“To me, Ruby is the ideal candidate for the Citizen of the Year,” Rotary Club member Bobbie Hallig told the audience. “She has always sought out ways to support the common good. Here, our mantra in Rotary is service above self. This mantra has been Ruby’s life and she has lived the Rotary’s mantra.”
As I perused this years film catalogue for FilmColumbia, I saw some films that could be classified as pure entertainment but others that really will spark controversy and understanding of what is happening in our social/political world.
The 10-day festival will feature more than 60 world-class independent and international features and documentaries, plus post-screening question-and-answer sessions with artists, and special tributes and events.
Another film made by a young and talented director to watch for in the future is “Fire will Come” by Olivier Laxe, a wonderfully made Spanish film, beautiful to look at but also enigmatic, shot in a gorgeous mountain area where the love of nature is evident in every frame.
Some mention must be made of the awesome cinematography — the magnificent Montana vistas and the smoke coming off the mountains are stunningly captured by the great cinematographer Diego Garcia.
What I can speak about with great enthusiasm are two excellent documentaries that were part of the festival but not included in the main slate: one about perhaps the greatest filmmaker of them all, Ingmar Bergman; the other about the extraordinary earliest woman director, Alice Guy-Blache.
How have I missed this great festival right in my backyard? Now that I have discovered this festival, I am a huge fan. I suggest my Berkshire friends take notice of this awesome event taking place this week.
