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.
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