Easthampton Film Festival is only a few years old, but it’s already established a foothold in the local creative community — and it’s growing.
The Easthampton Film Festival (EFF) returns for its fifth year from Thursday, April 23, through Sunday, April 26. While the festival convenes to CitySpace and E-Media for screenings, this year features an expansion into several new venues: the Marigold Theater in Easthampton, which hosts a film screening as well as the opening reception and first-ever awards ceremony; Visions Video in Northampton, which hosts two feature film screenings; and Graham Hall at Smith College’s Hillyer Hall, the site of a pitch workshop and curated short films. The music venue Heavy Culture Cooperative serves as the festival “home base” for relaxation and Saturday screenings, while also hosting the official afterparty.
“The festival has grown exponentially from year one and two to this year, year five. There’s a lot more energy, a lot more manpower, that’s going into it this year,” said D’ahnee Lorenzo, who supports operations at the festival. Since last year, she said, EFF has gotten more submissions, which means twice as many screenings, as well as more team members and more sponsors.
This year’s programming includes 57 films, more than half of which were created by Massachusetts-based filmmakers. The screenings feature intentionally curated blocks, such as “Freaky Films,” a selection of edgy and weird shorts; “Worth Fighting For,” documentaries exploring stories of perseverance; and “Let’s Talk About It,” which focuses on teens in crisis.
“The content that we have going this year was very intentionally curated, and we’re really hoping that it feels relevant and it feels topical for audience members to want to think about and talk about with each other during and after the fest,” said Lena Vani, chair of programming.
There are also several feature film screenings, including Wade Wofford’s “Urban Ed,” about a group of students in Springfield; and Nick Verdi’s “Don’t Let It Bring You Down,” about a man dealing with alcoholism and isolation, among other films. Both filmmakers live in the Valley.
“Making a film of any length is a challenge, but making a feature film is … an even bigger undertaking,” said Chris Ferry, executive director of EFF. “The local features that we’re showcasing, I think, deserve special attention.”
As the festival continues to grow, Ferry and Lorenzo said they want it to expand further outside of Easthampton, to become “a notable festival — a regional attraction for sure,” Lorenzo said. Ferry sees the festival’s first five years as “phase one,” and in the coming years, “phase two,” he wants to establish more programming elsewhere in the Valley, at places like Amherst Cinema and the Academy of Music in Northampton.
“By our 10th year, I would love it to be a regional presence, where people are traveling from New York, from Maine, the rest of New England, and that we continue to build our reputation as a really solid regional film festival that is great for audiences and filmmakers,” Ferry said.
Lorenzo said that since she became part of the festival, she’s gotten to meet filmmakers and other film professionals and to get involved with three different movies and one music video, “which has been really, really amazing to have that opportunity in western Massachusetts.”
“I would have to go to New York or California or one of those sort[s] of places in order to pursue my film interest, and that’s not the case with the Easthampton Film Festival,” she said.
“As it turns out, western Massachusetts writ large is really a hotbed of independent film,” Ferry said. “And it was surprising to me when I started this festival that many of the people I’ve met through it didn’t previously know each other, so it turns out to be something that there’s a great appetite for, both from audiences who are interested in supporting local art but also local artists working.”
Tickets to each slate of films are $10 to $15. VIP passes are $75. Admission to the events at Smith College is free. To purchase tickets or see the full film lineup, visit easthamptonfilmfestival.com.
