Film in the Upper Delaware River  Valley has long been a facet of local culture, and it is becoming more so. In just this past week we’ve seen a venerable community theater—continuously owned and operated since 1948—change hands: the Callicoon Theater. Then, in 1999 we obtained our own very first film festival, Milford, PA’s Black Bear Film Festival.* It was followed from 2005 to 2011 by the DIGit digital media festival in Narrowsburg, NY, succeeded in the same town by another festival celebrating new, innovative independent—and frequently local—filmmaking: the Big Eddy Film Festival (BEFF). And this year, the area welcomes a third festival to foster the creativity of filmmakers both local and international: the Catskills International Film Festival (CIFF) in Callicoon, NY. The BEFF and the CIFF both will be taking place this year in two successive weeks in September.

To help ensure that the two festivals complement rather than compete with each other, newcomer festival CIFF has checked that their films and producers were not slated for both festivals. What’s more, the two festivals have different focuses. While the BEFF will be highlighting documentaries this year, most showings feature length, the CIFF will be presenting more of a mixture of narrative and documentary, with many shorts and even throwing in some television pilots and music videos.

CIFF, while new to the area, should not be an amateur event by any means. Charles Marinaro, co-founder of CIFF, was previously the president of the Hudson Valley International Film Festival. Marinaro, along with Anthony Gagliardo, a native son who attended the Tri-Valley School District, have founded the new CIFF as a relocation of that original festival. (See www.riverreporter.com/news/new-film-festival-sullivan).

The CIFF will take place one week prior to the BEFF at the Western Hotel and Callicoon Theater, September 7 to 9. As an international film festival, the CIFF will be using films from all over the world as well as local films, says Gagliardo. He goes on to say, “We did what we could to accept as many quality films as possible from all over the world while also promoting local artists....” All films were selected with the criteria of “originality and overall quality.” However, they also sought out films “that would inspire, enlighten, and even challenge the audience’s thoughts.” One of their quirkier offerings will be “Sgt. Stubby, An American Hero,” an animated feature film whose voices include Helena Bonham Carter and Gerard Depardieu, based on the true World War I-era story of America’s most decorated dog (Saturday, Septmber 8 at 2 p.m.).

Gagliardo noted that filmmakers and viewers can also take part in the scheduled events, which include “workshops on filmmaking and acting, a comedy show and even live auditions for an upcoming feature film.” Visitors to the event may even have a chance to meet the new proprietor of the Callicoon Theater, Kristina Smith (see www.riverreporter.com/news-news-stories/new-owner-callicoon-theater).

The BEFF will take place in Narrowsburg at the Tusten Theatre from September 14 to 16; it is produced by the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance (DVAA), the arts council for Sullivan County. The event has been directed by founder Tina Spangler since its launch in 2012; since June of 2017 she has been joined by Ariel Shanberg, executive director of the DVAA. This event takes place entirely at the Tusten Theatre, which has stood since the 1930s and offers seating for 150.

According to Spangler, the BEFF “is an authentic, home-grown festival organized by the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance.” This year the festival will “focus on documentary and women producers/directors.” Additionally, “for the first time, the Big Eddy Film Festival is focusing on nonfiction storytelling by presenting premieres of several new American documentaries, and a couple narrative films based on real life.” Spangler says “In an era where truth is often stranger than fiction, we wanted to expand the conversation about fact and fiction to include cinematic storytelling.”

This year marks the seventh annual showing of this festival, and films are selected on an invitation basis. Spangler sorts through films from such venues as the Sundance Film Festival and others, yet sometimes responds to requests from filmmakers, like BEFF’s opening film this year, “The Art and Times of Frosty Myers.” As Spangler says, their criterion for selecting films is “simple: good stories, well told.” And for the sake of fresh material, the BEFF uses only films from the last two years. As with CIFF, there are other events to attend as well: for instance, a panel discussion on composing music for documentaries on Saturday at 3:30 p.m., a meet-the-filmmakers reception on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. and a VIP Champagne Closing Reception on Sunday at 4 p.m.

A complete schedule of films, events and ticket pricing for CIFF can be found at www.catskillinternationalfilmfestival.com. A complete list of films, events and ticket pricing for BEFF can be found by at www.bigeddyfilmfest.com. Tickets for individual films or the entire event can also be purchased there.

[*scheduled this year for October 19-21.]