Posted By Sadie Williams on Mon, Jul 17, 2017 at 11:50 AM

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Alec Julien

Still from Alec Julien's film "Anonymous"

In late June, the Regional Educational Television Network announced a new channel carried by Burlington Telecom. Called BTV HD, it's dedicated to the works of local filmmakers.

The high-definition programming runs on Channel 216. According to a June 26 press release, it carries "different programming than RETN's current standard-definition educational access channel found in the BT channel lineup at Channel 16."

The first local film to debut on the new channel was "Anonymous" by Alec Julien, by Burlington writer, educator, musician and graphic designer. Seth Jarvis directed. The first-time filmmaker said that RETN provided equipment for the production, and that executive director Jess Wilson served as the lighting director.

"When she asked me to premiere "Anonymous" with RETN, I was happy to oblige," Julien said.

Tags: Burlington Telecom , Regional Educational Television Network , Bill Simmon , Alec Julien , Jess Wilson , Channel 216 , Vermont International Film Festival , White River Indie Festival , film , movies , Image , Web Only

Posted By Kymelya Sari on Wed, Jun 21, 2017 at 4:42 PM

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Courtesy of '8 Borders, 8 Days'

A still from '8 Borders, 8 Days'

In the summer of 2015, Sham decided to take life into her own hands. For 16 months, the Syrian refugee and her children had been living in Lebanon as they waited for their application to be resettled in the U.S. to be approved. Finally, Sham decided to make the journey that hundreds of thousands of her countrymen had already taken in order to start a new life after fleeing the war in Syria.

Sham put herself and her two kids on a flimsy raft to cross the Aegean Sea, before landing on the Greek island of Lesvos. Thereafter, they continued their journey by ferry, taxi, foot, bus and train to reach their final destination: the German capital Berlin.

As the family went in search of a better future, Amanda Bailly was with them to document their journey. Last night on World Refugee Day, Bailly held a screening of her 60-minute documentary film, 8 Borders, 8 Days, at the Paramount Theatre in Rutland.

Tags: 8 Borders , 8 Days , Amanda Bailly , Rutland Welcomes , Amnesty International , Hunter Berryhill , Chris Louras , USCRI/ Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program , Image , Web Only

Posted By Kymelya Sari on Sun, May 28, 2017 at 10:49 PM

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Kymelya Sari

Cast and crew of 'Juniya 2'

A couple of weeks ago, my colleague Dan Bolles wrote about Punjabi singer Shael's latest video, "Meri Jaaan," which was filmed in Burlington. The video's producer, Razaq Baloch, said many viewers wanted to know where it was shot. While Shael's video might have piqued Bollywood fans' interest in the Queen City, Vermont is familiar to Banllywood fans.

Since 2009, Muktar Aden and Mohamed Muktar have made six feature films and distributed them through their own production company, Banllywood Entertainment. The pair also has a weekly news program, "Somali Bantu TV," which is filmed at the studio of the Vermont Community Access Media in Burlington and runs on Channel 15.

Last Saturday, Aden invited me to watch them film their seventh movie, Juniya 2, at Ethan Allen Park. Besides headlining the film, Aden, known as Muktar America among Banllywood fans, is also the producer and action-scene instructor. Mohamed Muktar is the cameraman and has a supporting role.

Tags: Somali Bantu TV , Banllywood Company , Juniya , Vermont Community Access Media , Mara Abaz , Muktar Aden , Muhidin Abdi , Abow Ibrahim , Fatuma Mohamed , Mohamed Muktar , Image , Web Only , Video

Posted By Rachel Elizabeth Jones on Tue, Apr 4, 2017 at 2:21 PM

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1984 film still

Bob Flag as Big Brother

One of the best weapons that "the arts" has at its disposal is, well ... the arts. In light of President Trump's threats to completely defund the National Endowment for the Arts, it seems safe to say that the NEA and its supporters have guns drawn — figuratively, of course.

Yesterday, arts blog Hyperallergic reported that approximately 400 people gathered at New York City Hall for a Rally to Save the Arts. Today, IndieWire estimates that some 90 movie theaters nationwide will screen Michael Radford's 1984 (!) film adaptation of George Orwell's landmark dystopian novel.

Tags: film , 1984 , george orwell , national endowment for the arts , flynn center , john killacky , merrill's roxy cinema , Image , Web Only

Posted By Luke Baynes on Sun, Apr 2, 2017 at 8:54 AM

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From The Gun Shop

The opening title card of The Gun Shop, a 2016 documentary produced for Channel 4’s Cutting Edge series in the U.K., states that there are more than 56,000 places to purchase a gun in America. What follows is a balanced look at firearm ownership and gun violence, using a single shop in Battle Creek, Mich., as a microcosm of the divisive American gun debate.

The Gun Shop was coproduced by Stowe resident David Rocchio, founder and president of Stowe Story Labs. That nonprofit group is devoted to facilitating the work of aspiring screenwriters and filmmakers.

“The reason I wanted to make this film is, I like guns, and I like my local gun shop, but I also get that we need to really do something about handgun violence in America,” Rocchio says. “And the way the system now approaches these issues is through opposite camps. I just wanted to start a dialogue, and the way you start a dialogue is to listen.”

