Scorsese Honored at This Year’s BIFF

The Berkshire International Film Festival (BIFF) will begin its 14th season starting May 30, bringing another vibrant and tightly-packed weekend of back-to-back documentaries, independent films and foreign cinema to Great Barrington and Pittsfield, Mass. In addition to the impressive line up of films, BIFF’s 2019 season will honor Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese, who will appear in conversation with director Kent Jones at a special tribute event on June 1.

BIFF Founder and Artistic Director Kelley Vickery spoke with Compass in anticipation of the upcoming festival.

Alexander Wilburn: So, I’m sure you could have guessed, the first person I want to ask about is Martin Scorsese. 

Kelley Vickery: Of course! Who doesn’t want to talk about that, and why would I want to talk about anything but Mr. Scorsese?

AW: Earlier, in the BIFF Presents conversation with Kent Jones, Jones spoke about the support of Martin Scorsese as his producer on “Diane.” In the BIFF opening night documentary “What She Said,” audiences will get to see Pauline Kael championing Scorsese’s early work. It feels like beyond being the honoree, he already has a presence at the festival this year. I’m wondering from your perspective what Martin Scorsese means to BIFF? 

KV: Wow. That’s a tall order. Mr. Scorsese has deep roots in the Berkshires. He’s been coming here a long time. His wife, Helen, grew up here. He’s also a huge champion of Edith Wharton, of course. He did the film, “The Age of Innocence.” So it’s very meaningful to have him, on a lot oflevels. Obviously he’s one of the great film directors of all time, but there’s an emotional component to having him here with Kent Jones. They’re collaborators, they’re great friends, and Kent grew up here; he’s very much a product of the Berkshires. 

AW: In addition to “Raging Bull,” Martin Scorcese’s film “Silence” is the tribute screening that will follow his talk with Kent Jones. How were the films selected?

KV: They were selected by Mr. Scorsese himself and Kent Jones. Obviously “Raging Bull” is one of the great films of all time, and it was how he made his mark. “Silence” was a passion project for Mr. Scorsese. It took him 17 years to make the film through various trials and tribulations, financing — and he’s very proud of it.

AW: As we’re talking, the Cannes Film Festival started yesterday. As a younger, more emerging film festival, I wonder not only about some of the challenges, but also maybe some of the surprise benefits of being a smaller operation?

KV: Well I can tell you the most important thing is the connection to the filmmakers. When you go to the Cannes Film Festival, and Kent Jones will say this quite openly, you have no connection to the people who run the festival and other people who are making films at the festival. It’s a big operation, it’s very commercial. At The BIFF we are very connected. I email filmmakers all day long, every day. We have a filmmaker’s summit that brings together all of the filmmakers who are chosen from each year, and we bring together industry professionals, and create a really healthy and nurturing environment for filmmakers to communicate, network learn and engage with one another. I think if you’re too big like Cannes, who can’t connect like that. It’s too big. Tribeca’s another one. It’s just too broad. We’re very fortunate at BIFF. I have returning filmmakers each year who say, “We can’t wait to get back into the BIFF family fold.” 

AW: I feel like, maybe just by osmosis, every festival year must have its own unique theme or mood in the air. What’s the feeling you have around the 2019 film selections?

KV: Sometimes themes do emerge, it’s true. One year we did have this crazy theme of artists. We have Marina Abramovic  and Gregory Crewdson and Peggy Guggenheim. I can’t say there’s a theme, except that this year the ties are deep to the Great Barrington area. Pauline Kael lived here. She watched movies and wrote her critiques from the Mahaiwe Theater, which is where the film will be shown. And we’re closing with “Museum Town,” a documentary about MASS MoCA. But I went to Sundance and I went to Berlin. They were quite heavy this year. It sort of reminded me  of about 10 years ago, a post Iraq War feeling where everything was just really heavy. Not without merit, or purpose, but I left those festivals feeling fairly depressed. I did make a concerted effort this year, so if you wanted you could go to the BIFF and see nothing but funny films. 

AW: That’s kind of a rarity!

KV: I made it even more of a statement because times are tough. Film has a purpose to shed light on things that are hard, and we have that, but film at its core is meant to be entertaining and lift you up.

The Berkshire International Film Festival will take place in Great Barrington, Mass. and Pittsfield, Mass. from May 30 to June 2. For more information go to www.biffma.org