Previous Festivals: 2005

Campbell Scott, Patricia Clarkson and Peter Sarsgaard in The Dying Gaul

Shakespeare Behind Bars

As the submission period for new films began, it seemed likely that a record number of entries would be tallied for the seventh season... as indeed proved to be true. Moreover, 37 artists were in residence over the two weekends, with actress Patricia Clarkson honored at the Gala with a clips reel of her outstanding career. Clarkson and Campbell Scott were in residence for the joint WFF/MASS MoCA screening of The Dying Gaul, which screened in North Adams on the same day it opened in New York and Los Angeles.

Notable titles this season included Duane Hopwood, Matt Mulhern's poignant film with a career-changing performance by David Schwimmer, The Tenants (searingly adapted from Malamud's novel), the crowd-pleasing Alchemy, and the bleakly funny Lonesome Jim directed by indie king Steve Buscemi. Three documentaries scored: SHOW Business, the delightfully unorthodox The American Ruling Class, and Shakespeare Behind Bars - the latter sponsored by the Gaudino Fund and the first film to screen at Williams’ new ‘62 Center. Its seven guest artists held provocative panel sessions with students and received a standing ovation at the opening night Q-&-A. Producer Larry Turman pleased the annual lunch seminar with his recollections of The Graduate - an event suggested and co-moderated by Board member David Nickoll - while the Alloy Orchestra thrilled MoCA's Hunter Center with its accompaniment to the silent Phantom of the Opera. The first and last shorts shown - La Vie d'un Chien (first-ever foreign-language title at WFF)  and West Bank Story (a hilarious Mideast version of a familiar musical)- set the standard for the season. Wrapping up the festival: The Puffy Chair, the first feature by filmmaking brothers Jay and Mark Duplass whose two shorts had played at WFF in 2003 and 2004. IAC InterActive Corp. and the Endeavor Agency joined the ranks of sponsors. And WFF ended up in the black... for a seventh straight year.