Winners of the 2009 NCFF Short Film Competition

BEST SHORT FILM:

If You See Something, Say Something, dir. Clyde Folley

Lindsay would be your average high school kid, were it not for his fascination of filming re-creations of presidential assassinations.  A harmless hobby, until his videos draw the attention of a bumbling Homeland Security agent and a paranoid principal, whose suspicions cause more trouble than Lindsay ever could.

BEST LOCAL FILM:

The Let Your Mustache Show, dir. Stephanie Russo

The majesty.  The power.  The mystique.  Russo’s mockumentary examines this form of facial hair from the experiences of proud mustache-wearers in the North Country, some lifetime growers, others just embarking on this hairy journey.

BEST STUDENT FILM:

This Is Iraq, dir. Chris Collins

Jeff Pelletier lives a dangerous life patrolling the streets of an Iraqi village on his first tour of duty.  Told mostly through videos sent to his girlfriend, Jeff’s term is juxtaposed against presidential speeches of peace and panicked montages of violence to compare the distant view of the war on the home front and the disturbing reality on the ground.

FILM FESTIVAL IN POTSDAM ATTRACTS GOOD CROWDS

Watertown Daily Times, 1/12/09

POTSDAM — Moviegoers got a break from the biting cold — and high ticket prices — at the North Country Film Festival this weekend.

The free event drew people from as far as Watertown and Plattsburgh to see a mix of local documentaries, short films and classic cinema at the Roxy Theater.

"That's what I like about Potsdam. At a film festival somewhere else, you'd be paying $20," said Robert S. Shepherd of Potsdam.

Co-chairman Steven M. Madeja's short documentary "Garry and Harry" had such a big audience that the Roxy's largest venue, which seats 208 people, was full 15 minutes before the movie began Friday night. Organizers said they were sad to turn away 50 people who wanted to see the film.

"There was a lot of word-of-mouth going around about that one. Several church groups came," co-chairman Tyler R. Moulton said.

The documentary focuses on the Rev. Garry B. Giroux, pastor of St. Mary's Catholic Church, whose twin brother, the Rev. Harry E. Giroux, has Alzheimer's disease. Mr. Madeja intends to put copies of the film on sale at downtown businesses, with the proceeds going to the Alzheimer's Foundation, in the near future.

"The quality was good, the sound was good, and it gave a feel for what it's like to care for someone with Alzheimer's or dementia without demeaning that person," Mr. Shepherd said. "It was tastefully done."

Indiana Jones fans braved negative temperatures to see "Raiders of the Lost Ark" on the big screen at the midnight screening Friday night.

"We had families that came in costume, with hats and leather jackets and everything," Mr. Madeja said.

The audience cheered and clapped when they first saw Harrison Ford onscreen in the rollicking 1981 adventure. Some even hummed the movie's famous theme in unison as they waited for the film to begin.

Saturday's short-film festival showcased 15 works.  The "best local film" award went to SUNY Potsdam student Stephanie Russo, whose mockumentary "Let Your Mustache Show" examines mustachioed north country men, young and old. Judges also rewarded Connecticut native Chris Collins for "best student film." His work, "This is Iraq," depicts the war-torn country through videos shot by an American soldier on his first tour of duty.

The audience favorite for "best short film" was "If You See Something, Say Something," directed by Clyde Folley, which is about a high school student, a crazy principal, and a paranoid Homeland Security agent.

Vermont filmmaker Woodrow Travers held a question-and-answer session after the Saturday night screening of his independent comedy, "About the Bells."

"The audience participation was just amazing. People were really informed in their questions. We were really surprised," Mr. Moulton said.

Moviegoers enjoyed a day of classic cinema Sunday. The festival showcased its first foreign film with "Le Samourai," a 1967 French crime drama that straddles the divide between French New Wave and film noir.

The audience for "Nosferatu," the silent 1922 German thriller, enjoyed a version with coloration and a music score later that afternoon. Organizers expected another crowd for the festival's Hollywood finish, a screening of "Singin' in the Rain," the 1952 musical hit starring Gene Kelly.

"It's detailing the transition from silent to sound, so it's a nice little history lesson of film at the same time that it's entertaining," Mr. Madeja said.

FILM FEST SEQUEL GROWS: North Country Film Festival Competition Proves Popular

Daily Courier-Observer, 1/3/09

POTSDAM - It started out small and is still small, but visitors to the second annual North Country Film Festival next Friday through Sunday at the Roxy Theater in Potsdam will notice the even has grown substantially over last year, according to organizers.

