September 15–18
The LAVA Center
324 Main Street
Greenfield, MA
A limited number of weekend passes are now available!
We are a nonprofit community arts space and are offering sliding scale ticket prices in order to increase financial accessibility. Please pay what you can to support this festival and our space.
SCHEDULE of EVENTS
We are a nonprofit community arts space and are offering sliding scale ticket prices in order to increase financial accessibility. Please pay what you can to support this festival and our space.
Note: Masks required. We’ll have some on hand.
We will open doors 30 minutes prior to start time, and programming will start on time. Please arrive within the half hour between doors and start time to ensure getting a seat. Late ticket holders may lose their seat to people on the wait list.
Thursday, 9/15, 5-8pm
Filmmakers Reception
Audience: Meet filmmakers whose work will be screening over the weekend. Filmmakers: Network with fellow filmmakers, and maybe meet the collaborators on your next film!
Friday, 9/16
5pm doors/ 5:30pm films
ANIMATED films
with films by:
Duncan Hatch
Samarah Hasan-Kepes
Althea Levin Rieff Keaton
Kohei Takeda and Shumile
COMEDY films
with films by:
Brendan Egan
Porter Justus
Robert Markey
Michelle Melnik
Lance Pinkman
Ezra Clemens Prior
Frank A Smith
Q & A
Saturday, 9/17, 12pm
Creative Coffee with Christopher Janke
A discussion with multidisciplinary visual artist and Western Mass resident.
Saturday, 9/17
2:30pm doors/ 3pm films
DRAMA films
with films by:
Shane Butler
Matt Demko, Catherine Argyrople, and Janet Maslow
Zoë Jane
Melissa McClung
Q & A
Saturday, 9/17
6:30pm doors/ 7pm films
PG-13 films
(parental guidance suggested)
with films by:
Viktor Herrmann
James J. LaBonte
Olin Meyers
Q & A
Sunday, 9/18
12:30pm doors/ 1pm films
DOCUMENTARY films
with films by:
Niles Larson
Robbie Leppzer and Jennifer Lee
Mark Majeski
EXPERIMENTAL films
with films by:
Allison Chaves
Ned Daly
Exploded View (Trish Crapo, Edite Cunhã, Nina Rossi, and Samantha Wood)
Lucretia Knapp and Lynne Yamamoto
Lance Pinkman
Matthew Scipione
Nicolas Andrew Silva
Q & A
Sunday, 9/18
3:30pm doors/ 4pm panel
Regional Filmmaking Panel
Join local filmmakers as we present a panel discussion on filmmaking in Western Mass. Audience Q-and-A to follow. Learn practical tips and find inspiration for your next Western Mass film!
Hosted by Wally Marzano-Lesnevich and featuring Nathan Graham Davis, Melissa McClung, and Wade Wofford.
