The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Jacob Burns Film Center

A Barbie World Goes Local

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The Barbie Block party outside the Jacob Burns Film Center Media Arts Lab in July will be one for the memory books – with residents and visitors of all ages decked out in their best Barbie (and Ken!) pink and other eye-popping attire – enjoying a photo with the event’s very own Barbie or imbibing on ‘Barbie Beer’ offered by Soul Food.

Any ‘eye rolling’ over a movie about Barbie came to a quick halt as the word hit the streets in Pleasantville and beyond that “THIS” Barbie was no superficial plastic experience, but a living testament to how a doll and society can evolve. The #Barbie movie succeeded at being both a fabulous feast for the eyes and a deep dive into the soul.

Yes, gorgeous Margot Robbie plays a Sensitive, Soulful Barbie! I also didn’t expect to see a movie that offers our best answer to the patriarchy to date – helping men get in touch with their emotions. It’s actually very empathetic to men in case anyone is hearing the opposite. In a sidebar, Barbie’s travails also softened a tense mother/daughter relationship that would strike a chord for anyone in that boat. I laughed a lot but also cried a couple times during this delightful, smart movie. Whether you agree or not, I know so many who feel grateful to the Burns for also always making movie night feel special!

At the Newly Renovated Jacob Burns Film Center: New Children’s Programs Are Designed to Delight the Eye and Enrich the Mind

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Renovations PHOTO BY JESSE LOCASCIO

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire,” wrote the Irish poet William Buter Yeats.

The Jacob Burns Film Center (JBFC) is trying to ignite the flame of kids’ imaginations in two ways this coming school year:  one, JBFC restarted its JBFC Kids programming in July, playing all kinds of fun, visually spectacular movies, including Mary Poppins, with the words to the songs on screen for singing along, The Muppet Movie and Where the Wild Things Are, showing a film every other Saturday a month; two, the center has created an emerging screenwriting fellowship program in collaboration with the NYU Tisch School of the Arts, for 10 students entering 10th and 11th grade, with the first class starting in October.

JBFC has also re-started its late-night weekend screenings, geared toward older kids and younger adults, called, “After Hours,” which was put on hold due to the COVID pandemic, with late night horror and cult films. Beginning in September, the movies the center will show include The People Under the Stairs, Teen Wolf, and Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead. Movies slated for the October Halloween season include Scream, The Exorcist, and The Wicker Man, said Monica Castillo, JBFC’s senior programmer.

The kids’ film slated for September 16th is Labyrinth, a film directed by Muppet Master Jim Henson, about a girl who wishes her baby brother would disappear. When he actually does, she has to find him, in the labyrinth. Many of the characters are puppets Henson’s shop built.

On September 30th, JBFC will show another Henson production, The Witches, a live-action movie based on a book by Roald Dahl about a group of witches who plot to turn all the world’s children into mice, but there is one brave boy who finds out about the plan and opposes them.

The October 14th movie is Coraline, an animated film about a girl who opens a secret door in her house and discovers an alternative reality that’s inviting at first but has a catch – just a little one. Coco is playing on October 28th, three days before Halloween. It’s about a boy who accidentally finds himself in the Land of the Dead, then goes on a quest there to find out why his family won’t let him play any music, which is a big problem, because he thinks he was born to do it.

Children who come to the show in costumes will get a “spooktacular” prize, said Denise Treco, JBFC director of communications and marketing. The prize during last Halloween’s showing, of E.T. The Extraterrestrial last year was a bendable monster figurine.

The screenwriting fellowship program offered slots to ten students, who had to apply by August 6th. NYU professor Jeremy Kamps will mentor the students as they develop their screen plays. Kamps has won several awards for his fiction and play writing. He’s worked with the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, the New York Theatre Workshop, the National Black Theatre of Harlem, and other theaters, from Los Angeles to Alabama.

There is no cost to the participating students or their families, Treco said. Students who earn a place in the program will receive a stipend for deferred wages and transportation to and from the JBFC’s Media Arts Lab twice a week for six weeks – 13 sessions in all. They will be able to use industry-standard equipment and software to do their work. Each student will be required to complete a screenplay for a short film. Professional actors will table-read the screenplays.

JBFC recently renovated its theaters and is opening up a wine bar in October. It will be in the Jane Peck Gallery on the third floor, which will have on display photography and poster exhibits.

“The idea is we will be serving wine and beer, cheese plates and other light fare,” Treco explained. “We’re trying to have a place where people can meet up before or after the movie to talk.”

“The theater renovation took three months,” Treco explained. “We started in January, and it went to the end of April.”