            Steven Madeja, festival co-chair, says visitors to this year’s three-day film festival will see the usual variety of classic films, but that the program’s short film competition has exploded in terms of both the number of submissions and the quality of work to be shown.

            “It definitely has grown since last year,” according to Madeja.  “We’ve added some new events and the short films are 10 times better than last year.”

            The North Country Film Society and the Roxy Movie Theater will host the upcoming weekend of classic films, independent features, and amateur shorts at the festival Jan. 9-11, and all events are free and open to the public, according to Madeja.

            The festival opens with the local documentary, “Garry and Harry,” about twin priests in Potsdam coping with Alzheimer’s.  A question and answer period with the documentary filmmaker will follow, and opening night will end with a midnight showing of the Harrison Ford classic adventure yarn, Raiders of the Lost Ark.

            Saturday’s events will kick off with one of last year’s most popular segments at the Potsdam film festival – the amateur short film competition at 11 a.m.

            The short film competition pits local and student filmmakers against each other in hopes of claiming not only bragging rights but cash prizes as well.  Madeja says the competition this year is punctuated with a wide variety of short fiction and documentary entries.

            In addition on Saturday, the offbeat indie comedy About the Bells will be shown at 8 p.m., presented by visiting director Woodrow Travers.

            Travers is an up and coming wirter and film director whose quirky comedy About the Bells portrays a small town artist, his mid-life crisis, and his eccentric family.

            The festival concludes next Sunday with a line-up of classic films, including the French crime noir Le Samouraï at 11 a.m., the German silent horror Nosferatu at 4 p.m., and the Hollywood classic Singin’ in the Rain at 8 p.m.

            Festival co-chairs Madeja and Tyler Moulton say they were thrilled with the community’s response to last year’s inaugural event, which saw packed theaters and delighted audiences.

            Madeja and Moulton are former residents of Potsdam and are dedicated to fostering an appreciation of classic films as well as inspiring local and student artists.

            “One of the goals when starting the festival was to show that it is possible to live in a rural area, not be a professional filmmaker, and still make a quality film,” Madeja said.

            The second North Country Film Festival in Potsdam is free and open to the public, but donations are accepted from those who can afford to pay, according to Madeja, who said money donated will offset the cost of organizing the event.

            “Our goal is to break even,” he said.  “If we make $1 over what we spent, then that’s $1 we will have to put towards next year’s festival.”

            More information on the festival, including sponsorships and donation forms, can be found on the festival website.

GARRY AND HARRY: Prize-Winning Documentary Chronicles Twin North Country Priests

 North Country Catholic, Courier-Observer, and Rural News

POTSDAM – It’s impossible to watch the documentary “Garry and Harry” without a lump in your throat.

            It starts out as a lump of sadness, and 24 minutes later, as the film draws to a close, the lump is still there, but the emotions felt by the viewer are no longer feelings of sadness, but those of immense pride and admiration for the film’s subjects.

            “Garry and Harry” is directed by budding Potsdam filmmaker Steven Madeja, and the short documentary looks at the life of Fathers Garry and Harry Giroux – twin brothers who are both Roman Catholic priests.

            As the film was being made, Father Harry was in the mid-stages of early onset Alzheimer’s Disease, and his brother, Father Garry, had taken on the role of caregiver at St. Mary’s Rectory in Potsdam as he watched the sibling he knows better than anyone slip before his eyes.

            “We have been both womb mates and room mates,” smiles Father Garry as he comes to terms with the reality that his twin brother will soon be unable to recognize him.

Award of Merit

The touching documentary won an Award of Merit at the 2008 Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival in Florida recently, a major accomplishment for the 22-year-old filmmaker, a 2004 graduate of Potsdam High School and a recent graduate of Vassar College where he majored in film.

            Madeja shot about 12 hours of film as he interacted with the Giroux brothers, trimming down his interviews to just under 25 minutes to create a documentary that is simultaneously poignant, inspiration, and heart-wrenching.

            Not only does the film raise awareness about the cruelty and devastating effects of Alzheimer’s, but it forces the viewers to do their own soul searching on subjects many choose to avoid in life – until tragedy strikes.

            Questions of faith, strength, love and loss and family bond hang in the air with every scene.

            At one point in the film, Father Garry is asked if it was a difficult to make the decision to have his brother move into the rectory and to take on the role of being his brother’s keeper in addition to his own duties at St. Mary’s Parish.

            “There really wasn’t much thought given to it,” says Father Garry matter-of-factly. “We are brothers, we are priests.”

