Black Bear prowls Milford

Film Festival’s free EnviroFest

moves to Grey Towers Mansion

By SANDY LONG

sandylong@riverreporter.com

MILFORD, PA — Milford is a lovely town any time of year, but when the fall foliage is at its peak and film industry professionals and movie stars stroll the streets, it’s a sure sign that the Black Bear Film Festival (BBFF) has returned to brighten the landscape.

The movie scene will expand this year, as BBFF’s free Envirofest on Sunday makes a fitting leap from the main theater on East Catherine Street to the beautiful grounds at Grey Towers National Historic Site, ancestral home of Gifford Pinchot and birthplace of the American conservation movement. Moviegoers can ride the trolleys for free between Milford Theatre and Grey Towers throughout the day.

The eighth annual festival kicks off on Thursday, October 11, with a “Sneak Peak” fundraiser featuring “Monterey Pop,” about the music festival that, 40 years ago, created the model for every rock music festival since. Friday’s gala and opening night film, “Who Loves the Sun,” will be followed by two days of main theater films including dramas, comedies, art and political documentaries, historic and family films and a closing night crime thriller.

Film Salon has new PA focus

In addition to the main theater offerings, the Film Salon is available to viewers at no charge from Friday through Sunday. Salon director Grace Woodard has rounded up a series of films “honored at festivals from Sundance to Madrid to Berlin,” in support of BBFF’s commitment to emerging filmmakers and seasoned professionals. The Salon includes films especially targeted to children. This year, Woodard has also identified a selection of films featuring Pennsylvania and regional documentary filmmakers.

“An Empty Place at the Table” transforms crime into art as it memorializes victims of domestic violence in Pennsylvania. “Ubaldo” documents “The Race of the Saints,” which occurs in only two places in the world—Gubbio, Italy and Jessup, Pennsylvania (near Scranton). The film will premiere at BBFF’s Salon and was produced by WVIA’s Thomas Curra, who also produced an Emmy-nominated feature about the human rights struggle of anthracite coal miners.

EnviroFest has new location

Also free to moviegoers are the films featured in EnviroFest, which have doubled in number due to the availability of three viewing locations at Grey Towers National Historic Site—The Letter Box, The Bait Box and The Pool. “It has always been part of Black Bear’s mission to honor Pike County’s heritage as the birthplace of America’s conservation movement,” said Krista Gromalski, EnviroFest coordinator. “There isn’t a more appropriate place to hold EnviroFest than at Gifford Pinchot’s home, a place considered by many to embody the conservation ethic.”

EnviroFest features environmentally-focused films that are inspiring, informative, hard-hitting, beautiful and meditative. To accompany the film “Charlie Obert’s Barn,” the Wayne County Save Our Barns photo exhibit will be on display in The Bait Box.

Gromalski selected full-length films punctuated with punchy shorts and discussions with several filmmakers. “With the newly formed Grey Towers Heritage Association as our co-sponsor, we’ve got an excellent lineup of independent films you’re not likely to find anywhere else regionally, but with messages about locally-based conservation efforts and activism,” she said. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to also picnic on the Grey Towers grounds and enjoy a tour of the Pinchot Mansion.”

Two locally produced films, “Nature’s Keepers” and “Eagle Nesting Diaries” will also be shown at Grey Towers, and 11 regional environmental organizations will staff informational booths throughout the day. EnviroFest

filmgoers are encouraged to pack a picnic or take the free trolley into town for refreshments.

Throughout the weekend, the 11 painted bear sculptures created by artists from the region especially for the festival will be on display in front of the Milford theatre as bids are placed in a silent auction held in the hospitality tent. The auction features many other items, and concludes on Sunday, just before the closing film. Festival merchandise, food, a 50/50 raffle and the catch-a-bear photo contest round out the offerings.

Visit blackbearfilm.com or call 570/409-0909 for additional information or to purchase tickets.

Quick Glimpses: Some BBFF 2007 offerings

Historic Milford Theatre, 114 E. Catherine Street, Milford, PA, Thursday through Sunday

•“The Devil Came On Horseback” tells the story of Brian Steidle who witnessed unspeakable violence in the African country of Darfur and brought it to the attention of America.

•“Emile Norman: By His Own Design” profiles “one of the best artists you’ve never heard of” and his passion for art, nature and freedom.

•“Taxi to the Dark Side” examines post 9/11 interrogation techniques in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay in an “expertly crafted” political documentary.

•“Anita O’Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer” documents O’Day’s life, which ended shortly after this film was completed.

Film Salon, 114 E. Catherine Street, Milford, PA, Friday through Sunday

•“L’Atalante,” filmed in France in 1934, is set on a barge in the Seine. Paired with “Papi,” by NYC filmmaker Michael Sandova, which explores a secret shared by a young girl and her grandfather on Coney Island.

•“ScreenSavers: 40 Remarkable Movies Awaiting Rediscovery” features clips of movie treasures as Milford’s John DiLeo sees it in his book set to publish this fall.

•“Begging Naked” documents the life and descent of stripper, dancer, prostitute and artist Elise in this heartbreaking portrait.

•“Ghost Waters” tells the Tocks Island Dam story as never seen before when Sussex County native Nick Patrick returns home to direct this regionally relevant documentary.

Envirofest, Grey Towers National Historic Site, Milford, PA, Sunday

•“Birdsong and Coffee: A Wake Up Call” shows how to become a coffee drinker with a conscience as it explores the coffee crisis and some solutions.

•“Muskrat Lovely” looks at the 50th crowning of “Miss Outdoors” on the same stage where the world’s top muskrat skinners compete in the National Outdoor Show in Dorchester County, Maryland.

•“Everything’s Cool” is a sobering “toxic comedy” about global warming from the producers of “Blue Vinyl.”

•“Thirst” asks whether water is a human right or a commodity to be sold in the global marketplace.