Green Mt. Film Festival:

40 Films in 10 Days

One of Vermont’s fastest-growing cultural attractions kicks off next Friday, March 21 as the 11^th annual Green Mountain Film Festival gets underway at two theaters in Montpelier.

No fewer than 40 movies will be shown by Focus on Film. Movie screens at the Savoy Theater and at the City Hall Arts Center across the street will show up to six films each—sometimes starting at 10 a.m. in the morning and running through 11 p.m. The 10-day festival concludes Sunday, March 30.

The Festival also includes special events such as conversations with movie experts, a Vermont Filmmakers Showcase, free films at the Langdon Street Café, and a showing of "crankies," described as "a low-tech and entertaining form of moving picture that has thrived in pockets around Vermont."

The films themselves present a mind-bending variety of topics and moviemakers from all over the world. The focus is on recent films by independent filmmakers that audiences will not have the opportunity to see at regular theaters, and some of the filmmakers will be available to speak at the showings. Most of the films are presented more than once.

Many of the films address contemporary political and social issues such as immigration, pollution, food purity, and childbirth. Musical themes are well represented, with the well-regarded "Honeydripper," and films on making a Steinway piano, Bob Dylan, Leonard Bernstein and Joe Strummer of The Clash.

Friends of the Seeger family in Central Vermont will welcome four showings of the documentary "Pete Seeger: The Power of Song," which relies on live clips from his intoxicating concerts.

In a nod to the recent death of Ingmar Bergman, perhaps history’s greatest filmmaker, the Festival will include three showings of his masterpiece, "The Seventh Seal."

Details of the Green Mountain Film Festival, including orders for tickets, may be found at GreenMountainFilmFestival.org.