Tags: guns , gun violence , gun sales , Image , Web Only

Posted By Jay Craven on Tue, Jan 31, 2017 at 1:50 PM

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Courtesy of Jay Craven

Howard Frank Mosher

Vermont writer Howard Mosher died on Sunday, January 29. Filmmaker Jay Craven worked closely with Mosher since 1985 when he optioned the story rights to his book Where the Rivers Flow North. Craven has made five films based on Mosher’s stories. He and actor Rusty DeWees, who appeared in all of Craven’s Mosher films, will appear this Friday and Saturday, February 3 and 4, 7:30 p.m., at the Stowe Town Hall to talk about their collaboration with Mosher. They'll also screen Where the Rivers Flow North (Friday) and A Stranger in the Kingdom (Saturday).

Like thousands of Vermonters who have been touched by Howard Mosher and his writing, I feel a deep sense of loss at the realization of life without him. No one has produced a larger body of work exploring the distinctive character and culture of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. No one has been more generous to fellow writers, taking time to chat, read their work and help them. No one was more tirelessly committed to his readers, through his cross-country sojourns in his 20-year-old Chevy Celebrity (dubbed the “loser cruiser") and his frequent signings at independent bookstores throughout New England.

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Posted By Margot Harrison on Fri, Dec 9, 2016 at 2:30 PM

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OK, so maybe not everyone has the same definition of "the Christmas spirit." Maybe horror fans in particular have a very special understanding of the term that encompasses the schlocky Silent Night, Deadly Night movies. The first of them — about a kid traumatized by a killer Santa who then grows up to become a killer Santa — drew outraged think-of-the-children protests when it appeared in 1984.

In the wake of the very real horrors of 2016, however, perhaps a killer Santa suddenly seems a bit less threatening as a concept and a bit more, well, refreshingly absurd. Anyway, it's sure to please the self-aware fright fans who show up for Cinema Casualties, a Burlington film series that I wrote about a few months ago.

Tags: Cinema Casualties , Silent Night , Deadly Night , David Zeidler , ArtsRiot , film , movie , horror , Image , Web Only

Posted By Dan Bolles on Thu, Oct 20, 2016 at 6:30 AM

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Courtesy of Mike Birbiglia

Mike Birbiglia

Mike Birbiglia is a comedian, actor, director, writer and English muffin pizza savant. His latest film, Don't Think Twice, centers on a close-knit NYC improv comedy troupe that begins to splinter when individual members attract the attention of a network sketch-comedy show called "Weekend Live." It's a not-so-subtle stand-in for "Saturday Night Live," long the holy grail for improv comedians. 

In the thoughtful, shambling style that has become his signature, Birbiglia explores themes of jealousy and ambition. Perhaps most potently, he also ponders the inevitable moment when aging artists are forced to confront Peter Pan syndrome and reconcile creative passions with the desire for conventional stability.

Birbiglia stars in the film alongside the likes of Keegan-Michael Key ("Key & Peele") and Gillian Jacobs ("Community"). Among the film's other notable comedic talents is Vermont's Steve Waltien, who plays the supporting (OK, minor) character Hugh Finn. Waltien is a Shelburne native and an alum of the iconic Chicago improv theater Second City. He's presently a writer on Jon Stewart's forthcoming animated HBO series. (Full disclosure: He is also one of this writer's oldest and dearest friends.)

On Sunday, October 23, Birbiglia brings his new show, "Thank God for Jokes," to the Flynn MainStage in Burlington. Ahead of that performance, we checked in via email to ask him about comedy, his new movie and his mastery of English muffin pizzas. 

Tags: Mike Birbiglia , Steve Waltien , improv , standup , Video , Image , Web Only

Posted By Amelia Devoid on Fri, Oct 7, 2016 at 6:30 AM

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Amelia Devoid

Nick Zammuto has a fascination with Rubik's Cubes.

We made it through another week, you guys! In case you missed my debut post last week, welcome to Playtime. Each Friday I'll be writing about my offbeat local music obsessions. If you're feeling especially drained today, your eyes sore from data entry, your wrists strained from milk-steaming, back thrown from box-lifting, I have the perfect sounds to pour some life back into you. Plus, a bonus local film that you can watch online for free! Say hello to Zammuto.

This is pretty much what its like inside my brain.

A video posted by Zammuto (@zammutosound) on Sep 4, 2016 at 7:56am PDT

Tags: Zammuto , Temporary Residence LTD , the Books , electronic , experimental , indie , Image , Video , Web Only

Posted By Jordan Adams on Thu, Sep 22, 2016 at 4:00 PM

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Courtesy of Town Hall Theater

Film poster detail, Purple Rain

If you're still mourning the loss of the Purple One (and who isn't?), you might want to consider driving your little red Corvette to Middlebury this Saturday, September 24, for the 2016 premiere of Town Hall Theater's Rock on Film series.  Purple Rain, starring the recently departed Prince, will kick off the season, which will feature eight or nine films.

Tags: rock on film , concert film , middlebury , prince , town hall theater , Image , Video , Web Only