Great Barrington — The Triplex will hosting a screening of “Made in Massachusetts” on Sunday, October 13. The screening will include a discussion with director Adam Roffman and Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative Executive Director Diane Pearlman.
Roffman co-directed the film with Vatche Arabian.
The film chronicles over 100 years of filmmaking in the Commonwealth and includes clips from various movies, including 1937’s “Captains Courageous” shot in Gloucester, 1967’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” shot in Northampton, and “Alice’s Restaurant” shot in Great Barrington.
According to IMDb, Roffman has worked in the art department, including as an on-set dresser, and in the property department for 78 productions including films and television shows. “The inspiration for ‘Made in Massachusetts’ is that I’ve worked in the film industry for 28 years in set direction; most of those films were shot in the state,” Roffman told The Berkshire Edge. “We feel like there are a lot of people in my industry that did not know about the extent of how many movies have been filmed here. We wanted to show everyone who works in the film industry in the state about our filmmaking history.”
Roffman explained that there are myriad reasons why Massachusetts has remained a go-to state for filmmakers. “For one thing, Massachusetts can offer a lot of different looks and landscapes,” Roffman said. “Western Massachusetts is a little more mountainous and hilly, while Boston offers a modern-looking city. There are parts of Lawrence and Lynn that can pass for a 1960s and 1970s look. We’ve also got a lot of beaches, oceanside towns, and even quaint little New England towns. There are still cobblestone streets and historic buildings in various areas of Massachusetts.”
Roffman previously worked as a set dresser for the 2019 version of “Little Women.” “For the film, we were able to make use of some of the historic places within the state,” Roffman said. “I also worked on the 2022 film ‘Spirited,’ where we wanted to do a scene that was a musical number in Victorian London. There’s a small stretch of downtown Boston that completely passed for that because it has cobblestone streets, and the buildings had not been modified over the years because they are all historic landmark buildings. We were able to recreate Dickens’ London in downtown Boston.”
Roffman noted that an experienced base of film industry has developed in the area because so many films have been made in the Commonwealth over the years. “There are a lot of places in the country where movie studios can go to film, but we have such a deep, experienced base of film crew people that can facilitate many different projects at once,” Roffman said. “Another thing Massachusetts has is a great tax incentive that has been around for over 15 years, and it’s an incentive for movie studios.”
Roffman added that he hopes audiences for “Made in Massachusetts” will learn about the history of filmmaking in the state and how strong the state’s filmmaking industry is. “Whenever I tell people that I work on films for a living, they tell me, ‘Oh, you must go out of town a lot,’” Roffman said. “I’m like, no. I work full time in Massachusetts because you can easily work in the film industry here. And every time I say that to them they look surprised because they never even realized how many movies are filmed here.”
Admission for the event is free, but there is a suggested $20 donation. All donations will be shared between The Triplex and Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative. More information about the event is available on The Triplex’s website.
