WILLIAMSTOWN FILM FESTIVAL
SETS 10TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON
World/East Coast/New England Premieres to Feature Streep,
Clarkson, Huffman, Macy, Neuwirth, Pullman

The Williamstown Film Festival's 10th Anniversary Season will run from October 17-26. The lineup will include 30 shorts, 10 features, a benefit, two seminars, and numerous parties.

The Festival launches on Friday, October 17th with the East Coast premiere of Kevin Willmott's Bunker Hill, a film of amazing resonance for this political year. When an eerie event cuts off a small town from the world, vigilantes threaten civil liberties. Bunker Hill will screen at 8:00 pm at the '62 Center for Theater and Dance on the Williams College campus.

Saturday, October 18th begins with "Shooting in the Heartland,"a 10 am breakfast seminar at the Williams Inn during which guest artists will discuss the new realities of making indie films in America. At noon, Moving Mike -a wacky urban comedy about four friends in Manhattan on a day from hell - has its world premiere at Images Cinema. The first of WFF's two highly popular All-Shorts collages will be presented at 3:00 pm.

Save Me

That night at 6:00 pm, WFF will hold its annual Benefit dinner at Cafe Latino in North Adams. This will be followed by the 8:00 pm screening at MASS MoCA of Phoebe in Wonderland, Daniel Barnz' magical tale of a little girl veering between fantasy and reality. The cast includes Felicity Huffman, Patricia Clarkson, Elle Fanning, Campbell Scott, and Bill Pullman. Weekend I of the Festival wraps on Sunday, October 19th with an 11:00 am brunch screening of Save Me, Robert Cary's powerful look at a young gay man trying to get his life back with the help of a Christian ministry in the face of temptation.

Weekend II kicks off at 8:00 pm on Thursday, October 23rd with the New England premiere of Dear Zachary, a searing documentary about friendship, love, loss, and the travesty of justice. The director is Kurt Kuenne, who won the 2007 Christopher and Dana Reeve Audience Award for best short at WFF.

Adopt a Sailor

The world premiere of Adopt a Sailor screens at Images on Friday, October 24th at 3:00 pm. Starring Bebe Neuwirth, Peter Cyote, and Ethan Peck (grandson of Gregory), Charles Evered's debut feature traces the encounter betweeen a sophisticated New York couple and a sailor in town for Fleet Week. At 8:00 pm, WFF returns to MASS MoCA with Gotta Dance, Dori Berinstein's irresistible documentary about senior citizens who form a hiphop dance team to perform during New Jersey Nets basketball games.

Saturday, October 25th begins with the second All-Shorts slot at 10:00 am. A lunch seminar "The Business of Art" will take place at The Orchards at 12:30pm with special guest John Sloss - founder of Cinetic Media, legendary sales agent, and executive producer of Boys Don't Cry, The Fog of War, and Far From Heaven. This will be followed at 3:00 pm with the New England premiere of Bart Got a Room, in which a high school student (with the help of his father, played by William H. Macy) is frantically trying to land a date for the prom before time slips away.

Theater of War

At 8:00 pm, the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute will be the site of WFF's annual 'Party at the Clark' and the Berkshire premiere of Theater of War, in which Meryl Streep plays Mother Courage, one of drama's great female roles. The film blends rehearsals and interviews with Streep, Kevin Kline, and translator Tony Kushner and rare footage from playwright Bertolt Brecht's career - a spellbinding look at the creative process at work. A q-&-a with director John Walter will be followed by the presentation of the Reeve Award for best short of the season and WFF's perennial champagne/desserts party in the Clark courtyard.

WFF's 10th Anniversary Season closes at 11:00 am on Sunday, October 26th with a brunch screening of Frozen River. Courtney Hunt's extraordinary film won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and features a brilliant performance by Melissa Leo as a trailer mom who forges an unwilling alliance with a smuggler for the sake of her family. WFF screened the short version of Frozen River in 2004.

To order tickets or discounted Passes for either or both weekends - or to get a season brochure - call (413) 458-9900 or go to Tickets.