October 2002

Last year, the first ever New Hampshire Film Expo (NHFX) faced more than the usual jitters and apprehensions that all new festivals endure -- this one opened in Derry the weekend after the 9/11 attacks. Instead of canceling, the organizers thought that people would need film more than ever as a distraction and comfort, and the many attendees were most thankful. The Expo was such a success that this year organizers Chris Proulx, Judy Krassowski, Dan Hannon and Brett Parker are offering more screenings, more workshops, and an even an extra read more...

There's a photo that's been circulating around Nantucket for 30-odd years now. It was taken on the last day that a local bar and community focal point, the Bosun's Locker, was open for business, and it depicts 50 or so faces, some introspective, some gregarious, some young, some old, all posed on Main Street in front of the bar. At that time, circa 1970, the beginnings of a shift in the town’s demographics were coming into being. With the closing of the Bosun’s Locker, a popular local hangout was lost, and a little piece of community died.

Whether you struggled through your high school English class or have had a lifelong passion for poetry, Jim Wolpaw and Steve Gentile have made the film for you.

Risking her life to bring the horrifying tales of Southeast Asian prostitutes to Western audiences, documentary filmmaker Gayle Ferraro discovered the biggest challenge of producing her latest creation, "Anonymously Yours," wasn’t getting it made, but getting it seen.

Contending with the rising number of girls fleeing their strict or abusive family lives, Iran has in recent years set up a network of municipal shelters for runaway girls.  Screening at this month's Vermont International Film Festival, the British documentary "Runaway," directed by Kim Longinotto and Ziba Mir Hosseini ("Divorce Iranian Style"),  glimpses inside one of these shelters and the lives of the girls who seek refuge there. 

The arts thrive when communities embrace their creative artists.  And communities thrive when artists use their visions to enrich the world around them.  Such is the symbiotic relationship that is the driving force behind the Vermont Arts Council (VAC), based in Montpelier, Vermont.

When she got a tip that someone in Vermont might have what she needed, Evonne jumped in the car. By the time she arrived, the line was out the door. Too frazzled to deal with Evonne, the guy in charge told her to go for broke. They'd worry about money later. Evonne started gathering, slowly at first, then more quickly. Soon she had piles in the aisles growing higher by the minute. Other grabbers started stealing from her stash, so she marked each pile with her name. By the end of the afternoon, she had 1,700 videos. There was no turning back.

Soon after filmmaker Walter Ungerer learned of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, he felt compelled to turn on his camera. Having attended a conference blocks away from the site on September 10, Ungerer returned two weeks later and attempted to make sense of an unimaginable moment in time.