News
Huge step forward for Crandell Theatre
May 9, 2013The Chatham Film Club has announced that the Crandell Theatre will complete a major step in its digital conversion and theatre upgrade project this month. The fundraising campaign begun last October has raised sufficient funds to replace the existing 35 mm equipment with a new, state of the art digital projector, projection booth renovation, improvements to the theatre sound system and a new movie screen. Custom-made draperies of special material intended to dramatically improve sound quality will be installed along the theatre walls.
“Digital is the most significant change in movie technology since the coming of sound,” said Peter Biskind, Vice President of Programming for the Chatham Film Club, “We have purchased a Christie 2210 projector that will give us images indistinguishable from 35 mm, way crisper images than those provided by DVD/Blu-ray projectors, and crystal clear sound.”
The Crandell will close for equipment installation after the May 18th evening movie and will have a grand reopening on Friday evening, May 24th. There will be no Film Club matinee on Sunday, May 19th.
“The new digital equipment will ensure that we have access to a full offering of newly released movies for our patrons,” explained Sandi Knakal, President of the Chatham Film Club, “including the capability to show movies in 3-D. In the past year we have found ourselves limited in our selection of films as more and more distribution companies are offering movies in digital format only.”
The overall project cost is estimated at $250,000. Thanks to a supportive community and a generous grant from the Ellsworth Kelly Foundation, the Chatham Film Club has raised approximately $195,000 to this goal. However, the remaining balance still needs to be funded to comply with this important mandate from the movie distribution companies.
The Chatham Film Club is a 501(c)3 not for profit organization that owns and operates the historic Crandell Theatre on Chatham’s Main Street. For more information on the Crandell Theatre or the Chatham Film Club, visit www.crandelltheatre.org
Contact: Sandi Knakal, 518.527.8246
Farm Film Fest, Register Star Article
April 16, 2013
The fifth annual Farm Film Festival was an ensemble of four distinguished films with a medley of running themes connecting them.
The films came from as far away as Italy, and as nearby as Brunswick and Pine Plains.
Organizer Mary Gail Biebel said this was the first time the festival has screened a European film. About 120 people attended the event, which is always free of charge.
Most prominent among the themes was the struggle of farms to exist in a time of low prices for their products and encroaching development.
“Brunswick,” by Nate Simms, documents a split in the small community of Brunswick, northeast of Troy, over land use.
“This could just as well have taken place in Columbia County,” said Biebel in introducing the film. It focuses on Sanford Bonesteel, a farmer in his 90s. Since he’s getting too old to farm, and his son is not interested in that line of work, he sells his land to two brothers, Phil and Ken Herrington, for several hundred thousand dollars.
Farm Film Festival
February 21, 2013Call for Entries for Farm Film Fest V
Entries are now being accepted for Farm Film Fest V, an annual event sponsored by the Chatham Agricultural Partnership, the Columbia Land Conservancy, and the Chatham Film Club. The event will take place on Sunday, March 17, at the historic Crandell Theatre in Chatham, New York.
The festival shows films that focus on farms, farming, and farming issues and is especially interested in films that have a local connection. Films should be from 5-20 minutes and submitted in DVD format. The program includes films made by professional and amateur filmmakers. Students of all ages are encouraged to submit films. Selection of films for the festival is done by a panel of local filmmakers and farmers.
The deadline for submissions is March 1, 2013.
DVDs can be sent to: Farm Film Fest V, The Chatham Film Club, PO Box 305, Chatham, NY, 12037. Additional information is available at chathamkeepfarming.org.
Contact: Mary Gail Biebel
581-392-5108
mgbiebel@aol.com