            Likewise, Father Harry candidly suggests that his training as a priest and his faith in God has allowed him to accept his disease with a sense of serenity and dignity.

            “God will always be with you, no matter what, no matter where,” Father Harry tells us he recalled from his teachings shortly after learning he had Alzheimer’s Disease.

            “After that, nothing bothered me, not at all,” he said.

            The movie closes with a heart-tugging scene in which the two sit side by side.

            Father Garry is reminding his brother that the day will soon come when Harry will no longer be able to recognize even his own twin sibling.

            “It won’t matter.  Not much,” Harry lovingly reassures his brother.  “God is good.”

            Madeja admits making the documentary and earning accolades for his work has been a bittersweet journey.

            He says finding a balance between telling the Giroux story to the public and being sensitive to the Giroux family was a constant concern.

            “I was very nervous about their approval,” said Madeja.  “But I realized this is what film is for; it’s a vehicle for empathy.”

“I Just Started Crying”

            “I remember putting together the ending,” Madeja said.  “I just started crying.”

            Madeja’s film “Garry and Harry” received an Award of Merit at the 2008 Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival, one of the largest film festivals in the United States and attended by some 66,000 people.

            Madeja is now completing a film internship in New York with Emmy-award-winning Helen Whitney Productions.  His current project is a documentary on the subject of “forgiveness,” expected to air on PBS next year.

            In addition, he recently completed work as a member of the film crew on the independent film The Last Days of April, which is scheduled to be shown at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.

            Madeja is also co-founder of the North Country Film Society, along with Tyler Moulton, also a 2004 Potsdam High School graduate.  Moulton received his film degree from the University of Buffalo in 2008. 

            The duo will host the second annual North Country Film Festival Jan. 9-11 in Potsdam.

POTSDAM TO HOST ANNUAL FILM FESTIVAL: Movies Include North Country Documentaries, Blockbuster Hits, Indie Films

By    ALEX JACOBS

TIMES STAFF WRITER

POTSDAM -- The second annual North Country Film Festival this weekend will feature everything from classic blockbusters to short independent flicks and local documentaries.

The free festival's organizers hope to bring their love of the movies back to Potsdam.

"It's a good chance to show films that entertain, but also educate. Film doesn't exist in a vacuum," said Steven M. Madeja, festival co-chairman along with Tyler R. Moulton. "All the films that we've chosen give some sort of insight into the history of cinema."

Last year, the two Potsdam natives attracted a larger-than-expected crowd for Potsdam's first film festival. With the theater jam-packed, they had to turn people away at the first showing of the weekend.

"It made us really happy to see how many people showed up. We were turning people away, and Tyler and I just looked at each other and went, 'Oh my God, this is great!'" Mr. Madeja said, laughing.

This time, the two have reserved a larger space at Roxy Theater - and they hope to fill it again.

The festival kicks off at 8 p.m. Friday with the documentary film "Garry and Harry," about the Rev. Garry B. Giroux, pastor of St. Mary's Catholic Church, Potsdam, whose twin brother, the Rev. Harry E. Giroux, has Alzheimer's disease.  There will be a question-and-answer session with the filmmaker.

That will be followed with a midnight screening of the original 1981 Indiana Jones blockbuster, "Raiders of the Lost Ark."

On Saturday, festival-goers will get to grade 16 works presented in a short film festival starting at 11 a.m. Audience favorites will be recognized, and a panel of judges will award cash prizes. At 8 p.m., visiting Vermont director Woodrow Travers will present his offbeat indie comedy "About the Bells."

The festival will close Sunday with back-to-back screenings of film classics from around the world. The 1967 French crime noir "Le Samourai" will play at 11 a.m., followed by the silent 1922 German thriller "Nosferatu" at 4 p.m. The event will close with a flourish at 8 p.m. with the big 1952 Hollywood musical "Singin' in the Rain."

Mr. Madeja said he hopes that people once again feel the movie magic. After last year's showing of "The Red Shoes," a couple came up to him to tell them how much they appreciated seeing the film again.

"This elderly woman said, 'Thank you so much for showing this. This is actually the movie my husband and I went to see on the first date we ever went on.' That made the whole festival for me," he said.

Winners of the 2008 NCFF Short Film Competition

Best Short Film:

New Uke City, dir. Clyde Folley

Join Gio, Jamie, Jason, and Ziggy as they take you through the vibrant ukulele scene of New York City.  Their stories are told and reflected in the music they perform, be it humorous, sorrowful, or joyous.

