In honor of Martin Luther King Jr., the 12th annual MountainTop Film Festival once again offers a diverse program of documentary and dramatic films and special events, addressing social and environmental issues from around the world.
With growing concerns regarding human and civil rights and in a continued effort to make the Vermont community an epicenter of awareness and activism, the MountainTop Film Festival strives to make people's voices and stories heard through film and discussion to further efforts of education and involvement.
This year's program will feature a total of 12 films as well as special events during the week of January 16 through 22 at Big Picture Theater in Waitsfield. Some of the films include the MLK drama Selma, the Snowden film Citizen Four, The Internet's Own Boy, Plastic Paradise and Fed Up.
Along with the films the festival has invited filmmakers, politicians, musicians and scholars who are involved in furthering civil rights around the world.
By Rob Williams
We asked Claudia Becker, owner of Big Picture Theater and founder of the MountainTop Film Festival (MTFF), a few questions about the festival and this year's lineup.
Q. How did the MTFF come to be?
A. Twelve years ago I approached the owners of the then Eclipse Theater to let them know about the Human Rights Watch Traveling Film Fest. When they didn't follow up on it, I took it upon myself to find films I thought would educate and shake people up – it quickly grew into its own festival format. I strongly believe in the power of film and storytelling as a means to share ideas, information and emotions. Once I knew that I had the films, it seemed natural to hold the festival on Martin Luther King's birthday which is a date to commemorate the ongoing need for political and social change here and in our global community. The festival is named after his mountaintop speech.
Q. What are your goals for the MTFF – what do you hope to achieve every year with this event?
A. Vermont is a hotbed of awareness and activism. The festival shares growing concerns in regard to civil and human rights and is hoping to continue efforts of education and involvement by making people's voices and stories heard through film and discussion.
Q. Tell us about this year's films. What are you excited about?
A. We are very excited to have Selma in the program, which is a dramatic film about Martin Luther King that is just coming out. It kind of frames the festival this year. Around that are 12 other films, including Citizen Four, a real life thriller about Edward Snowden, and Plastic Paradise which addresses one of our big environmental challenges – the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and how flooded our everyday lives are with toxic plastic waste. Other films are Fed Up, dealing with our industrialized food production and its implication on health and well being, The Green Prince, telling the true story of a Palestinian prisoner turned Israeli spy, or Team – a film about an emergency group of an international human rights group that flies to all the hotspots in the world. Also showing are Dear White People, How to Lose Your Virginity, and The Internet's Own Boy.
Q. Any special events or guests as part of this year's MTFF?
A. On opening night there will be a reception with live jazz and special guest Hal Colston – Vermonter of the Year who has devoted his last 25 years helping people in his Vermont community.
Another special event is a screening of an interview with WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange in which he was beamed onto stage as a hologram from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London as part of the Nantucket Project.
The festival is also proud to host a panel about race and civil rights in America today with Charles Ogletree, Harvard law professor and founder of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice. He will be joined by Vermont State's Attorney TJ Donovan and filmmaker/author Eugene Jarecki (The House I Live In, Reagan, Why We Fight). Green Mountain Global Forum is co-presenting a screening of the short film My Neighborhood followed by a Q&A with Josh Ruebner (author of Shattered Hopes and director of the U.S. Campaign to End Israeli Occupation). During the event, Governor Shumlin will be hosting a reception and talk to raise funds and awareness for the pending lawsuit between the state of Vermont and Monsanto.
Q. Where can we find the MTFF schedule, buy tickets, etc.?
A. The films and the schedule are on the festival website at www.mountaintopfilmfestival.com. Tickets and festival passes can be bought at Big Picture Theater in Waitsfield, which is hosting the festival in its 12th year.
{loadnavigation}