The center has installed new seats in its three ground floor theaters, and a new screen in Theater One. The center upgraded the lighting in the floors under the arm rests and improved its hearing loop technology in the ground floor theaters. People using T-Coil hearing aids will be able to tie into the movie’s sound system with their devices. JBFC also installed better sound acoustics in Theater Two, to block out exterior noise from outside the walls.

It all adds up to an improved experience for movie-goers and the possibility for kids to experience the adventure of a hero’s quest, defeat lots of bad guys, and in the process discover exciting new worlds or get a thrill, lighting the fires of curiosity within.

Announcing the Hudson Valley Summer Arts Pass

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Five premier cultural arts organizations – Jacob Burns Film Center, Historic Hudson Valley, Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, Storm King Art Center, and Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival – have joined together to announce the 2nd year of presenting the Hudson Valley Summer Arts Pass.

The Hudson Valley Summer Arts Pass is a discounted bundle of tickets to the season’s top events. With an abundance of offerings across the five partner organizations, the Pass helps consumers plan a vibrant and diversified season of arts and culture – all within a short drive! The Pass costs $185, but is valued at over $400, and a link for more information on the Pass can be found on each of the participating organizations’ websites through May 31, 2023, however the only way to officially purchase the Pass is here: https://shop.burnsfilmcenter.org/packages/fixed/188

Offers include:

Jacob Burns Film Center, Pleasantville

With a diverse slate of films curated by our talented programming team, you’re sure to have an outstanding experience at our state-of-the-art theater. Get a taste of all we offer from buzzworthy new releases and award-winning foreign films to eye-opening documentaries! Join us for our music series Sounds of Summer, Pride Month programming,   eagerly anticipated new releases such as Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, and Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City.

You will receive four complimentary passes (plus two coupons for free popcorn and soda) to any regular* screening. Your passes can be redeemed in person at the box office for the screening/s of your choice, pending availability. Your tickets and coupons will be mailed within 10 days of purchase. *Special events are not included in the offer. Valid for screenings through 8/31/23.

Learn more at https://burnsfilmcenter.org/cinefiles-hv-summer-arts-pass/

Questions? Contact us at support@burnsfilmcenter.org or 914.773.7663, ext. 6.

Historic Hudson Valley, Sleepy Hollow Country

This summer, enjoy spectacular treasures of the Hudson Valley with two tickets for tours of three National Historic Landmarks. See Washington Irving’s Sunnyside, the charming riverside home of the Father of American Literature; gaze in wonder at stained glass windows by master artists Henri Matisse and Marc Chagall at Union Church of Pocantico Hills; and be transported to the 1750s during a tour of Philipsburg Manor.

Two tickets for each historic site tour must be reserved on hudsonvalley.org. Please allow 48 hours after purchase of the Hudson Valley Summer Arts Pass to access your benefits on hudsonvalley.org/tickets. You will receive an email with instructions on how to log in and make reservations for your tickets. Valid for tours through 9/10/23. Not valid for tours of Kykuit, the Rockefeller estate, or any special events.

Learn more at https://hudsonvalley.org/hudson-valley-summer-arts-pass/

Questions? Contact us at info@hudsonvalley.org or by calling 914.366.6900.

Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, Katonah

Experience an exciting array of curated concerts during the 2023 Caramoor Summer Season! Featuring top artists and ensembles spanning genres of classical, American roots, jazz, global, Broadway, and opera, Caramoor has something for everyone.

Select two tickets to a concert of your choice (an $80+ value) and join us for world-class music in one of our open-air venues. Valid only for events in Caramoor’s summer season through 8/18/23. Some exclusions apply (opening night and afternoon teas not included). Your tickets will be emailed to you within one week of your performance.

Learn more at https://caramoor.org/upcoming-events/summer-caramoor-ticket-packages/

Questions? Contact us at boxoffice@caramoor.org or by calling 914.232.1252.

Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, Garrison

HVSF is bringing you a summer of love, laughter, and adventure. The 2023 season includes two of Shakespeare’s greatest hits, LOVE’S LABOR’S LOST and HENRY V, and the world premiere of PENELOPE. At the heart of each of these plays is a story about love of comrades and friends, of family, of country, of romantic enchantments and unspeakable longing.elect two tickets to a weekday (Monday – Thursday) performance of your choice and come revel in the joy and magic of live theater. Valid for performances through 9/17/23. Your tickets will be emailed to you within one week of your performance. Some exclusions apply.

Learn more at https://hvshakespeare.org/hvsap/

Questions? Contact us at boxoffice@hvshakespeare.org or 845.265.9575.

Storm King Art Center, Mountainville

There is so much to do at Storm King this summer! Plan the perfect day exploring large-scale sculptures under the open sky in our 500-acre landscape, including new special exhibitions by Beatriz Cortez, Ugo Rondinone, and RA Walden. Rent a bike, ride the tram, join a free tour or family program, or lounge among the art with a picnic lunch.