BEST STUDENT FILM:

Lean on Me, dir. Margaret Spilman

When a young man tries to back up his car, he is a little surprised to discover a corpse left under the wheel.  This is only the beginning of his troubles, though, as he learns that a dead body is much harder to get rid of than he thought.

BEST LOCAL FILM:

The Ethical Mr. Fridders, dir. Matt Williams

Take a trip to the home of Mr. Fridders, a psychadelic puppet world where strange adventures are right at his doorstep.  Learn lessons on safety and manners along with Twimble Pants, nephew Bobby, and Mr. Fridder’s dog, MooFoo.

“PSYCHO” PACKS ‘EM IN AT THE ROXY: Potsdam Film Fest, Debut Event a Hit, Concluding Today With More Classics

Alex Jacobs, Watertown Daily Times(January 6, 2008)

POTSDAM – Theater No. 3 at the Roxy was jam-packed Friday and Saturday – and it didn’t take a blockbuster to do it.  But then, who can turn down free tickets to Potsdam’s first film festival?

Moviegoers were so excited to see Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho” on the big screen Friday that they settled for seats in the aisles at the midnight showing.

By Saturday afternoon, festival-goers were scoring 14 student and local films, applauding and chatting between shorts.

Audience members may not have agreed on their favorite works, but one thing was clear – they all hoped the North Country Film Festival will return next year.

“We were really happy with the turnout.  People seemed pretty excited about what they’re watching,” said Tyler R. Moulton, who co-chaired the festival with Steven M. Madeja.  ”There was a really good variety for the first year.”

Mr. Moulton, who attends the University at Buffalo, and Mr. Madeja, who attends Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, organized the weekend-long event as a way to bring amateur and classic movies to their hometown.

The Potsdam natives study film and invited students at their schools and north country residents to submit work.

Donations are accepted, but there is no charge to attend the festival.  Mr. Moulton and Mr. Madeja funded the event by selling advertisements in the programs to local businesses, and through a grant from the St. Lawrence County Arts Council.

Local movies included “Obfuscation and Edification,” directed by Potsdam native Jacob B. Warren.  The short film toyed with chronology by playing everyday footage backward – as with a girl seeming to regurgitate her apple, popcorn popping back into kernels, and burning sheet music seemingly restored by flame.

“I definitely really enjoyed seeing it on the big screen for the first time.  My dream is to make ‘real’ movies some day,” said Mr. Warren, who attends the university at Buffalo.  ”I’m really glad the film festival is as successful as it is.”

Copenhagen resident Ricky D. Snyder also saw his film in the theater for the first time.  Mr. Snyder’s documentary, “At the Corner of Second and Cross,” showcases the life and outsized personality of his grandfather, Raymond R. Campany of Beaver Falls.

“It felt terrific.  I’ve been waiting for years to get my movies on the big screen,” Mr. Snyder said.

“The Ethical Mr. Fridders,” directed by SUNY Potsdam student Matt Williams of Long Island, took the $100 prize for best local film.  Depending on how you look at it, the zany comedy is either a satire or an homage to the psychedelic puppet world of children’s television.

Vassar College student Margaret Spilman’s comedy “Lean on Me” was awarded the $100 as best student film.  The short features a college student who finds a dead girl under the rear wheels of his car.

The overall prize of $200 went to the film most loved by audience members – “New Uke City,” directed by Clyde Folley, a quirky documentary about New York’s thriving (if small) ukulele scene.

“There was a really good wide variety of styles and a lot technical facility,” said Holly E. Chambers, one of the festival judges.  ”I was really pleased with the turnout.  I give Tyler and Steve a lot of credit.  Hopefully this will keep going.”

Ms. Chambers also is the coordinator of Cinema 10, a non-profit organization that screens foreign and independent flicks in the Roxy Theater each semester.

The other judges were Timothy M. Connolly, owner of Tim’s Comic & Game and North Country North Country Neighbors; Chris T. Affre, bakery manager for the Potsdam Co-op; Brenda L. Thornton, director of the Potsdam Chamber of Commerce, and Brian J. Snee, assistant professor of communication at SUNY Potsdam.

The North Country Film Festival continues today with three classic films, “The Adventures of Robin Hood,” a 1938 version of the classic novel starring Errol Flynn, starts at 11 a.m.  ”The Red Shoes,” a 1948 British film about ballet, screens at 4 p.m.

The festival will close at 8 p.m. with the Buster Keaton short “Cops” and a jazz piano performance by Mary Madeja, followed by a screening of the classic wartime romance “Casablanca.”