Williamstown Film Festival

Stephen R. Lawson, 73, a longtime resident of Williamstown died on February 7, 2023, of natural causes. In varying capacities he was an associate of the Williamstown Theatre Festival for some five decades. For 13 years he curated the Williamstown Film Festival which was produced at Images Cinema and MASS MoCA.

Today the two time, Tony winning, character actor Brian Dennehy died of natural causes. He was 81. During what was then the annual Williamstown Film Festival he joined Steve Larson for a talk back at Images. In 2012 we saw him in Chicago's Goodman Theatre production of Eugene O'Neill's "The Iceman Cometh." With an all star cast his performance was indelibible in an evening of theatre from which you never recover.

Now in his final weeks as director of the Clark Art Institute Michael Conforti hosted a media event promoting a blockbuster season for Northern Berkshire County. There were presentations by Joe Thompson for Mass MoCA, Tina Olsen for the Williams College Museum of Art, and Mandy Greenfield for the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Notably absent from the media event were North Adams based arts presenters Downstreet, The Eclipse Mill Gallery, The Rudd Museum of Art and the fall annual Williamstown Film Festival.

During an evening of suspense Tony Gilroy showed a clip from Nightcrawler. It was a film wrtten and directed by his brother Dan. It was fun to see how that scene developed in the arc of a grim but fascinating film.

During the recent Williamstown Film Festival Diane Pearlman and Berkshire Film & Media Collaborative hosted a lunch at the Williams Inn. It featured independent film star, Lilli Taylor, and her husband, Nick Flynn, a poet, essayist and author of three books of memoirs. Williams College professor, Jim Shepard, led the dialogue.

Actor/ writer/ director Frank Whaley took seven years to develop Like Sunday, Like Rain. Screened on Sunday morning at the annual Williamstown Film Festival it proved to be the diamond in the rough, small and gleaming gem that scored big time with an appreciative audience. In this case the best film of the festival was saved for last.

In a two hour presentation of clips from Bourne, his and other classic suspense films, Tony Gilroy presented a master’s class on state of the art filmmaking for an enthralled audience at the Hunter Center of Mass MoCA. The event which was hosted by artistic director, Steve Lawson, with the artist Stephen Hannock, an Oscar winner, as discussant, was a highlight of the 16th annual Williamstown Film Festival.

In transferring his 2005 Tony nominated play Match to screen Stephen Belber has created a dense, tight, indeed, claustraphobic film. Initially there are long shots but in the equivalence of the second act, a turning point in the drama, the camera zooms in on the iconic face of the magnificent Sir Patrick Stewart launching into a new dimension of one of his finest performances.

While an undergraduate at Williams College Nick Pugliese majored in philosophy and political science. He was also on the soccer team. During the Williamstown Film Festival he and Noah Schechter screened the twenty minute film King of the New City which was shot during some 18 months of living and playing soccer in Afghanistan. It's a corker. The film won the annual Christopher and Dana Reeve Award for best short film. The last two winners went on to win Oscars.

The 16th annual Williamstown Film Festival was launched with a hilarious contest last night and runs through this sindey afternoon. The festival is special for both its local, grass roots feeling as well as a lively mix of Indy and big time Hollywood productions and stars.

For decades actor Alec Baldwin has opted to duke it out with paparazzis and the gossip media. Now like Roberto Duran tossing in the towel stating "No Mas" Baldwin, in a screed in New York Magazine titled "I Give Up," is withdrawing from public life. For celebrities of his stature, who have tried it in the past, this is more easily said than done. As Martha and the Vandellas sang "Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide."

This time next year the Clark Art Institute will open its Tadao Ando designed campus expansion. Mass MoCA unveils its new Anselm Kiefer building this fall. That adds to its existing Sol LeWitt building. The resultant boost in visitation, as well as more events like the recent Solid Sound Festival, are a part of plans for the expansion and growth of business, tourism and jobs for a region with twice the rate of state unemployment. That's down from seven times the unemployment rate in the early 1990s.

