Out In The Mountains : Arts & Entertainment

Director Rose Troche follows up her no-budget hit Go Fish with Bedrooms and Hallways. The romantic comedy centers around two gay London flatmates whose sexual fantasies run in decidedly opposite directions. Sharp writing and performances mark this sweet, sophisticated work; its showings at the festival (Saturday, March 25, 1:30pm; Monday, March 27, 8:45pm, Savoy Theatre) are co-sponsored by BiNet Vermont.

Chutney Popcorn is the tale of Reena, a photographer who lives with her girlfriend in Manhattan. Her traditional Indian mother tries to ignore her younger daughterās lesbian identity, focussing her attentions on Sarita, Reenaās older and married sister. But when Sarita discovers she can’t conceive a child, Reena may well have a way back into her family’s good graces — unless it blows up in her face.

Chutney Popcorn plays on Saturday, March 25 at 8:45pm and again the following day at 6:30pm. Both shows are at the Savoy. As of press time, there’s a tentative forum scheduled with the film’s director, Nisha Ganatra, and its producer, Susan Carnival, after the March 25 showing.

The festival features a number of other films on a variety of social justice issues. Chile: Obstinate Memory (Friday, March 24, 4pm; Saturday, March 25, 4pm — Savoy) is a work by exiled director Patricio Guzman about returning home for a showing of another of his films, a documentary record of the 1971 Chilean coup. The second showing will be followed by a discussion.

A Dyslexic Family Diary is a film by Warren resident Dorothy Tod chronicling 18 years of struggle to obtain a proper education for her bright dyslexic son. Tod will lead a discussion following the March 30 showing at the City Hall venue.

The latest film in Michael Apted’s acclaimed documentary series, 42UP, revisits the 14 subjects he has profiled every seven years since they were seven. Whether you’re familiar with the 7UP series or not, you’ll find this a fascinating chart of various life journeys and an incredible use of the medium. (Friday, March 24, 8:45pm; Sunday, March 26, noon; Tuesday, March 28, 7pm — City Hall)

Other films cover ambition and familial love in Queens, murder in a small Greenland village, extraordinary biographies, and child refugees of the Holocaust. Many of the films will feature discussions, often with filmmakers themselves. The festival will also include a Latino dance and a celebration following the opening night presentation of the Cuban film Life Is to Whistle.

Single ticket prices are $5-6 with reduced price options for multiple-ticket sales. For more information or a complete schedule, call Focus on Film at 229-0598.

Women’s Film Festival

March 3-29, 2000

Brattleboro (Latchis Theatre, Hooker-Dunham Theatre & Gallery)

Bellows Falls (New Falls Cinema)

This eighth annual event, a benefit for the Women’s Crisis Center of Windham County, features more than two dozen features, short films and documentaries as well as artwork by regional female artists.

Featured films will include Show Me Love, the controversial Swedish film that puts a twist on young love in the story of two teenage girls’ relationship and its effect on the social fabric of their small town in Sweden.

Earth, the second film in a trilogy by Deepa Mehta, the acclaimed director of Fire, will see its area premiere on the festival’s final weekend. Earth is set during the partition of Indian in 1947 as India struggles to win its independence from Great Britan. Lenny, an 8-year-old Parsee girl, tells the story even as her life becomes inevitably enmeshed in the growing turmoil.

Other festival highlights include famed Barbie documentay I, Doll, Cauleen Smith’s exploration of black urban landscapes, Drylongso, and Telluride Film Festival crowd favorite Me, Myself, I. This Australian film starring Rachel Griffiths (Hillary and Jackie) takes the notion of &147;what if&148;&148; and runs with it

A celebration of Women’s History Month, the festival kicks off on Friday, March 3 during Brattleboro’s Gallery Walk with the opening of &147;Visions and Voices,&148; a visual arts exhibit. Musical performances and poetry readings will begin at 5pm at the Hooker-Dunham Theatre & Gallery.

Film screenings begin with two takes on women in traditionally male industries. Righteous Babes offers an inside look at being female in the rock and roll world. It’s followed by No Man’s Land, a documentary about women correspondents on the front line.

Film admissions range from $4-7; discount coupons are available in advance from a number of nearby VT/NH bookstores. For a detailed schedule of events or more ticket information call (802) 254-3270.