Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 12/5/2023
NORTHAMPTON — A new event showcasing the work of six local filmmakers is coming to the Academy of Music on Dec. 22 from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
Spearheaded by Northampton natives Lucas Fappiano and Colin Hodgson, “Emerging Filmmakers of Western Mass.” will showcase two narratives and four documentary films from filmmakers who are either from Western Massachusetts or who currently live in the area.
According to an announcement from the organizers on social media, the films that will be presented share common themes of strengthening the community and confronting change.
“This event is great because it gets film enthusiasts and filmmakers in the same room together so they can spread the word about each other and maybe even work with each other in the future,” Fappiano told Reminder Publishing.
In an interview, Fappiano — a recent graduate of UMass Amherst who specializes in digital editing, music production and videography — noted how the idea for this event was sparked by he and Hodgson’s new short film titled “Small Lives,” which is a character study of Jim Mias, a well-known little league baseball coach and community leader.
Initially, Fappiano said they wanted to rent out a space and invite the players and parents who participated in little league and summer ball with Mias to come and watch the short film. But the “Small Lives” filmmakers decided to expand the reach and invite other filmmakers to show their work.
“It kind of turned into, ’okay, well, we can’t just do a 16-minute film for renting out a whole space; let’s get other artists in the area and kind of get the community together and have a night where we all just watch each other’s films,’” Fappiano said.
To find other filmmakers willing to showcase their work, Hodgson and Fappiano reached out to Chris Ferry, the founder and organizer of the Easthampton Film Festival, Northampton Open Media, and an anyone else who knew how to curate films. From there, they chose the films they thought fit best within the theme of strengthening community.
“Northampton Open Media and Easthampton Film Festival do a great job at supporting and highlighting local films —and have both helped us with this event — but we felt like there’s still room for more,” Hodgson said, regarding why this event is important. “There’s a lot of creative people here and a lot of people who want to support local artists.”
As for “Small Lives” specifically, Fappiano said the movie was inspired by his experiences playing with Mias during his formative years playing baseball in Florence or at Leeds Elementary School.
He spoke very highly of Mias and the impact he had on the little leaguers. Fappiano added that he hopes the movie promotes the idea of what it is like to be a good community leader.
“Getting a bunch of kids together and having them learn to play with each other and fight and have fun, that in itself is inspiring,” said Fappiano, of Mias. “But it’s also just the way he carries himself and remembers everybody. He always has a great smile and is just a really great guy.”
Fappiano said this is one of the bigger projects he has done since becoming a filmmaker, and it is also his first time working with Hodges on a film.
“It was the first time I was able to sit down and do long form interviews and figure out themes and how we want to tell the story,” Fappiano said, of the process.
Hodgson, a local director, cinematographer and editor, said that Mias was his neighbor and a positive presence in his life. He noted that the summer pickup baseball games he organized were always a highlight of his childhood.
“He has the ability to connect with everyone he talks too,” Hodgson said.
At first, Hodgson said he wanted to make the film to get to know Mias better, but as he and Fappiano worked on the film, they realized that the film’s crux should focus more on how he impacts the community.
“One of the concerns Jim expresses in the film is how the world feels more isolated than it used to,” Hodgson said. “My high-level goal for this screening is to create an event that fights back against that feeling of isolation by bringing people together in person, and is directly inspired by the neighborhood events he used to help put on.”
Hodgson shares a similar goal with Fappiano regarding this Emerging Filmmakers event.
“My hope is that all of the filmmakers selected can join on December 22nd, meet each other, and maybe spark some future collaboration,” Hodgson said. “If anyone goes to the screening and gets inspired to create their own film, that would be a major added bonus.”
Both he and Fappiano are presenting “Emerging Filmmakers of Western Mass.” under their Blue Heron Productions.
The Dec. 22 event is free but attendees are encouraged to donate at the door since proceeds are going to the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts.
Other films scheduled for the night include “Keeping Time” by Kate Way, “Shook” by Joel Rosen, “A Home for Curiosities” by Ben Tobin, “When We Move” by Jasper Fletcher and “The Optimyst - The Forrest Williams Democracy (Music Video)” by Fappiano.