Glimmerglass Film Days Offers Hybrid Film Festival In Cooperstown and Online November 4-11

Glimmerglass Film Days, a program of Otsego 2000, will present a virtual film festival plus in-person screenings and events in Cooperstown, NY, November 4-11. Curated by Artistic Director Margaret Parsons and Programmer Joey Katz, the slate of independent documentaries and narrative features and shorts reflects the theme "Rise."

The full slate of 26 feature-length films and two shorts programs will be available to stream. In addition, four of the films will be shown at the Grandstand Theater at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown:

· Nov. 4, 5:30 pm THE TRUFFLE HUNTERS (Gregory Kershaw, Michael Dweck, 2020, 84 minutes);

· Nov. 5, 5:30 pm FIRST WE EAT (Suzanne Crocker, 2020, 101 minutes), followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Suzanne Crocker;

· THE STORY WON'T DIE (David Henry Gerson, 2021, 83 minutes) followed by a Q&A with filmmaker David Henry Gerson; and

· Nov. 8, 5:30 pm LAST DAYS AT SEA (Venice Atienza, 2021, 70 minutes).

On Nov. 7 at 5:30 pm, WEED & WINE (Rebecca Richman Cohen, 2020, 89 minutes), which contrasts a French family growing grapes with a California family legally growing cannabis, will be shown at Templeton Hall, 63 Pioneer Street in Cooperstown.

The selected films tell stories of people around the world connecting with nature, food, and traditions in compelling ways. Some films address serious issues such as racism, climate change, and environmental threats, while other films portray individuals creating art, community, and connection.

"The theme 'Rise' captures this duality, as it serves as a beacon of hope and new beginnings but also a word of warning in terms of sea levels and global temperatures," says Ellen Pope, executive director of Otsego 2000. The films include selections from 15 different countries as well as works by indigenous filmmakers.

The 2021 Glimmerglass Film Days selections are:

· AN IMPOSSIBLE PROJECT (Jens Meurer, 2020, 99 minutes)

· AYA (Simon Coulibaly Gillard, 2021, 90 minutes)

· BEANS (Tracey Deer, 2020, 92 minutes)

· BILL TRAYLOR: CHASING GHOSTS (Jeffrey Wolf, 2019, 75 minutes)

· BOREALIS (Kevin McMahon, 2020, 93 minutes)

· BREAD: AN EVERYDAY MIRACLE (Harald Friedl, 2020, 94 minutes)

· DAUGHTER OF A LOST BIRD (Brooke Pepion Swaney, 2021, 67 minutes)

· DESCENT (Nays Baghai, 2020, 65 minutes)

· FIRST WE EAT (Suzanne Crocker, 2020, 101 minutes)

· LAST DAYS AT SEA (Venice Atienza, 2021, 70 minutes)

· MALNI-TOWARDS THE OCEAN, TOWARDS THE SHORE (Sky Hopinka, 2020, 80 minutes)

· MAU (Benjamin Bergmann, Jono Bergmann, 2021, 77 minutes)

· RISE AGAIN: TULSA AND THE RED SUMMER (Dawn Porter, 2021, 90 minutes)

· SNCC (Danny Lyon, 2021, 70 minutes)

· SOCKEYE SALMON -- RED FISH (Dmitriy Shpilenok, Vladislav Grishin, 2020, 52 minutes)

· STORM LAKE (Jerry Risius, Beth Levison, 2020, 86 minutes)

· TAMING THE GARDEN (Salome Jashi, 2020, 92 minutes)

· THE ANCIENT WOODS (Mindaugas Survila, 2017, 86 minutes)

· THE FALCONER (Annie Kempfner, 2019, 75 minutes)

· THE KNOCK (Deborah Brevoort, Aleksandra Vrebalov, 2021, 50 minutes)

· THE MUSHROOM SPEAKS (Marion Neumann, 2021, 90 minutes)

· THE STORY WON'T DIE (David Henry Gerson, 2021, 83 minutes)

· THE TRUFFLE HUNTERS (Gregory Kershaw, Michael Dweck, 2020, 84 minutes)

· THE WAKEFUL SLEEPER (Boris Van der Avoort, Marie Kervyn, 2020, 76 minutes)

· WAR AND THE WEATHER (Enid Baxter Ryce, 2021, 40 minutes)

· WEED & WINE (Rebecca Richman Cohen, 2020, 89 minutes)

· Selections from the Thomas Edison Film Festival (shorts program)

· Shorts + Cake (shorts program)

An art exhibit, four guided walks, themed dinners, restaurant specials, and a pop-up bookstore are also featured as part of Glimmerglass Film Days. RISING WATER(COLORS), an exhibit of works by Enid Baxter Ryce, an internationally recognized visual artist and filmmaker from California, will be on view at The Smithy, 55 Pioneer Street in Cooperstown Nov. 4-11. Ryce's film, WAR AND THE WEATHER will play in the gallery alongside watercolor works featured in the film, investigating ways in which global weather patterns have affected and been affected by human actions over time. WAR AND THE WEATHER is also available to stream during Film Days. The exhibit was co-curated by students in the Cooperstown Graduate Program, consulting curator Sydney Waller, and Film Days staff.

Also at The Smithy, Oneonta's Green Toad Bookstore will hold a pop-up shop with titles related to the Film Days films.

Themed dinners catered by L.M. Townsend Catering will be held at Templeton Hall in Cooperstown. A Northern Italian Dinner to complement THE TRUFFLE HUNTERS will be offered on November 4 at 7:30 pm. A Local Foods Repast, to complement FIRST WE EAT, will be held Nov. 5 at 7:30 pm, and a Soup for Syria Buffet, to complement THE STORY WON'T DIE will be held on Nov. 6. In addition, Alex's World Bistro and Mel's on 22 in Cooperstown will offer Film Days specials.

There are four guided walks being offered as part of Film Days. On Nov. 6 at 11 am the Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society will lead a bird walk on the grounds of the Fenimore Art Museum. On November 10 at 2 pm, the Otsego Land Trust will lead a walk of Brookwood Point. On November 11 at 9 am, the Otsego County Conservation Association will lead a walk on the Clark Tower trails off Beaver Meadow Road in Cooperstown. Later that day, at 2:30 pm. Dr. Cynthia Falk of the Cooperstown Graduate Program will lead a walking tour of Cooperstown called "Rise Up: Spires, Towers and Turrets of Cooperstown." The walks are free, but require registration at Glimmerglassfilmdays.org.

A Glimmerglass Pass costs $75 and provides online access to 26 feature-length films and two shorts programs, plus online filmmaker talks. All films will be able to be viewed beginning at 7 pm on November 4, through November 11. Tickets to individual online films are $5. Both the Glimmerglass Pass and online film tickets are good for a household.

"Viewers let us know they wanted the flexibility to watch films on their own schedule, so this year all films will be available to watch on the first day of the festival," says Pope.

Tickets to the in-person screenings are $10 per person and are not included with the Glimmerglass Pass. Tickets to dinners are $25-35 and should be purchased at least 48 hours in advance. To attend in-person events, proof of vaccination (NY Excelsior Pass or CDC vaccination card) and photo ID are required. Face masks will be required while watching films.

Passes, tickets, film descriptions and trailers, and details on in-person screenings, guided walks, and companion art exhibit are available at https://linktr.ee/GlimmerglassFilmDays.

Glimmerglass Film Days is a program of Otsego 2000, an environmental and preservation advocacy nonprofit based in Cooperstown, NY. Otsego2000.org

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