraldi Thursday, Oct. 24;
- “The Infamous Future” director John Campbell Friday, Oct. 25; and
- “Out of My Head” producer Jacki Ochs Sunday, Oct. 27.
FilmColumbia will include documentaries of influential and eclectic creative spirits, including the late film and moving-image artist Agnès Varda; visionary choreographer Merce Cunningham (in 3D); celebrated New York Times street photographer Bill Cunningham; 1960s experimental filmmaker Barbara Rubin; abstract expressionist and photorealist Audrey Flack; and a Russian oligarch-turned-dissident known as Citizen K from Academy Award-winning documentarian Alex Gibney. Other documentaries include an examination of CRISPR and genetic editing produced by Dan Rather; and a look at WBCN, the groundbreaking FM radio station of Boston’s counterculture in the 1960s.
Festival events will also include two programs of film shorts; several question-and-answer sessions with FilmColumbia-featured filmmakers; a festival screening of FilmColumbia’s After School Film Project with movies from schools in Chatham, Germantown and Hudson; and “[R]evolution Is Uncomfortable: Trusting the Process,” the culmination of interviews conducted with local patrons during last year’s FilmColumbia that examines the country’s political landscape. Additionally, film editor Bob Eisenhardt will give audiences an inside look at film editing with a workshop Saturday, Oct. 26. Also featured will be a “Makers on Main” party with food and drink made in the Hudson Valley; parties at the People’s Pub and the Blue Plate; and the Sneak Peek screening on Saturday, Oct. 26.
FilmColumbia is programmed by Peter Biskind 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,” was recently published. Kardish is senior curator emeritus for film and media at the Museum of Modern Art. Calliope Nicholas is the managing director of the festival and the primary programmer of the Morris Memorial schedule.
For tickets, more information and a full screening schedule, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or call (518) 392-3445.
