Aug 13, 2008 — A film about smuggling illegal immigrants across the frozen St. Lawrence River is drawing rave reviews in its first run of screenings. Frozen River tells the story of two women, one a Mohawk from Akwesasne, who are driven by poverty and dire circumstances to smuggle a Pakistani woman and her baby across the US-Canada border. David Edelstein, who writes reviews for NPR's Fresh Air, calls the film "gripping stuff." Kenneth Turan said on Morning Edition, "Frozen River will restore your faith in American independent film." The movie won the Grand Jury Award at this year's Sundance Film Festival. David Sommerstein caught up with Courtney Hunt by phone earlier this week. She says she knows the North Country because her husband is from Malone. She says it was women smugglers who really attracted her to the subject matter of Frozen River.  Go to full article

Jun 16, 2008 — The First People's Festival runs this week through Sunday in Montreal. It showcases the best in art and culture from America's indigenous people. Showing tonight is a new documentary about a neighborhood in Brooklyn that was the epicenter of a community of Mohawk ironworkers in the 1940s and '50s. "Little Caughnawaga: To Brooklyn and Back" tells the story of that neighborhood through the eyes of the ironworkers' wives, and through their descendant, Reaghan Tarbell. Tarbell directed the film. She spoke with David Sommerstein.  Go to full article

May 13, 2008 — Naturalist and writer Ed Kanze, who lives in Bloomingdale north of Saranac Lake, partnered on the Adirondacks documentary. His nature essays frame each of the four chapters of the film. Kanze says he hopes Americans will grasp some of the complexities of life inside the Blue Line.  Go to full article

Apr 17, 2008 — A cutting-edge Dutch/Indonesian filmmaker will show and speak about one of his films Monday night in Potsdam. It's a part of the Cinema 10 film series. Leonard Retel Helmrich's documentary "Promised Paradise" has been banned in Indonesia. Helmrich is known for inventing a special technique for filming his documentaries, called "single shot cinema." "Promised Paradise" traces the story of a puppeteer who tries to arrange an interview with the perpetrators of the 2002 terrorist bombing at a nightclub in Bali. Helmrich spoke with David Sommerstein. "Promised Paradise" shows at 7:15 pm Monday night at the Roxy Theater in Potsdam.  Go to full article

Feb 26, 2008 — The sixth annual Out at the Movies Film Festival opens tonight in Canton and Potsdam. It includes a diverse collection of documentary, dramatic and comedy films that explore issues in the gay and lesbian community. Todd Moe talks with director Lee Friedlander about her film Out at the Wedding.  Go to full article

Jan 02, 2008 — The first annual North Country Film Festival opens in Potsdam with a midnight showing of Hitchcock's Pyscho this Friday. Todd Moe talks with Festival co-chair Steven Madeja, who grew up in Potsdam and is studying film production at Vassar College.  Go to full article

Oct 10, 2007 — The 18th annual Vermont International Film Festival, the world's oldest human rights and environmental film festival, opens tomorrow in Burlington. Films will be shown through Sunday at Burlington's Waterfront Theatre and Merrill's Roxy Cinema. The event also features a college student showcase and films by Vermont directors. Todd Moe spoke with Deb Ellis, President of the Vermont International Film Festival.  Go to full article

Jan 16, 2007 — A Hollywood film now in theaters puts the North Country squarely in the middle of America's Cold War history. Deer Island, in the Thousand Islands, was used as a secretive retreat by Yale University and by an exclusive club called the Skull and Bones Society. According to "The Good Shepherd," a new film by Robert DeNiro, members of the Skull and Bones drafted the blueprint for the modern CIA. "The Good Shepherd" was filmed in 2005 at Sagamore, the great camp in the Adirondacks once owned by the Vanderbilts. Brian Mann spoke about the project with Beverly Bridger, the executive director at Sagamore, and with associate director Michael Wilson.  Go to full article

Jul 20, 2006 — Vermont filmmaker Jay Craven will present his new film Disappearances tonight at the City Hall auditorium in Plattsburgh. Disappearances stars Kris Kristofferson as a would-be rumrunner in the 1930s. Craven told Brian Mann that he's worked to develop a form of grassroots film-making in Vermont.  Go to full article

Jul 17, 2006 — Shooting wraps up this week in Port Henry on a new made-for-internet Star Trek episode. The project is directed by Hollywood actor Tim Russ, who played the Vulcan Tuvok in the 1990s. Stars include Walter Koenig, the original Chekov, and Nichelle Nichols, who played Lt. Uhura. As Brian Mann reports, they've partnered with local fans and film-makers intent on keeping the Trek universe alive.  Go to full article