BEACON – The Beacon Independent Film Festival (BIFF) will return for the fourth year in a row at University Settlement in Beacon, New York. The festival will take place over the course of three days, from September 16 – 18, 2016 and opens with Beacon-based band Pontoon followed by two films about music. Starting at 9pm, there will be an opening night gala at Dogwood, featuring drink specials and live music.
Similar to years past, the festival will screen feature films, shorts and documentaries. Rounding out the films are question-and-answer sessions with the filmmakers, panel discussions, ample green space, plus lawn games and activities for the whole family. The Wee Play Project will set up an interactive play area with its Imagination Playground blocks for kids of all ages, plus crafts and face painting.
Over the last four years, BIFF has found its footing as a successful event within the community. Festival founder Terry Nelson appreciates that others recognize the value in what BIFF does and look forward to the festivals continued growth.
In our fourth year, the Beacon Independent Film Festival remains committed to screening independent films that showcase a wide and diverse variety of topics and issues that are very relevant and are a reflection of the world we live in,? says Nelson. ?It is wonderful to have a strong presence that contributes to Beacon’s reputation as an art mecca within the Hudson Valley.
BIFF will continue with other special events, including a panel discussion following our screening of ?The Bad Kids, which tells the story of teachers at a Mojave Desert high school who take an unconventional approach to improve the lives of their struggling students. Sunday morning at 10am, it will feature a program for children. In addition to films for and by kids, there will be a performance by Compass Arts? Pompatom Ensemble, a rhythm-filled performance of familiar poetry and music.
Additional exclusive events on Saturday include a breakfast for local filmmakers and a Fright Night program, both hosted at The CineHub.
Although the festival’s main focus is on film, it also aims to shed light on local businesses and encourages attendees to check out the various vendors and activities on site. Beacon favorites Barb’s Butchery, Tito Santana’s, The Hop and Homespun will be serving up savory treats, delicious sweets and craft beer for all festival attendees throughout the duration of the festival.
The lineup for this year’s festival is as follows:
Friday September 16 (Opening Night)
Block 1 (7pm-9pm)
* Bridge Music
(Directed by Andrew Porter) (16 min) – In 2004, Joseph Bertolozzi recorded the sounds of the Mid-Hudson Bridge in New York State using those sounds to compose Bridge Music, making the bridge the largest percussion instrument in the world. The music contains no other tones than those of the bridge itself. This documentary follows Bertolozzi’s journey from playing the Mid-Hudson Bridge and eventually the Eiffel Tower.
* A Song For You: The Austin City Limits Story
(Directed by Keith Maitland) (94 min) – From Willie Nelson to Wilco, Ray Charles to Radiohead, A Song For You: The Austin City Limits Story offers the ultimate backstage pass to 40 years of incredible live music. See how long-time producers and loyal fans have made ACL the longest running music show in television history.
Saturday September 17
Block 2 (11:15am-1:15pm)
* Under A Stone
(Directed by William Klayer) (23 min) – A woman returns to her hometown for a family obligation. She reunites with her brother, but they clash in how they cope with their awful past.
* Disassociationville
(Directed by James Christopher) (90 min) Chris, lost in his late twenties and scrambling to find a sense of identity, returns home to small town Texas when he learns that his mother died. As he confronts the family, friends, life and love he abandoned, Chris must finally come to terms with his decision to run and try to take control of his own future.
Block 3 (1:45pm-4:30pm)
* The Bad Kids
(Directed by Louis Pepe, Keith Fulton) (101 min) – Teachers at a Mojave Desert high school take an unconventional approach to improve the lives of their struggling students.
Panel discussion (45 min)
Block 4 (5pm-7pm)
* Solo, Piano- N.Y.C.
(Directed by Anthony Sherin) (5 min) – On a cold winter morning, a lone piano stands curbside in New York City. Passersby stop and play. Plinking slightly out-of-tune over the white noise of Broadway?s cars, buses, trucks, and sirens, the piano awaits its fate.
For the full list of the lineup for this year’s festival and for tickets visit http://beaconindiefilmfest.org.
* Kate Plays Christine
(Directed by Robert Greene) (112 min) – Director Robert Greene and actress Kate Lyn Sheil blur fiction and reality as they investigate and reconstruct the story of newscaster Christine Chubbuck, who infamously committed suicide live on-air in
1974.
BLOCK 5 (7:30pm-9:30pm)
`
Au Pair
(Directed by Enid Zentelis) (22 min)
Women Who Kill
(Directed by Ingrid Jungermann) (93 min)
Commitment phobic Morgan and her ex-girlfriend Jean, locally famous
true crime podcasters, suspect Morgan?s new love interest is a murderer.
BLOCK 6 (10pm-11pm)
FRIGHT NIGHT@The CineHub
The Graveyard Shift
(Directed by Lara Arikan) (2 min)
It?s long past midnight when the tired and jumpy waitress decides to
go and investigate the ominous noise she hears right outside the
roadside coffee shop she?s working at. She discovers that she is being
attacked by a Zombie! The zombie lazily wobbles inside the shop and
corners the poor waitress behind the counter. How will she save
herself? What will it take?
