By Nancye Tuttle ntuttle@lowellsun.com
Poster of Bette Davis
In the "good old days," movie fans had their choice of flicks at a half dozen movie palaces in the Mill City. Then, the multiplexes came in, put the old theaters out of business and left downtown Lowell devoid of a place to see the latest Hollywood hit or cutting-edge documentary.
Next week that changes when the first Lowell Film Festival comes to town. From April 2-12, the Mill City will be a haven for film lovers, with more than two dozen films, ranging from full-length features, to shorter documentaries, to locally produced shorts, all focusing on the festival theme, "Immigration, Globalization and the All-American City: Lowell in the World."
"There's been talk of having a film festival for quite awhile, so a group of us got together and tried to figure out how we could do it," says Stacie Hargis, a film buff and graduate student at UMass Lowell, who is running the fest.
Her professor Bob Forrant obtained grant money from the school's President's Creative Economy Initiative Fund, which set the wheels in motion. Other organizations, including Massachusetts Cultural Council, the City of Lowell, the Cultural Organization of Lowell (COOL), the National Park, Pollard Memorial Library, Cambodian Expressions, Greater Merrimack Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau, Enterprise Bank, Lowell Five Cents Savings Bank, the Revolving Museum, UTEC, Middlesex Community College, Mogan Cultural Center and Lowell Telecommunications Corporation got involved.
The films run the gamut from Bling: A Planet Rock, a thought-provoking documentary that follows hip-hop artists traveling to Sierra Leone and its diamond mines, to The Busker, a charming coming-of-age fictional work, filmed in Lowell by Mill City filmmaker Stephen Croke.
"There's a wide variety of films and many different cultures represented. Lowell is such a diverse community, that we wanted a cohesive theme for all the films," said Hargis, who was on the committee which selected the films.
The festival opens Friday, April 4 with a reception at the Revolving Museum, the screening of Bling is at UTEC and the screening of Sacco and Vanzetti is at the Visitor's Center.
Saturday is jam-packed with film events, including screenings of locally produced films from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Revolving Museum and a panel discussion on What It Means to Be a Filmmaker, with Lisa Simmons from the Roxbury Film Festival, Jim Higgins, creation of Flying Orb stop-motion short films and Croke at the museum at 1 p.m.
Other venues across town will be screening films.
Other activities related to the festival include Bette Davis Tribute on Wednesday, Cambodian Expressions Film Night on Thursday at Middlesex Community College and the 2008 Lowell Youth Matters Film Festival, April 7-12, featuring short films created by Lowell teens.
Downtown restaurants are getting involved with discounts and specials for fest participants. Pick up a map stamped at a festival venue and bring to participating businesses.
"It is very exciting. We get to offer really great films that you can't rent -- and most for no charge," said Hargis.
The full schedule is available on-line at www.lowellfilms.org. Maps are available at all venues showing films.
This article appeared in the Lowell Sun Steppin' Out on Thursday, March 27, 2008