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.”
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