A women’s film festival and a locally produced “radio” show, inspired by Garrison Keillor’s “Prairie Home Companion,” are among the highlights of this month’s Second Saturday, Feb. 11 in Shelburne Falls.
Second Saturday is a once-a-month day of special events throughout the village. This month a new “Women’s Short Film Festival” was started by the Greater Shelburne Falls Area Business Association, with assistance from a nonprofit called Women in Film and Video New England. About 1,000 film-makers submitted entries, and several organizers have been busy viewing them, to select those that best met the festival criteria and addressed the theme of love, according to business association Executive Director Carmela Lanza-Weil.
She said about 15 to 20 short movies, between 3- to 20-minutes long, will be shown. Some, she said won awards, while others are the work of filmmakers who are not well known. “We tried to pick ones that are family-friendly,” she said. “Every one of them is different.”
For instance, “Blossom of My Heart,” directed by Shawna Gnutel of Los Angelos, is described as a “quick-witted montage of dreadful love songs guaranteed to make you want to stay single.” Another film, called “Interception,” was written by Ash Corristine of Denmark and the United Kingdom. The plot is about a man who is waiting on a park bench, preparing to propose marriage to his girlfriend when his old friend – and town drunk – turns up instead.”
“Notes” written and directed by Samantha Brown is about an isolated woman who is consumed by an obsessive fantasy after she meets an attractive man. “Stray Animals” is about how finding a stray cat in the woods becomes “the first step into a journey of loss of innocence.”
The films will be shown from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Shelburne Buckland Community Center, 53 Main St. Tickets for this event are $10.
The film festival will be followed at 5 p.m. by a “HATCH 2” art party, from 5 to 7 p.m. HATCH stands for “Hilltown Art & Thriving Community Happenings,” a pilot program designed to inspire and help fund creative projects that engage the communities of West County. The program is a collaboration between the business association and The Art Garden. The party is a place where you can meet the artists of the Round 2 selected projects, learn about the projects and get involved, if you wish. Soup and snacks will be offered. Admission is $5, along with a cash bar.
The final event is the debut of a live performance of “The Shad Ladder Radio Hour,” a new, monthly variety-style radio program and podcast, featuring stories and talent from western Massachusetts. “It’s a sort of ‘Prairie Home Companion’ New England Hilltown style,” says Lanza-Weil, who is also one of the performers in it.
The Shad Ladder Radio Hour is planned as a monthly, live-recorded variety radio show by and about life in Franklin County and the hilltowns – but FOR everyone. Sponsored by West County Arts and Culture and the Franklin Community Co-op, the show features live music, storytelling, skits, and more in a fun variety format. Each episode will also be available to listen to as a podcast following the live show. Tickets are $12 at the door.
All events listed here will be in the Shelburne Buckland Community Center at 53 Main St. For those who want to attend all three events, a single admission price of $20 is available. For children the all-day rate is $1 for each year of their age, up to age 12.