By Dinah Cardin
Building 173 screens TODAY at PEM at 2 p.m.
The creators of the film BUILDING 173 have used animation to help tell the story of three quarters of a century of Shanghai history, all connected to one building. We tracked down writer and director Charlotte Mikkelborg to find out more about this unique film, which will screen at the Peabody Essex Museum.
By Dinah Cardin
Courtesy image from the film BROKE.
BROKE screens TODAY at 3:50 p.m. in the main theater.
We caught up with Rosie Dransfeld, who is perhaps the only filmmaker coming to SFF 2010 who will find our weather a mild relief. From Alberta, Canada, Dransfeld is bringing her film, BROKE about down and out Edmonton, Canada, where a pawnbroker is the banker of last resort. She answered a few questions below: Read the rest of this entry »
By Michael Pelosi
Les Blank with son Harrod. Photo by Michael Pelosi
The first night of the Salem Film Festival was filled with as much depth as we’ve come to expect. The film buff locals– who bring as much weight as the films themselves, were even more intrigued by legendary documentarian Les Blank’s outstanding double feature. Read the rest of this entry »
By Dinah Cardin
Tonight, catch the hilarious and creepy SMILE ‘TIL IT HURTS: THE UP WITH PEOPLE STORY in the main theater at 9 p.m. We got to discuss the film with producer Bari Pearlman and find out why she has come back to us again this year.
Q: What did you like about the festival last year?
A: Over the years, I have attended 30+ festivals all around the world with my various films. And I have found that it is really the smaller regional festivals – where it seems like the whole town knows about the festival and rallies to support it – that are the most rewarding to participate in as a filmmaker. Read the rest of this entry »
Severe Clear producer Kristian Fraga and First Lieutenant Mike Scotti. Photo by Dinah Cardin
By Dinah Cardin
Mike Scotti had no idea he was making a film when he took video footage of members of his battalion on the outset of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Read the rest of this entry »
The music continues today following last night’s packed rock concert at Victoria Station, which featured Graham Whitford, the son of a member of Aerosmith. At the waterfront restaurant and bar, locals and filmmakers gathered and some inspired dancers took to the floor.
Today, catch Erinn Brown and Steve Peabody at 3:30 p.m. in between films at CinemaSalem. The duo have been playing all around the area and last night, were up in New Hampshire. Brown has long been known for her bluesy, smoky vocals and Peabody is a laid, back, smiling ear to ear drummer.
Next week, saxophonist and Berklee College grad Jason Miele will be up on March 2 at 7:10 p.m.
On March 3 at 7:30, catch Brian Donnelly on sax, minus his Legion of Super Clowns. (There isn’t time or space at the cinema.) Although you never know who these musicians will bring along with them.
This article first appeared in the Salem News on Feb. 26, 2010.
By Tom Dalton
Staff writer
SALEM — The footprint of the Salem Film Fest is expanding.
The third annual festival, which opens today at CinemaSalem, has more documentary films than last year, twice as many volunteers, more business and community supporters, more major sponsors, and a growing number of outside events ranging from a filmmaker breakfast at Caffe Graziani to an after-party at Victoria Station. Read the rest of this entry »
Saturday morning, Feb. 27, join several accomplished filmmakers at the new Salem Theatre Company space for a FREE panel discussion to hear their adventures in documentary filmmaking. Learn about the filmmaking process and get extra insight into some of the films at this year’s festival.
Filmmakers scheduled to appear: Les Blank (ALL IN THIS TEA, BURDEN OF DREAMS, THE BLUES ACCORDING TO LIGHTNIN’ HOPKINS, GARLIC IS AS GOOD AS TEN MOTHERS), Rosie Dransfeld (BROKE), Jeremy Levine (GOOD FORTUNE, WALKING THE LINE), Bari Pearlman (SMILE ‘TIL IT HURTS, DAUGHTERS OF WISDOM) and Kristian Fraga/Mike Scotti (SEVERE CLEAR).
Event begins at 10 a.m. The STC’s new space is at 90 Lafayette Street.
The projector room at CinemaSalem. Photos by Dinah Cardin
By Dinah Cardin
The magic of the projector room seems universal. One one hand, it’s romantic, where teenaged cinema employees should be making out amid the whir of the giant projector, incandescent light reflecting back onto the young lovers. However, it also seems the perfect locale for a slasher movie, blood splattering onto the actual film as it revolves around the huge spool. Read the rest of this entry »
By Brian Lepire
When a woman breaks with society’s expectations to pursue her dream, obstacles arise and lines are drawn. MAMACHAS OF THE RING documents the struggle of Carmen Rosa and her career as a Bolivian cholita wrestler. We were able to ask director Betty Park about how she first came across the film’s subject and her experiences bringing Carmen Rosa’s story to the public. Read the rest of this entry »
