First Ever Independent Film Showcase at Starlite Cinemas is a Wrap!
Posted by Leah on
5/24/2016 1:06:53 PM
Prefer to listen rather than read? Listen Here!
On Friday May 20 and Saturday 21 Starlite Cinemas in Rochester, NH held its first Independent Film Showcase. The showcase featured 16 films over the course of the two days, including both feature length films and shorts, and running the gamut from drama, to comedy, to horror to documentary.
The showcase kicked off on Friday evening with two screenings of the film Food Fight: Inside the Battle for Market Basket. Although the house wasn’t packed to the gills for the first screening, the theater was very full. Because of Market Basket’s popularity in Rochester, the crowd was very passionate and seemed to enjoy the film immensely. After the screening filmmakers Melissa Pely and Jay Childs were on hand to discuss the film and answer any questions the audience had.
Saturday morning featured a short films brunch, during which a small, but enthusiastic crowd was treated to coffee, pastries, fruit and juice before entering the theater. There were four short films shown during the brunch program including Frontier, which was about aliens and a secret government facility deep in the woods of Maine, Universal Adapter Blues, which featured time traveling robots, Rest in Peace, Albert Lively, which was a film about the death of a friend who’s always faked his own death and The Last American Movie, which was about a bored teen in 1985 Los Angeles who meets a mysterious visitor and goes on an adventure. All of the films were fantastic, but The Last American Movie was by far my favorite. I hope to have a review of it for you soon.
At 1 pm the feature documentary Brew Hampshire was shown. Meagan Frappiea and Bryant Naro were in attendance for a Q and A session after the film. Also in attendance was 7th Settlement Craft Brewery and Restaurant out of Dover, NH, complete with samples of several of their beers for tasting. As the beer was being tasted and the film and beer were discussed, the theater was gracious enough to buy pizzas for the hungry crowd, so that they didn’t have to leave and miss the screening of Most Likely, which was playing at 3:15 pm.
After the screening of Most Likely and the short Thirty Today was the short The Answer, followed by the feature documentary Leave Behind a Groove in the Earth: The Story of Sam Black Church. The film follows the rise and subsequent breakup of the band Sam Black Church, out of Boston, in the 90’s and early 2000’s. The crowd grew considerably for this film, both in size and enthusiasm. The filmmaker Duncan Wilder Johnson was in attendance to answer questions after the film, and a stand was set up to sell merchandise, both from the band and the film.
Due to scheduling conflicts I was unable to attend the screenings of the last four films, the horror features The Stray and Killing Brooke, and the shorts Yellow Die #5 and Dark Roast. I’m currently in discussion with the filmmakers so that I can bring you more about these films in the future.
Overall I’d say that this first independent film showcase put on by Starlite Cinemas was a success. I think that with time, as word about the theater spreads, special events such as this will gain higher attendance. One thing is for sure though, I can’t wait to see what special event this theater will put on next!
More information about events and regular showings at Starlite Cinema can be found on their Facebook page.