On Saturday of the recent, third Wilco Solid Sound Festival at about 7,800 Mass MoCA set a single day attendance record. While it would be possible to sell a few hundred more tickets Mass MoCA director Joe Thompson insists that for the comfort and quality of the event that's just about capacity. With the sale of some 7,200 tickets, about 10% to Berkshire county residents, the event took in but also spent a lot of money. Given ongoing infrastructure development and expenses Thompson said that the museum will be close to breaking even or making a little after the final tally. But it's a ton of work.

During the Academy Awards celebration there is mostly apathy for categories like best Animation Shorts. Most of the home viewing audience have not seen the nominated shorts. On February 16 Images Cinema in Williamstown will screen all five nominated shorts. The hour and a half program on Saturday morning provides terrific family entertainment.

The October 2012 WFF went off without a hitch, well almost. BerkshireFineArts has already given overviews of this year's film festival. This report is primarily about short films, or Shorts, and their highly succesful screenings during a five day long movie feast!

For the brilliant young comic, Jenn Harris, the indy film, Gayby, which was screened at the recent Williamstown Film Festival may be her breakthrough. We spoke with her about the film and her work with the young company QWAN. She and Randy Harrison appeared for a one nighter with Qwan at the Colonial Theatre this past summer.

​Top Chef Tom Colicchio attended the premiere of Dreamscapes, a Wolfgang Hissen documentary profiling Berkshire artist Stephen Hannock. His works hang in Colicchio and Sons and overall a dozen New York restaurants developed by the chef and Andy Meyer. During the recent the Williamstown Film Festival we engaged Colicchio in a lively and revealing dialogue.

The second and final part of Williamstown Film Festival covers events on Saturday and Sunday. The five day festival drew some 1,200. With so much to absorb in a short time we offer some higlights and insights for the 14th annual WFF.

Now in its 14th year the Williamstown Film Festival has been compressed from two weekends to one Wednesday through Sunday stretch. That saw an increase of guest artists and visitors who hung in for the duration of the unique cinematic event. Yet again, artistic director, Steve Lawson, concocted a heady mix of many short films and several stunning features. There was a sell out for the thursday opening night of Dreamscape, followed by a party at Mezze. On Friday Mass MoCA was packed for Knuckleball. This is the first of two reports and several interviews.

The documentary film Dreamscapes by Wolfram Hissen will be screened on Thursday October 18 at the annual Williamstown Film Festival. Following the film, its subject the artist Stephen Hannock, and Top Chef producer and chief judge, Tom Colicchio, will engage in a dialogue with tasting at the restaurant Mezze. Hannock has been involved by creating paintings for a dozen new restaurant projects with Colicchio and his partner Danny Meyer. We met with Hannock in his Berkshire studio to discuss the film and his latest art projects.

What started as a doodle in 1963 has catapulted to Earth as Jerry's Map. The vast installation by Jerry Gretzinger is on view at the Hunter Center of Mass MoCA for just one week. For an ET experience trip on over to the North Adams museum through Sunday, October 14. Beam me up Scottie.

The Williamstown Film Festival's 14th season will run October 17 through 21. On the schedule: 37 films (many of them premieres) a half-dozen parties, and events at MASS MoCA, the Clark Art Institute, and Images Cinema.

On Thursday, June 28 the Williamstown Theatre Festival launches its season with the opening night of two shows. Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest" directed by David Hyde Pierce with Tyne Daly is on the Main Stage. The more intimate Nikos Stage will feature the world premiere of The Deep Blue directed by Bob Balaban with Becky Ann Baker and a return to Williamstown after a long absence of a perennial favorite, Blythe Danner. Yesterday WTF artistic director Jenny Gersten hosted a meet an greet with the directors and their stars.

It is that time of year when we look back at the highlights and insights of the past season. Take a deep breath and anticipate what lays ahead for 2012. There is much to remember as well as look forward to.

As home to Mass MoCA, MCLA and a growing arts community North Adams is one of the most unique cities in the Commonwealth. There wasn't the same intensity and media coverage of the race this time between incumbent Dick Alcombright who handily defeated opponent Ron Boucher. The 2009 contest against old time pol, John Barrett, III was a bloodbath. To make things interesting Barrett has won a seat on the City Council. Whether he is there to help the city or hurt Alcombright remains to be seen. Stay tuned.