Tri-State Film Festivals Fall in Line

The Upper Delaware River Valley region of the Pocono Mountains and the Western Catskills is rich in history as it is scenic. Its Delaware River Highlands is on either side of the Upper Delaware River Valley encompassing parts of three states (New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey) and five counties. Conducive to filmmaking, the surroundings are conducive as well for film festivals springing up like the mushrooms making their appearance this time of year.

An eddy is a current that flows opposite the normal flow and the Big Eddy Film Festival is planning to be just that, running against the current of mainstream films with its premiere in Narrowsburg, New York, September 14-16, 2012. Produced by Delaware Valley Arts Alliance, a Sullivan County arts council in collaboration with the newly formed Catskill Film Commission, the Big Eddy Film Festival will present feature films, documentaries, and shorts with themes that include  New York State stories. Tusten Theatre, a single screen venue with a seating capacity of 150, is an art-deco style movie house built in the 1930s and located at 210 Bridge Street, Narrowsburg, New York.

The vision for the first annual Tri-State Film Festival September 28-29, 2012 in Matamoras, Pennsylvania can be summed up in three words: innovate, illuminate and inspire. Their mission calls out to illuminate and engage the viewer, inspire a renewed appreciation of the visual medium – the “movies” –with less emphasis on the red carpet experience and more on the programming quality. Majestic-Star Entertainment, in collaboration with the Tri-State Chamber of Commerce, include in their program the 50th anniversary screening of To Kill a Mockingbird with a special guest appearance of Mary Badham, who portrayed “Scout”, the original Robin Hood (1912), a silent film made in Fort Lee, New Jersey, a women’s film segment with an industry experts panel Making It Work: Successful Women in the Works, the best of international shorts films, as well as the latest– unreleased to the public –international award-winning films in a recently built, seven screen multiplex theater setting aginst the backdrop of the surrounding mountains.

Returning this year to the historic Milford Theatre is the 13th annual Black Bear Film Festival, October 12-14, 2012. The 2012 Artful Bear Sculptures, a fundraiser to support the film festival, have been recently unveiled to the public as the Black Bear Film Festival celebrates Milford’s filmmaking heritage and in tribute to Gifford Pinchot, who founded the American conservation movement. BBFF supports independent films, artistic expression, education, diversity, and cultural enhancement, particularly promoting the region’s clean air and water, abundant wildlife, natural beauty and the entities that protect them. The Black Bear Film Festival is Northeastern Pennsylvania’s Premier Independent Film event in Milford, Pennsylvania.

Finally (for now), and fiercely independent, Woodstock Film Festival will make its 13th annual fest happen from October 10-14, 2012 in the arts colony of Woodstock and across the Hudson Valley region including the historic towns of Kingston, Rhinebeck, Rosendale, and Saugerties. With this heritage, the Woodstock Film Festival has made music an integral part of its programming with its Focus On Music showcasing films about music and musicians while actively exploring the music role in film with emphasis on film scoring. Live concerts are also presented featuring musicians with links to films in the program. This Reel Jersey Girl really loves New York and Tri-State Film Festivals.