Black Bear Fest offers wide range of films, carefully curated just for you

By Anya Tikka
MILFORD — It all looks so effortless. But on the eve of the annual Black Bear Film Festival in Milford, the Courier got a peek at the tremendous work and coordination that goes on behind the scenes.
And the thought. That's how the programming committee — Chair Will Voelkel, Amy Ferris, Ken Ferris, Bob Keiber, and Carol Needleman — came up with the film selections at the heart of the festival.
Voelkel said the process is democratic, with the final selections put to a vote.
“We all worked at recommending and previewing films,” he said.

Extraordinary Milford

Tamara Chant brought the documentary “What It Takes to Be Extraordinary” to the festival.
Chant, who attended Delaware Valley High School, said the film's subject has special meaning for her.
“On a trip to Nepal in 2008, I took a trek to volunteer in an orphans’ home and met Michael Hess, the founder of Nepal Orphans Home," she said. “Hess has built a caring organization for the education of primarily girls who have been sold into indentured service from very poor rural areas, many hoping for a better future.”
The orphans' home was established in 2005, she said.
“It has been an extraordinary journey," said Chant. "When I heard of the focus on schools, I thought this would be a great film to involve schools and teachers in Delaware Valley High School. I would love to be in touch with a student led organization at DV or any school to go to talk to them about the power of volunteering in community.”
She also wanted to honor the many people “who are extraordinary in our community. This is an example of what one person can do, what it takes to make a difference. Hess was a carpenter. I felt it was a film that I could do, a film about what it takes to be extraordinary — as what I see in Milford, an extraordinary organization, and people.”

Can't get it on Netflix

Bob Keiber, the artistic director, found the opening film, "Mommy’s Box," and several others. He's a writer, producer, and actor.
“My goal was to get some new material,” Keiber said. “I went down to Tribeca and Soho film festivals to find films for us and pursued other friends in the business who made independent films."
He invited filmmakers to submit their work.
“Then the committee looked at the films, some they would like, some they didn’t."
The other committee members also liked his favorite.
“The criteria were simple for me," he said. "Find a great independent film that our audience would like. Nowadays, any movie or film looks like it’s a major production with the new technology. We just wanted to grab films nobody can see on Netflix, and we can break out to the public. Nobody wants to pay $12 at Black Bear that they can see at home in Netflix. It’s got to have fresh ideas."
Milford has proven to be a great venue for a film festival.
“It’s a very culturally rich town with many writers, film makers, and artists," Keiber said. "Black Bear is a flagship that brings all kinds of new people to Milford, and they realize it’s an economically viable area for the film industry.”

Hip hop salon

Salon director Karen Kelly was in charge of the short films and salon this year.
“Our mandate this year was ‘something for everyone’ and ‘the art of filmmaking,’ so I wanted to expand the salon offerings to reflect those ideas," she said.
The salon will focus on what’s new in the world and art of short filmmaking, from student films, to a segment on casting, to music videos and animation.
“I am also excited about a documentary about Haymarket, the oldest open air market in New England, by a young Boston filmmaker, Jason Goodstein, who will be at the salon," she said. "A documentary that I think everyone should see is called 'Sugar Blues,' directed by Andrea Culková, a Czech filmmaker who tackles the real culprit for so many chronic health issues we suffer from including obesity and diabetes — in a very engaging and entertaining way.”
Kelly made most of the selections, with board members Jerry Weinstock and Cess Weintraub also helping out.
One of the films have a connection to Milford history, thanks to a partnership with Grey Towers.
“We’re showing "America’s First Forest: Carl Schenck and the Asheville Experiment" on Sunday afternoon, and we’re lucky to have James G. Lewis, of the Forest History Society and an historian and editor of Forest History Today, on hand to discuss the film and the history of forestry," said Kelly.
An innovation this year is the hip-hop segment — a real departure from previous salons.
“We will be discussing the animation techniques used in the videos shown, which we hope attract a diverse audience, including young people," said Kelly.
Amy Ferris is responsible for the "Celebrating Women Filmmakers" panel discussion and film screening, and for bringing “That Championship Season” to the committee’s attention.
Voelkel said the new leadership team wanted a distinctive theme this year. Although the festival has honored celebrities in the past, he said, "We wanted 2016 to feature the art of filmmaking as well as the films, so we developed the theme ‘Celebrating Films and Filmmakers.’”
The second theme, "Something for Everyone," steered the selection to include a wide variety of films.
For more information about the film festival, visit blackbearfilm.com or call 570-409-4065.

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" Black Bear to celebrate 'Films and Filmmakers'": http://bit.ly/2dXBjmL.