Thank you!
Your support is sustaining the future of local news in our communities.
film

Survival and conflict on screen at Berkshire International Film Festival

Survival and conflict on screen at Berkshire International Film Festival

Psychologist, Holocaust survivor and specialist in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, Edith Eger’s book, “The Choice” has now been adapted into a documentary premiering at the Berkshire International Film Festival.

Photo courtesy The Choice Films

A new documentary exploring survival, trauma and resilience will make its world premiere later this month at the Berkshire International Film Festival. “The Choice,” directed by John David Coles, is scheduled to screen at 12:30 p.m. May 30 at The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington.

Inspired by the bestselling memoir of Holocaust survivor and psychologist Edith Eger, the film brings together the stories of several women confronting profound personal loss and trauma. The documentary follows Eger alongside Iris Haim, an Israeli mother whose son was killed by the IDF while escaping Hamas captivity. The film examines how individuals navigate grief while attempting to rebuild their lives.

Coles, whose previous directing work includes television series such as House of Cards, Homeland and The Sinner, will attend the screening.

The festival will also screen “Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk,” on Sunday, May 30, at 4:30 p.m. at The Triplex in Great Barrington. Directed by Sepideh Farsi, the documentary is built from video conversations with Palestinian photojournalist Fatma Hassona documenting daily life in Gaza during the ongoing war. The film gained international attention after Hassona was killed in an Israeli airstrike shortly before the documentary’s premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.

Together, the films underscore BIFF’s focus on urgent, emotionally resonant storytelling from around the world.

Now in its 20th year, the Berkshire International Film Festival runs May 28–31 and features more than 75 films, along with appearances by Karen Allen, Amy Goodman and other filmmakers and performers, as well as screenings, filmmaker conversations and special events across Great Barrington and Lenox.

For more information and tickets to the Berkshire International Film Festival, visit biffma.org

Brian Gersten
film

Latest News

Slow fashion takes the runway at Stone Ridge Orchard

Slow fashion takes the runway at Stone Ridge Orchard

The organic runway at HVSFW puts sustainable style among the apple trees at Stone Ridge Orchard.

Jay Ballesteros

Fast fashion has made it possible to buy the latest trend almost as quickly as it appears on social media. The environmental cost, however, is anything but fleeting. Fashion production accounts for about 10% of global carbon emissions, consumes enormous quantities of water and energy, and an estimated 85% of textiles end up in landfills each year. Synthetic fabrics also shed microplastics when washed.

So what would happen if we slowed things down?

Keep ReadingShow less
fashion

Susan Schneider and the magic of marbling

Susan Schneider and the magic of marbling
Susan Schneider, owner of Shandell’s in Ashley Falls, in her studio.
Susan Schneider, owner of Shandell’s in Ashley Falls, in her studio.
It’s a joyful process. —Susan Schneider

A beautiful September morning found Susan Schneider of Shandell’s working in her Ashley Falls home studio, while linen cocktail napkins she had marbled the day before hung on a line outside her back door. Her helpers, dogs Daisy and Stubbs, are never far from her.

“Marbling,” Schneider explained, “the art of floating paint on a liquid and printing it on a medium, has been around for hundreds of years.”

Keep ReadingShow less
our community

Sharon artist takes top prize at Lime Rock art show

Sharon artist takes top prize at Lime Rock art show
Muriel Stockdale, left, and judge Roger McKee during the awards announcement at the juried art show at Trinity Episcopal Church. Stockdale\u2019s \u201cKevin\u201d was the second place winner.
Patrick L. Sullivan

The annual juried art show at Trinity Episcopal Church in Lime Rock was won by Mi-Kyung Hwang of Sharon for “Wild Hazelnut from Eggleston.”

The winners were announced at the show’s opening reception at the church Friday evening, Sept. 18.

Keep ReadingShow less
art show
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

From Woodstock to the Warner, Graham Nash is still singing for peace

From Woodstock to the Warner, Graham Nash is still singing for peace

Graham Nash brings a career-spanning retrospective to the Warner Theatre in Torrington on Sept. 30, joined by Todd Caldwell, Adam Minkoff and Zack Djanikian.

Misti Layne

Imagine stepping out onto a stage in front of hundreds of thousands of tired, wet and weary strangers with a lineup of songs they’ve never heard before. If you’re Graham Nash, who will perform with his current band at the Warner Theatre in Torrington on Sept. 30, you don’t have to imagine. You only have to remember.

The legendary Woodstock music festival was only the second concert Nash played with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Nash had already formed Crosby, Stills & Nash, releasing their debut album earlier that year. Theirs was a sound both new and nostalgic when it hit the scene in the late 1960s, and, thanks in part to the success all three members had had with previous bands, they instantly found a wide and willing audience.

Keep ReadingShow less
concerts

Vibrant sights and sounds head to Hudson Jazz Festival

Vibrant sights and sounds head to Hudson Jazz Festival

Sam Bernhardt Quartet at the Pocket Park next to Mel The Bakery as part of Sounds Around Town (2025).

David McIntyre

Early October might be the best time of the year to drive around New England and the Hudson Valley. There’s a chill in the air, cutting the humidity which has a tendency to reappear sporadically after its summer residency. There are more harvest festivals and apple-picking opportunities than you could shake a gourd at. And the trees put on a spectacular show with their multicolored foliage.

Summer might be known as festival season, but Hudson, New York is striking while the leaves are hot. The annual Hudson Jazz Festival takes place the first weekend of October, looking to pair the vibrant autumnal foliage with some vivacious jazz.

Keep ReadingShow less
music festival

Susan Carr’s last show at LABspace

Susan Carr’s last show at LABspace
Julie Torres, Susan Carr and Ellen Letcher at LABspace.
D.H. Callahan

Julie Torres and Ellen Letcher have been running LABspace in Hillsdale since 2018, and every year they’ve hosted a solo exhibition by Cape Cod-based painter Susan Carr. “Sick of the Devil,” her eighth show will be her last.

It’s hard to describe Carr’s paintings without using the word “sculptural.” Her wet-on-wet technique requires loads of oil paint, and she piles layers upon layers of intentionally visible brushstrokes on top of one other. Fortunately, the paintings are all unframed, allowing observers to see the layers of paint, some nearly as thick as the wooden structures stretching the canvas. When she’s done with a painting, she leaves it to dry in her studio. Even placed near a dehumidifier, the pieces take about one month to fully dry.

Keep ReadingShow less
exhibit
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.