The Photograph
(Directed by Tim Hall) (13 min)
A photo of a mysterious house changes to reveal a dark secret. Adapted
from the M.R. James story “The Mezzotint.”
Second Skin
(Directed by Charlie Manton) (20 min)
Chateau Sauvignon: terroir
(Director by David Maire) (13 min)
Chateau Sauvignon: terroir follows the isolated adolescent son of a
storied vintner family who finds himself torn between obeying his
father?s callous restrictions and preventing his ailing mother from
deteriorating further. When a doting woman and her indifferent son
arrive seeking a tasting and tour of the winery, Nicolas sees an
opportunity to help care for his mother, as well as prove his worth to
his choleric father. However, his wayward plan quickly takes a turn
for the worse, and his missteps puts his family?s secretive murderous
ways in peril of being unearthed.
Arthur
(Director by Nick Rusconi) (15 min)
His name is Arthur and he is a serial killer. He wants to quit,
though. Will he succeed?
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 18
BLOCK 7 (10am-10:30am)
Spark Media Project/BIFF Kids Workshop/Sesame Street
Fodder
(Directed by Jack Ofield) (6 min)
In the human love affair with food, what could possibly go wrong? How
did the simple act of eating to stay alive go so far off the rails?
FREE PROGRAM (10:45am-11:00am)
A performance by Compass Arts? Pompatom Ensemble
Beacon children bring a rhythm-filled performance of familiar poetry
and music.
BLOCK 8 (11am-3pm)
Landfill Harmonic
(Directed by Brad Allgood, Graham Townsley) (90 min)
Landfill harmonic follows the Recycled Orchestra of Cateura, a
Paraguayan musical youth group of kids that live next to one of South
America?s largest landfills. This unlikely orchestra plays music from
instruments made entirely out of garbage. When their story goes viral,
the orchestra is catapulted into the global spotlight. With the
guidance of their music director, they must navigate this new world of
arenas and sold out concerts. However, when a natural disaster
devastates their community, the orchestra provides a source of hope
for the town. The film is a testament to the transformative power of
music and the resilience of the human spirit.
Let?s Get The Rhythm
(Directed by Irene Chagall) (54 min)
Let?s Get The Rhythm supplies a strong sample of girlhood savvy mixed
with astute observations by experts of all ages, while exploring the
worldwide hand clapping game tradition. This uplifting film pays
tribute to the beauty of the beat, to the inherent human attraction to
rhythm, and to the emergence of the budding social mind.
BLOCK 8B (2:15 pm-3pm)
A Rhythm Roundtable hosted by Compass Arts
Join Compass Arts to craft instruments out of reclaimed materials and
take part in a hand-clapping hootenanny.
FREE PROGRAM: Bach Star Cafe (SPECIAL PREVIEW)
(Directed by Susan Rockefeller) (40 min)
Susan Rockefeller?s new film, Bach Star Café, follows a group of
college students as they learn and perform Bach?s ?Coffee Cantata?
around Boston. From nursing homes to coffeehouses, they delight
audiences with the modern take on Bach?s irreverent and timeless
cantata, and show that classical music ? and even opera ? can be
engaging, humorous and lots of fun.
This delightful film gives a wonderful peak into the process of
staging an operatic piece, and the logistics of bringing an ensemble
(with harpsichord!) into untraditional venues. Audiences will be
inspired to revisit classical music, and see what a forward thinking
rock star Bach was in his time.
BLOCK 9 (3:30pm-5pm)
A Box Came to Brooklyn
(Directed by Jason Cusato) (27 min)
A lifelong Brooklynite struggles to convince his ridiculous neighbors
that a mysterious box left in the middle of their street doesn?t prove
one of them is a dangerous terrorist.
I Destini
(Directed by Nicholas Pilarski) (14 min)
Black Belt
(Directed by Margaret Brown) (11 min)
In September 2015, the state of Alabama closed 31 DMVs, which largely
impacted voters in Alabama’s Black Belt. To combat these closures, the
Secretary of State issued a Mobile Voter Registration unit, which
traveled to every Alabama county to issue voter IDs.
This Little Light of Mine: The Legacy of Fannie Lou Hamer
(Directed by Robin Hamilton) (27 min)
A poor, Mississippi sharecropper escapes debilitating abuse to become
an indomitable force against the political elite and a voice for
millions fighting for the right to vote in 1964. This Little Light of
Mine: The Legacy of Fannie Lou Hamer reveals the power of the human
spirit and proves that every voice matters.
BLOCK 10 (5pm-6pm)
Follow Your Dreams
(Directed by Chad McCord) (17 min)
Daniel Reese has one big dream… to become a successful actor. In the
meantime he makes a living as a clown. One sunny afternoon Daniel
receives the great news that he has booked an acting job on the hit
television series, DOCTOR TOWN! He immediately freaks out and
questions his own talent. Only after some tough love and inadvertently
saving a man?s life does Daniel realizes the importance of following
your dreams.
Clinica De Migrantes
(Directed by Maxim Pozdorovkin) (40 min)
An unprecedented look into the workings of one of the only health
clinics that serves America?s untouchable class: undocumented
immigrants.
Visit 57
(Directed by Kate Phelan) (10 min)
Pickle
(Directed by Amy Nicholson) (15 min)
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