Sunday, 9/18, 6-8pm
Awards Ceremony
Closing Reception
FEATURING FILMS by:
Shane Butler
Allison Chaves
Ned Daly
Matt Demko, Catherine Argyrople, Janet Maslow
Brendan Egan
Exploded View (Trish Crapo, Edite Cunhã, Nina Rossi, Samantha Wood)
Samarah Hasan-Kepes
Duncan Hatch
Viktor Herrmann
Althea Levin Rieff Keaton
Zoë Jane
Porter Justus
Lucretia Knapp and Lynne Yamamoto
James J. LaBonte
Niles Larson
Robbie Leppzer and Jennifer Lee
Mark Majeski
Robert Markey
Melissa McClung
Michelle Melnik
Olin Meyers
Lance Pinkman
Ezra Clemens Prior
Matthew Scipione
Nicolas Andrew Silva
Frank A Smith
Kohei Takeda and Shumile
Our PANELISTS and PRESENTERS
Wally Marzano-Lesnevich
Wally Marzano-Lesnevich cowrote the feature The Problem With People with actor/comedian Paul Reiser, which was filmed this past summer in Ireland. His first feature, Almost Paris, which he wrote, acted in and produced, debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival, won the Audience Choice Award at the Beaufort International Film Festival, and is available from Freestyle Digital Media. He has made several award-winning shorts, and appeared onstage for numerous theatre companies. www.wallyml.com
Christopher Janke
Christopher Janke is a poet and visual artist whose work blends words, light, and time. His most recent exhibitions was The Thing Itself (UMass Hampden Gallery Fall 2021), which explored the beauty of an art gallery in need of repair, portions of which have been closed for more than 20 years. In the Winter of 2020/2021, he created a live sunlight performance of a 40’x40′ cyanotype and camera obscura at the Work Room at the Northampton Center for the Arts called Dark Times for that Covid winter. He creates experimental films that center on the spoken word and incorporate live action and recordings of the theater in which they are watched. Some of his sculptures of light and shadow, timed to make words appear move and disappear with the movement of sun shadows, have been called live films. He recently exhibited the 3-screen film episode: 2.reprise at the LAVA Center in Greenfield to presage the November 2020 presidential election. christopherjanke.com
Nathan Graham Davis
Screenwriter and co-producer of an upcoming Voltage Pictures’ action/thriller, producer of Cactus Jack, and co-creator of the graphic novel Malice & Mistletoe, Nathan Graham Davis is a sci-fi lover whose range bleeds into horror, thriller, action, and the historic. With nearly all of his life spent living here, he calls the Pioneer Valley home. Especially Easthampton, where he now lives with his wife, their two children, and their lab/pit bull/chow mix. He intends to continue writing and producing movies in the Valley, at both Hollywood and indie scales. When he’s not working or hanging out with his family, he can often be found running the trails of Mt. Tom. nathangrahamdavis.com
Melissa McClung
Melissa McClung is a filmmaker based in Western Massachusetts whose work has screened in film festivals and galleries locally and across the globe. Her short film, “All the Marbles,” premiered at Maryland Film Festival 2022. Her short documentary, “Louie’s Antiques,” was an Official Selection of the 58th Ann Arbor Film Festival and had its international premiere at the Melbourne Documentary Festival. The film is preserved in the Historic Northampton permanent archive. Melissa is a recipient of the New England Film Star Award from NewEnglandFilm.com and Women in Film & Video New England, and she has won three national awards from the Alliance for Community Media. In addition to her creative work, Melissa teaches film at Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter High School, serves on the board of Northampton Open Media, and co-owns Ghost Hit Recording Studio with her husband, audio engineer Andrew Oedel. Melissa earned her MFA in Film from Vermont College of Fine Arts and her BA from Vassar College. melissamcclung.com
Wade Wofford
A graduate of Univ. of Georgia’s Drama Department, Los Angeles Film School’s Production program, Roadmap Writers “Top Tier” program, and U.Mass Amherst’s “180 Days in Springfield” M.Ed program, Wade Wofford is a filmmaker with a deep love for education. Wade has studied filmmaking and written, directed and produced dozens of film projects: here and in Hollywood & NYC. Most substantially, he’s produced two micro-budget feature films (both of which won awards domestic and international on the film festival circuit) via his local production company, Happy Wasteland Studios. He was Director of Photography on Jake Hulse’s feature film, Heroes Don’t Come Home, which walked the red carpet at Mann’s Chinese as part of Dances With Films. Happy Wasteland is also in post-production on three short films that act as a proof-of-concept for a 5-season episodic sci-fi series. Wofford co-wrote and produced all three, directed one and was DP on the other two. An accomplished screenwriter, Wofford’s screenplay for Urban Ex – inspired by his teaching experiences in Springfield – won the PAGE/New England Fellowship at Stowe Story Labs, and placed in multiple renowned screenplay competitions, including being a current Quarter-finalist in the Academy Nicholl. He won Best SciFi Screenplay at Nashville Film Festival. happywasteland.com
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