N I F F : Northampton Independent Film Festival

The NIFF banner                       For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Dave Stawasz
                              (413) 796-2026
                              news@niff.org

NORTHAMPTON INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL
ANNOUNCES 2005 SCHEDULE

Northampton, MA-The 11th annual Northampton Independent Film Festival opens its five-day run on Wednesday, November 9th. This year's film festival continues the tradition of offering a voice to independent filmmakers with a wide variety of high-quality content. The festival features roughly 100 films and events, from animated shorts to feature length documentaries, comedies, and dramas.

The festival kicks off with a reception Wednesday, November 9 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. at the Northampton Center for the Arts, where members of the public will have a chance to meet with actors, directors, and producers. At 7:30 p.m., actor and director Tim Daly is scheduled to open the festival with a. screening of his film “Bereft” at the Academy of Music. Daly makes his directorial debut with this quirky drama about a young Vermont widow (Vinessa Shaw) who seems to be handling the death of her husband a year ago gracefully - until her grief begins to erode away her well-adjusted facade. Tim Blake Nelson, Marsha Mason, Edward Herrmann, Michael C. Hall, and Amy Van Nostrand costar in this emotional production from Showtime Independent Films. Hermann and Van Nostrand are scheduled to appear at the festival, along with producer Steve Burleigh. Tickets for the opening night reception and screening are available for $10.00, with each event requiring a separate admission.

On Thursday, November 10, the Festival will feature a screening of “Edge of America” by director Chris Eyre at 7:30 at the Academy of Music Based on a true story, a black educator (NYPD Blue’s James McDaniel) takes a job teaching high-school English at the Three Nations Reservation, and is coaxed into coaching the girls’ basketball team.

Friday, November 11, features a showing of “Favela Rising” at 7:00 p.m. at the Academy of Music. Produced and directed by Northampton Native Jeff Zimbalist and Matt Mochary, the documentary follows a man and a movement, a city divided and a favela (Brazilian squatter settlement) united. Haunted by the murders of his family and many of his friends, Anderson Sá is a former drug-trafficker who turns social revolutionary in Rio de Janeiro’s most feared slum. Through hip-hop music, the rhythms of the street, and Afro-Brazilian dance, he rallies his community to counteract the violent oppression enforced by teenage drug armies and sustained by corrupt police.

Saturday, November 12 features several documentaries. “Visioning Tibet” will be shown at 2:00 p.m. in Graham Hall. The film chronicles the passion of humanitarian award-winning doctor Marc Lieberman and his mission: to end preventable blindness in Tibet by 2020. “Vieques: Worth Every Bit of Struggle” will run at 4:00 p.m. in Smith College’s Graham Hall. The film documents the David-and-Goliath struggle of the island Vieques, Puerto Rico, a tiny community of 9,300 people who through determination and great sacrifice, stood up to the world's most powerful military and won through wholly peaceful means. Saturday night at 8:45 p.m., Smith College’s Seelye Hall will host a compilation of films titled “The Best of the Boston Underground Film Festival.” This showing features adult content. No one under 18 will be admitted without a parent or guardian.

Saturday also features a pair of free panels on filmmaking. At 11:30 a.m. in Seelye Hall, there will be a discussion of Marketing and Distribution. At 4:00 p.m., there will be a panel discussion on The Elements of Sound.

On Sunday, November 13, Actress Zoe Weizenbaum of Amherst will help host a showing of the film “Missing in America” at 4:30 p.m. at the Academy of Music. When a reclusive, curmudgeonly former Vietnam hero (Danny Glover) receives a visit from an ailing ex-platoon mate, his life is turned upside down. He is entrusted with a very special mission by his old friend: the care of his feisty, soon-to-be-orphaned, half-Vietnamese daughter played by Weizenbaum. At 7:15 p.m., the Academy of Music will host a special encore screening of “Favela Rising.”

All panels are free and open to the public. Film prices are $8.00 for adults and $7.00 for students, with the exception of opening night ($10.00). All festival passes are available for $125. For ticket information, call the Northampton Independent Film Festival office at (413) 582-1832. For a full listing of events, directions, film titles, times, and screening locations, visit www.NIFF.org.

About the Northampton Independent Film Festival

The Northampton Independent Film Festival (NIFF) is committed to establishing a northeast center for the exploration, examination, and celebration of independent filmmaking. NIFF showcases the works of filmmakers whose films demonstrate quality, innovation, and independence in both form and content.

# # #