"This year's lineup of films is one of the most eclectic this festival has ever seen," said Programming Directory Kate Stefaniak in an NIFF brochure. "From the best in children's programming to the most underground of late-night fare, there is truly something for everyone."
Though the festival's present director, David Leo, was appointed only last year, he expressed a strong optimism with regard to this year's screenings. "I'm thrilled and honored to be involved in one of the premier arts events held in the Pioneer Valley," said Leo. "And I look forward to helping NIFF expand its presence and influence throughout the artistic community as a world-class independent film festival."
The festival will commence with an Opening Night Reception at the Northampton Center of the Arts, catered by nearby Spoleto. That will be followed by a screening of the festival's feature film, "Disappearances," directed by Jay Craven and starring Kris Kristofferson ("Fast Food Nation").
The festival features over 100 films of all genres and mediums. Some of this year's ostensibly quirkier entries include "Greasy Rider," the story of a group of friends' cross-country journey in a Mercedes powered by cooking oil, and "Milton is a Shitbag" ("Courtney was lonely. So she adopted a cat named Milton. Too bad he's a shitbag.") From shorts to feature-length films, black-and-white to claymation, films in English, Japanese and German, films with adult content to films made for children to films made by children, the NIFF offers nothing if not variety.
Tickets for these films have been on sale since Nov. 1 and will be sold both at the Academy of Music Box Office and immediately before all screenings. Festival passes are also on sale at www.ticketweb.com. Prices range from $4 to $10, and all seating is on a first come, first served basis.
New this year is a concerted effort to devote a block of screenings to specifically kid-friendly films. The festival has teamed with the Coalition for Quality Media's KIDS FIRST! program to provide special screenings for children.
A highlight of these screenings will be the debut of the youngest filmmaker in the festival's history; Takoda Blood of Swamscott, Mass. is six years old and will present a 15-second claymation short, titled "Garbage Monster."
"Takoda's always loved movies like 'The Nightmare before Christmas' and the 'Thomas the Tank Engine' series because of how they looked," said Takoda's mom. "When the episode was over, I said, 'You know you could do that too.'" The precocious Takoda has already begun work on his next film, which is rumored to feature a parrot.
The NIFF has also joined with the Veteran's Education Project and the Northampton Office of Veterans in order to honor American soldiers this Veterans Day weekend. To this end, the festival will feature two award-winning documentaries, "The Ground Truth" and "When I Came Home," about the Iraq war and the treatment of veterans in America. The film is dedicated to the memory of Jeffrey Lucey, a U.S. Marine from Belchertown, Mass., who committed suicide after returning from Iraq.
"I produced and directed 'The Ground Truth,'" said filmmaker Patricia Foulkrod, "[because] no one was writing or talking about thousands of invisible injured soldiers, for the most part young men returning to young wives who must now be their caregivers."
"It became clear while filming that the broken hearts and shattered lives that I was seeing were profound and pervasive-whether the soldiers and their families were for or against the Iraq War," she said.
The NIFF has more than film screenings, however; the festival also features a number of panels and discussion groups for those who would be filmmakers themselves.
"Anatomy of a Documentary," a master class taught by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Lawrence Hott, will discuss documentary production as well as offer insight into Hott's own distinguished career.
The "Producers Panel," a forum consisting of independent film producers Laura Bernieri, Michael Mailer, Gorman Bechard and Donnie Moorhouse will teach budding filmmakers about how the production process works and "all the hats a producer must wear to get the film made."
The NIFF promises to be an thrilling exhibition of fresh talent and ingenuity. "NIFF's motto-'films for independent minds'-speaks to each of us in a different way, yet at the same time unites us in our support of this unique event," said Leo.