Cornwall filmmakers screen Muir biography

MILLERTON — The East Coast premiere of the documentary film “John Muir in the New World,” by Cornwall’s Catherine Tatge, drew a crowd of around 250 people to The Moviehouse FilmWorks Forum Sunday morning, April 3. Attendees were not only seeing Tatge’s film biography of the renowned environmentalist and founder of the Sierra Club, but also supporting The Arts Fund for Region One. The film was introduced by Tatge’s husband and partner in Global Village Media, Dominique Lasseur, who is executive producer of the film. Following the showing was a Q & A session in the upstairs theater with Tatge, who described the joys and challenges of filming in some of the most rugged terrain in the United States. The majestic scenery which was the setting for Muir’s life and travels included Yosemite, the Sierra Nevada and Alaska.“I want to assure you, I was actually in all the places in the film. I’m a city person,” Tatge said, “but I put on my crampons and got out there.” She did admit that she had a few missteps along the way, when she would lose herself in the work and “sort of fall backward as I was setting up a shot.” She said she was inspired to make the film of Muir’s life while on a trip to Alaska.Asked by an audience member whether Muir had a dark side, Tatge thought for a moment before saying that he was surely very determined. “It can happen with very talented people like Muir. They are driven by their visions,” she said. Lasseur agreed heartily with this point, drawing appreciative laughter from the crowd.For the re-enactment of Muir’s life in the film, Tatge said they did not hire actors, but rather had current-day environmentalists fill the roles. Asked what she brought away from the experience of making the film, she said, “For me, a whole world opened up. Muir saw nature, the flowers and trees, as his friends. I learned from being with people who look at flowers in the way that some others would look at paintings, with great appreciation.” The need to preserve nature and the environment, she said, is just as important now as it was in Muir’s time, the late 19th and early 20th centuries. “We have to face the fact that our survival is really at stake right now.” Tatge said the film will be available to schools, and was built in chapters specifically to accommodate scheduling for classrooms. It also has showings at a large number of film festivals across the country and will be seen on PBS TV stations across the country on April 18 at 9 p.m. in commemoration of Earth Day. For more information, go to www.globalvillagemedia.org.