You will receive admission for two people on the day of your choice. Tickets may be redeemed as a two-person vehicle with parking or a pair of Storm King Shuttle tickets from Beacon Metro-North station (Sat-Sun visits only). You will receive an email from Storm King with a link to request your tickets. Valid for weekday and weekend visits through August 31, 2023. Tickets and entry times subject to availability. Some blackout dates apply.

Learn more at https://stormking.org/hv-arts-pass

Questions? Contact us at info@stormkingartcenter.org or 845.534.3115.

The Hudson Valley Summer Arts Pass was created by these premier arts organizations so that patrons can experience just a small portion of the ever-expanding cultural arts scene we have in the Hudson Valley.

Caramoor President and CEO, Edward Lewis, III, comments: “Music has the unique ability to unite people across geography, through history, and from all lived experiences. At Caramoor, we recognize and embrace the unique responsibility we have as arts presenters, and with our fellow participants, we create a welcoming and safe cultural community. We hope that Caramoor fans and newcomers alike will take advantage of this great deal and experience!”

“We’re thrilled to partner once again with the region’s top arts organizations to offer visitors this opportunity to explore the richness of the cultural landscape here in the Hudson Valley,” said Historic Hudson Valley’s Vice President of Communications & Commerce, Rob Schweitzer. “This collaboration offers the community the chance to see some of the most anticipated events of the season and experience a wide range of offerings throughout the summer. Plus, it’s a real bargain!”

Jacob Burns Film Center Executive Director, Mary Jo Ziesel comments: “We love to collaborate with other arts and culture nonprofits in the region to offer a chance to try out the diverse cultural offerings we have so close by. The arts are a fun way to celebrate the summer and patrons can enjoy a significant discount with all partner organizations while supporting arts in the Hudson Valley!”

“Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival is thrilled to participate again in this vibrant effort to showcase the best of the region’s arts and culture scene,” said Kendra Ekelund, Managing Director of HVSF. “We look forward to collaborating with our peer arts organizations and sharing our love of live theater with new and returning audiences this summer. Whether you’re a lifelong theater-goer or a first-time visitor, we hope the Summer Arts Pass inspires you to explore the rich arts & cultural offerings of the Hudson Valley.”

“There are so many wonderful places in the Hudson Valley to enjoy art, music, film, performance, and the outdoors,” said Storm King Art Center President, John P. Stern. “Storm King is pleased to collaborate with nearby organizations to offer a unique way to plan cultural activities throughout the summer. I hope that the Hudson Valley Summer Arts Pass encourages people to visit somewhere they’ve never been or seek out a new experience. We look forward to welcoming visitors to what will be an exciting season of outdoor exhibitions and programs at Storm King.”

2022 was the inaugural year of the pass and loyal arts patron, Julie Alterio, shared her gratitude: “The Hudson Valley Summer Arts Pass gave us a full roster of enriching entertainment in 2022, including favorites such as Caramoor, the Jacob Burns Film Center, and the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival.

 

Editor’s Note: The information in this post has been provided to the Inside Press by Caramoor on behalf of the organizations participating in the Hudson Valley Summer Arts Pass.

 

Four Winters Shines a Light on the Bravery of World War II Survivors Among the 25,000 Jewish Partisans

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Can you imagine climbing through an unlikely opening and hurling yourself off a speeding train (while your beloved family members huddle together, terrified and exhausted) to take your chances at surviving so that you can escape arrival of almost certain murder at the death factory, Treblinka?

Or of attempting to convince others to take that chance with you? So that you can both LIVE and one day tell the story? To tell what happened–a reason to live that Holocaust survivors collectively have shared in many documentaries.

To jumping anyway when others would not or could not?

In Julie Mintz’s riveting and inspiring documentary Four Winters, we learn of such unimaginable circumstances and also mind bogglingly courageous acts of Jewish resistance through the testimony of eight  survivors who were members of the estimated 25,000 Jewish Partisans in the forests of World War II Poland, Lithuania, Belarus and the Ukraine. In Mintz’s discussion following the movie with Bruni Burres, the curator of the Jacob Burns Film Center Jewish Film Festival, we learn that only one of the survivors Mintz worked with to tell their stories and produce this film as authentically as possible, is still with us today for the film’s release. A takeaway reminder to me that the survivors are leaving us. A reminder that so are their stories. So we must honor them. And this film, honors them immensely.

Documentarian Julie Mintz discussing Four Winters with Bruni Burres, curator for the Burns Center Jewish Film Festival.

