WOODSTOCK — For the past six or seven years, Peacham, Vt. filmmaker Jay Craven has been curating the Woodstock Vermont Film Series in collaboration with Billings Farm and Museum in Woodstock.
A prolific filmmaker in Vermont for decades, Craven has noticed new momentum in the state’s film scene in recent years, a shift that is reflected in Billings’ upcoming series, which kicks off this weekend and continues with periodic screenings through March at the nonprofit’s Visitor Center Theater.
Both films on this weekend’s slate have Vermont connections. The first screening is “La Liga,” a 23-minute documentary about a group of migrant dairy workers largely based in Addison County who form a soccer league to counteract the isolation that comes with working so far from home.
Filmed in Spanish with English subtitles, the film shines a light on the experience of Vermont’s migrant workers, who form the backbone of the state’s dairy industry, in a way that’s “celebratory because it’s this community coming together,” Craven said.
The film asks viewers to consider the hardships of the team members, as much as it underscores their resilience and camaraderie with one another.
“It really captures moments of community and joy and connectedness,” Craven said.
The second film on the slate for this weekend looks at a very different kind of vulnerable population: the Saltmarsh Sparrow, a small bird native to the East Coast that’s become endangered due to rising sea levels and habitat loss.
“Stories to Save Us: The Saltmarsh Sparrow,” comes from filmmaker Matt Aeberhard and writer Melanie Finn, who are both based in Vermont.
Aeberhard and Finn have collaborated before on “The Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingos,” a 2008 documentary about a gathering of “lesser flamingos,” a species based in sub-Saharan Africa, that transpires each year at Lake Natron in Tanzania.
Finn will speak in a talk-back following the Saturday double feature, as will MacPherson Christopher, one of the directors of “La Liga,” who is based in Brattleboro.
Another film centered around Vermont is “Far Out: Life On and After the Commune,” which will be shown on Jan. 17 and 18. The documentary traces 50 years in the life of artists, writers and journalists who left the hustle and bustle of late ’60s New York City to start two communes, including one in Guilford, Vt.
“The Librarians,” which follows a group of librarians in Texas who push back against a recent effort to ban books about race and LGBTQ issues, also has a Vermont connection in producer Janique L. Robillard, who originally hails from Waitsfield.
Other films on the lineup focus on places farther afield than Vermont. In the case of “Natchez,” which closes the series on March 21 and 22, it’s a small community whose economy has become reliant on the tourists that come to learn about the town’s antebellum history. Through interviews with tour guides, homeowners and other residents, the film picks apart thorny questions about the town’s relationship to its racist history.
“Natchez” is, in some ways, a story about a community that has to perform its own history and identity to tourists in order to sustain itself, which, for Upper Valley tourist hubs such as Woodstock, is a familiar challenge.
The Woodstock Vermont Film Series starts this weekend with viewings at 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. For tickets ($15; $12 for Billings Farm members), go to billingsfarm.org.
Comedy Gold
The fourth annual Vermont Comedy Festival kicks off this Thursday with a 6 p.m. party at Ramunto’s Brick and Brew Pizza in Bridgewater’s historic mill followed by a stand-up battle at 8 p.m. one floor up in the Woolen Mill Comedy Club. Two-time Emmy awarding-winning comedian Judy Gold will headline the festival at 8 p.m. on Saturday at Woodstock’s Town Hall Theatre. To purchase tickets to Gold’s performance ($55) and the rest of the festival’s acts, go to vermontcomedyfestival.com.
First Friday
This week’s First Friday in White River Junction promises a particularly long list of village happenings. Here are a few highlights:
- In the Tip Top Media Arts Building, Two Rivers Printmaking Studio will hold its annual group members holiday show where patrons can purchase artists’ work. The show will be up through Dec. 31. To learn more, go to tworiversprintmaking.org.
- The Zollikofer Gallery at Hotel Coolidge will host a reception with refreshments from 5 to 7 p.m. to celebrate Upper Valley artist Amy Fortier’s show “Moon Signs and Mandalas,” while “The Peggy Project,” a display of items that Peggy Adams, assistant innkeeper at the hotel and David Briggs’ wife, accumulated throughout her life will be on display in the Vermont Room.
- JAM (Junction Arts and Media) will host its annual JAMmy Awards, a celebration of Upper Valley filmmakers, from 6 to 9 p.m. Learn more at uvjam.org.
- Former co-owners Rachel Obbard and Kathy Detzer are saying goodbye to Long River Gallery as new owners Amanda Ann Palmer and Amy Hook-Therrien get settled. Patrons are encouraged to stop by the gallery at 49 South Main St. to wish the founders well.
Krampusnacht
The White River Junction festivities continue on Saturday with Main Street Museum’s Krampusnacht Spooky Yule, a costumed “march of mischief” around the village starting at 6 p.m. The march will conclude with a fire back at the museum. For more information, go to mainstreetmuseum.org.
Cabaret in Barnard
BarnArts will stage their Holiday Cabaret, the community theater’s end-of-year fundraiser, at 7 p.m. this Saturday at Barnard Town Hall. Acts include the Speak Easy Prohibition Band, cabaret songs from BarnArts vocalists and a reunion of the von Trapp Family Singers. Beverages and desserts will be served. For tickets ($35; $250 for a table of six to eight people) and more information, go to barnarts.org.
Gingerbread town
The Family Place’s 23rd annual Gingerbread Festival featuring community members’ homemade houses is set for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. this Saturday at Tracy Hall in Norwich. Lunch and baked goods will be served, and participants are encouraged to enter in an auction for one of the houses to benefit The Family Place, the Norwich nonprofit that provides resources and essential skills for families with young children. Admission is free. To learn more, go to familyplacevt.org.
Communal crafting
For those looking to make a homemade gift or card for the holidays, rePlay Arts, the secondhand arts supply store in White River Junction, will hold its Holiday Craftsravaganza from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Sunday at the shop on Maple Street. Cider, donuts and a range of craft supplies will be provided. Participants are encouraged to bring their ideas and half-finished projects. The event is free and open to all. Material fees are pay-what-you-can. For more information, go to replayarts.org.