Join Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative for BFMC Summer Networking Night at the Berkshire Innovation Center in Pittsfield. This free event brings together filmmakers, media professionals, educators, students, entrepreneurs, nonprofit leaders, and creatives from across the region for an evening of connection, conversation, light bites, and a cash bar.

Admission is free, but space is limited. RSVP requested by June 19.

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Berkshire Film & Media Collaborative presents aone-day, comprehensive professional development workshop at Berkshire Community College on Saturday, October 26, to introduce students to the fundamental skills of being a production assistant (PA) on  film, television, and commercial sets.

Pittsfield, MA (9/17/24) – Aspiring filmmakers and enthusiasts can learn how to get a start on the ground floor of the film industry  with a practical,, one-day Production Assistant Workshop presented by Berkshire Film & Media Collaborative (BFMC), held at Berkshire Community College (BCC) in Pittsfield, MA, on October 26. The workshop will be led by Berkshire native Jake Diamond, who began his film industry career as a Production Assistant six years ago and has worked his way up to becoming a 1^st or 2^nd Assistant Director. The course will equip participants with fundamental skills crucial for success as a Production Assistant (PA) on film, television, and commercial sets. 

The workshop will be held on October 26, 2024, from 9am to 2pm on the Berkshire Community College campus in Pittsfield.  “After a successful July workshop, we are excited to be offering this workshop again with BCC for people looking to gain the skills necessary to work on a production set,” says Diane Pearlman, BFMC Executive Director. Participants will engage with real-world scenarios and learn industry-standard practices, covering everything from set preparation, craft service, roles and responsibilities, and equipment management. Jake Diamond will personally guide attendees through the essential tasks and nuances of the PA role. 

“In this workshop, I aim to share not just the technical skills but also the important insights and etiquette necessary to thrive in any production environment,” says Jake Diamond, who has worked on prominent commercial projects for brands such as Verizon, HBO, and Timberland as well as several independent feature films. 

Participants can expect to gain a practical knowledge that will set them apart in the competitive world of film, television, and commercial production. Whether you’re a newcomer eager to learn the ropes or a seasoned enthusiast looking to refine skills, this workshop offers a unique opportunity to understand all that’s required and expected of a PA along with a chance to   network with peers.

Workshop Details:

Saturday October 26^th, 2024, 9am – 2pm

Scholarships may be available based on need

Berkshire Community College
1350 West Street
Pittsfield, MA 01201 

For registration and more information, click here or contact Catherine Burt Cantin: catherine@berkshirefilm.org

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Film & Media Collaborative (BFMC) has been awarded a $200,000 Cultural Facilities Fund (CFF) Capital Grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) and Mass Development. 

BFMC will use this grant to begin build drawings for the new international film education center proposed for the north end of the Elayne Bernstein Theatre complex on the grounds of Shakespeare & Company in Lenox.

BFMC Executive Director, Diane Pearlman, attended the celebration to hear the announcement of the CFF Capital Grant in Easton. 

“We are thrilled with the continued support we have received from MCC/Cultural Facilities Fund for the KSS project – first for the feasibility study, then for architectural drawings and now to finish Phase 2 of the project and to plan and begin the final renderings of the build drawings,” said Pearlman. “Their support has been significant in garnering interest and contributions from other individuals and organizations.”

Kemble Street Studios is a mixed-use studio, lab, and classroom environment dedicated to education in the art and craft of filmmaking and media development. The center will offer hands-on learning for the young people in the region interested in training in the industry. It will also be a resource for local nonprofits and companies to become “video literate” and incorporate video in their branding, marketing, social media, and training. 

To date, BFMC has raised well over $500,000 dollars for this initiative.

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Pittsfield, MA (6.28.24) Berkshire Film & Media Collaborative (BFMC) has been awarded a $200,000 Cultural Facilities Fund (CFF) Capital Grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) and Mass Development. BFMC will use this grant to begin build drawings for the new international film education center proposed for the north end of the Elayne Bernstein Theatre complex on the grounds of Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA.