If I may go on. I also don’t consider these spoilers as you MUST see this wonderful documentary to understand its edge of your seat quality, and my own words aside, you MUST hear the stories from the survivors themselves to truly digest the Jewish Partisans story and the Four Winters theme of perseverance.

Can you imagine walking for miles in a weakened state in an expansive, eerie forest in the cold and the snow, with only the glowing eyes of wolves in the distance to guide you, without survival gear or survival skills per se, at different junctures being hunted down like animals for slaughter by the sick Nazi regime and its unholy web of spies and collaborators?

It was a story I was startled and almost embarrassed to have never heard before, or have heard about in snips and pieces, as more folklore. The survivor witnesses in Four Winters weave a tapestry of this most remarkable aspect of Holocaust survival, of Jewish survival. Julie Mintz has lovingly, painstakingly helped each of these dear souls revisit and recall details of those horrific times, so that the story, each story, the collective story, can be released into the world, and so that these survivors can be celebrated and embraced not for what they survived, but for their courage, for the lives they helped save, for whatever evil they conquered or thwarted too against all odds.

None of us really could imagine, and no doubt the survivors who describe their experiences never could have either preceding the horrific genocide that ensued. Or how they eventually banded together in groups and underground, camouflaged bunkers to form true fighting units sabotaging and killing Nazis at assorted opportunities, and surviving against all odds over four endless, brutal winters, often starving, often not knowing what day it was, or what the future held. Early in the film: footage of their happy and productive lives, vacationing in pre-Nazi invasion Poland.

As we approach International Holocaust Remembrance Day tomorrow, I am grateful I had the opportunity to watch the pre-screening of Four Winters yesterday. As the subject matter never stops hitting too close to home (I am a child of Holocaust survivors; most of my family perished), the usual trepidation I feel watching the footage of crimes perpetrated against humanity by the Nazis never goes away. But this story was incredibly uplifting in that we much more rarely hear about the resistance efforts to the Nazi evil. The Jewish partisans collaborated with Polish and Russian partisan units in the forests too. I am eternally grateful to every astoundingly brave and moral person of every religion and race who courageously resisted and fought the seemingly endless atrocities to save innocent lives at grave risk to their own. I’m in awe of the courage it took to save themselves. I’m eternally heartened to learn and proud to know that included a sizeable number of Jewish persons, too.

 

So Much that’s Amazing

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As we head into ‘back to school/fabulous fall’, I’ve compiled a 10-point snapshot of so much that’s AMAZING and crazy fun ‘round here. See if you agree. Warning: this ‘quickie’ list is by no means ‘complete’. Let me know what ‘should’ have been on here or might make the cut next time: grace@insidepress.com That said, here goes (more on some of these ‘inside’):

1. The Jacob Burns Film Center, now celebrating 20, may just be everyone’s favorite theatre/cultural center, mine included.  October brings us the ever popular Jewish Film Festival and more than 20 movies to choose from!

2. The Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival, in its 9th year, draws a gazillion residents & visitors to town to meet favorite childhood authors and discover new ones. Surprises, galore and memories waiting to be made on October 15.

3. The Armonk Outdoor Art Show, turning 60!, boasts phenomenal artists’ exhibits with such creative family fun activities. Save the dates: October 1 & 2.

4. Neighborhood Theme Days. Whether it’s Community Day (9/17) in Chappaqua or a Block Party (10/1) in Pleasantville, gotta love days that encourage us to mingle with neighbors, embrace where we live AND to #ShopLocal.

5. Arts Splendor Close to Home. I love keeping up with the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center, Arc Stages and Armonk Players. This fall, I plan on taking in one of the spectacular shows lined up at the Phoenix Festival: Live Arts in Nyack. And after a summer of enjoying glorious Caramoor productions in Katonah, I’m staying tuned into what they’re planning next.

6. Metro North to New York City. The Big Apple will always beckon. Broadway! Lincoln Center! Central Park! My son! And, don’t get me started on all the boro gems.

7. Charitable Westchester. Way too much to report for this short space, but for a pull my heartstrings fix, I’m psyched for a tour of the 914 Cares facility soon. Stay tuned to learn about the essentials they distribute to those in need.

8. The Music Scene is back with a vengeance after a Covid pause so if you haven’t visited your favorite musician/band of late, well, please do! Karaoke lovers, take note too. Bring a wipe and grab a mic. Chamber and orchestra music lovers have it MADE with the 914 Orchestra and Friends of Music concert offerings.

9. Dining Meccas. Some new ones on the scene will leave you hungry for more.

10. Nature! Parks, hiking trails, bodies of water. We’ve reported on them all, or nearly all. So much makes the county home, sweet home.