The Annual Kent Film Festival April 22 - 25
The Kent Film Festival doesn't start officially until Thursday, April 22, so the screening on April 21 of Company Retreat, written and directed by Campbell Scott (left), is being called a "private screening" which is a fundraiser for the five-year-old, not-for-profit festival. "Campbell's on our advisory board and he will be here to talk about the movie," says festival co-founder Patrice Galterio. "Nobody's seen this movie yet. He's just finished editing it." A "mockumentary" about the development of a fictional game show called Company Retreat that pits white-collar workers against blue-collar workers, the film stars Hart Bochner. After the movie, Scott will host a Q&A (along with a few members of his cast.)
Mow Crew Preview - The Weatherman from Taylor Toole on Vimeo.
One of the films that Galterio has high hopes for is Mow Crew, which details the lives of some full-time residents of Martha's Vineyard who mow the summer people's lawns and long to escape their rural island ghetto. "We're hoping it's our Little Miss Sunshine," says Galterio, who notes that Litchfield County residents may see parallels between the Mow Crew world and their own backyards. "There a similarity between our locals and the rich people—except we're by a river instead of an ocean." Another feature she's high on is Blue Bus, which has been described as a buddy flick/coming-of-age story for two middle-aged guys, who drive cross country in a VW bus. And local filmmaker and actor Giancarlo Esposito (who is currently featured in AMC's Breaking Bad) will hold a Q&A after a screening of his film, Gospel Hill, which stars Angela Bassett and Danny Glover. "It's been doing the film festival circuit, and we just love it." Galterio thinks the short films are just as important as the features. "We have 61 this year from all over the world—England, Iran, Germany," she says. "And we have documentaries, too, such as Baghdad Diary by Sandra and Joseph Consentino" The Consentinos will conduct a workshop on Saturday called "The Documentary Process" with a demonstration of the Sony EX Camcorder. Cinematographer Adrian Correia will lead a workshop on the Red One Digital Cinema Camera. The focus on the technical aspects of filmmaking reflects the improved equipment Kent has this year with $90,000 worth of equipment lent by Sony for screenings in the Community House. "It's amazing that we pull off a film festival every year without the town having a proper movie theater," says Galterio. Kent Film Festival 3 Kent Green Blvd, Kent, CT; 860.592.0059 Box office is open daily through April 20: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Box office open April 21 - 23: 10 a.m. - 9 p.m. April 24 & 25: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m Individual tickets: $8 Packages availablePlease Support Rural Intelligence
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