Northampton Independent Film Festival
Academy of Music, Pleasant Street Theater
Northampton
Nov. 5-9
$125 Festival Passes
NORTHAMPTON – Toronto. Venice. Sundance. Cannes. Movie lovers from the far reaches have trekked to countless film festivals across the globe in search of undiscovered gems and the ability to brag about being the first ones to see some hot new independent films. Many well-known art house movies have passed through the marquees that make up festivals like Sundance and Cannes.
And for years, the very town of Northampton has played host to its own film festival. For nine years, the Northampton Independent Film Festival has played host to a slew of indie and underground films; comedies, dramas, short films and documentaries have graced the screens at the Academy of Music and the Pleasant Street Theater. This year will be no different.
Begun in 1994 by Dee DeGeiso and Howard Polonsky, the film festival – often referred to as NIFF – has specialized in showcasing a wide array of great, but largely unseen feats of cinema. Last year, new festival director Charlie Burke and his staff brought local audiences the first – and only – area showings of movies like the Oscar-winning Japanimation classic, “Spirited Away.”
This year, Burke, in association with the Sundance Film Institute and Paramount Classics, will bring us the area premieres of big-ticket indie features such as “The Singing Detective,” “In This World” and “Dopamine.”
“The Singing Detective,” starring Robert Downey Jr., Katie Holmes and Mel Gibson, is a quirky adaptation of a popular, well-received British musical miniseries from the mid-’80s. Keith Gordon (“Waking the Dead”) directs from a script by the late Dennis Potter, scripter on the original. The film screens Thursday at 9:15 p.m. at the Academy.
The festivities kick off tomorrow night, with a screening of “Nosey Parker,” the final installment in director John O’Brien’s Vermont trilogy, at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy of Music Theater. The movie – about a couple renovating a dream home in the rustic countryside – will be shown with the short “The Winter People.”
“In this World,” the latest from Brit director Michael Winterbottom (“Welcome to Sarajevo,” “Jude,” “24 Hour Party People”) screens on Friday at 9:30 p.m. at the Academy.
Sundance will also sponsor a special Q’A with the Sundance Channel senior vice president of film programming, Paola Freccero, at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Amherst College’s Stoddard Hall. “Dopamine” is a romantic drama coming courtesy of the Sundance Film Series and shows Sunday at the Academy at 7 p.m.
In addition to the above, several other films will end up premiering on our local screens. “The Sopranos” stars Vincent Pastore and Frank Vincent will be on hand when their comedy, “A Tale of Two Pizzas,” premiers Friday at 7 p.m. at the Academy. Best-selling author Sebastian Junger will attend a Q’A for the film “A Peaceful Warrior” at Smith College’s Wright Hall on Friday at 7:45 p.m. Classic movies like “Tom Jones,” “Kiss Me, Stupid” and “The General” will all screen, and there will be a raft of films made by local filmmakers or made with local ties.
Steve Alves’ documentary, “Talking to the Wall,” targets the corrupt consumerism of the Wal-Mart chain store; Cynthia Wade’s “Shelter Dogs” takes a look at the struggles of a small animal shelter in upstate New York.
“The Best of the Five College Student Programs” will feature short films from students from the University of Massachusetts and Smith, Hampshire, Mt. Holyoke and Amherst colleges. Local high school students get in on the act too, with a short program on Sunday afternoon.
Festival passes are on sale for $125 ($95 for WGBY members); they allow access to all events including the Saturday night party. It’s $8 for general admission, or $7 for students with valid IDs and WGBY members with membership cards. Tickets are available on a first come, first serve basis. Programs are now available around town.