BFMC Executive Director, Diane Pearlman, attended the celebration to hear the announcement of the CFF Capital Grant in Easton, MA. “We are thrilled with the continued support we have received from MCC/Cultural Facilities Fund for the KSS project – first for the feasibility study, then for architectural drawings and now to finish Phase 2 of the project and to plan and begin the final renderings of the build drawings,” said Pearlman. “Their support has been significant in garnering interest and contributions from other individuals and organizations.”

Kemble Street Studios is a mixed-use studio, lab, and classroom environment dedicated to education in the art and craft of filmmaking and media development. The center will offer hands-on learning for the young people in our region interested in training in this burgeoning industry. It will also be a resource for local nonprofits and companies to become “video literate” and incorporate video in their branding, marketing, social media, and training. To date, BFMC has raised well over half a million dollars for this exciting initiative.

For more information, contact Catherine Burt Cantin 310.88.6565 or catherine@berkshirefilm.org

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BY ROBBI HARTT

“We create educational, workforce and production opportunities in the film and media industry as an economic initiative for the western Massachusetts region.” — Berkshire Film & Media Collaborative website

“I’ve always liked doing many different types of projects,” admits Diane Pearlman, executive director of Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative (BFMC). “I’ve also learned that you need support to make the bigger initiatives happen.” Her most recent (and ambitious) project is creating a film and media production and education center in leased space on Shakespeare & Company‘s Lenox campus. The proposed 20,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility represents a significant creative and economic initiative for the Berkshires and its residents.

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With the new year now in full swing, we’re able to look back and reflect on the 2023 Cultural Facilities Fund Annual Report, showcasing a $9.3 million investment in the physical infrastructure of Massachusetts’ creative sector.

In Fiscal Year 2023 the Cultural Facilities Fund (CFF) made 109 grants to nonprofit cultural organizations, colleges, and municipalities that own or operate public cultural spaces. Planning and capital grants ranged from $2,500 to $200,000 to support projects in construction, restoration, and deferred maintenance.

According to Diane Pearlman, Executive Director of Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative, “Careful planning is a vital stage of a capital project, yet very few private funders see the value of supporting these early steps. The Feasibility and Technical Assistance Grants provided by the Cultural Facilities Fund are crucial to the success of bold, ambitious projects like ours.”

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BY CLARENCE FANTO

The Berkshire Eagle

LENOX — An ambitious plan by the Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative to create a film production and education center to be leased on the Shakespeare & Company campus appears to be moving forward.

The proposed BFMC+Kemble Street Studios venture now has a signed memorandum of understanding with the theater company, said Diane Pearlman, the collaborative’s executive director.

“At this point, we’re just taking it one step at a time,” said Allyn Burrows, the theater company’s artistic director. “They have a very interesting plan and we’re going to look carefully at how it dovetails with our operations. We’re having a conversation and that’s as far as it’s gone. We received their proposal and we’re looking it over.”

The facility would be located in a portion of the building that contains the 195-seat Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre, which will remain intact. The building was known as the hockey rink when the property at 70 Kemble St. housed the Lenox School for Boys (1926-1973).

Burrows explained that the memorandum of understanding is similar to an option — it gives the collaborative “a hold on the building’s storage space while they do their due diligence.” A proposed long-term lease has been sent to Shakespeare & Company, he added.

Meanwhile, “the theater company is in active conversations right now on how to address expenses that the property brings to bear on our operations,” Burrows pointed out. “Those aren’t buttoned up either and are ongoing. I’m really hopeful and I find those conversations very promising. Given all the rising costs of being on the property these days, it’s a way for us to offset them so we can continue to carry on our operations in a way that we find fruitful.”

Engineering studies and a first round of architectural renderings for the proposed studio have been completed by Clark+Green and Bek of Great Barrington, according to Pearlman. After a pandemic-related delay, she went public with the plan in July 2022.

So far, the collaborative has raised $340,000 of the $450,000 needed for phase two of the project, which includes hiring the architectural film, the engineering studies, legal expenses and fees to Shakespeare & Company.

The total estimated cost for the entire facility, including a housing solution, an endowment, and two years of operating expenses ranges from $15 million to $18 million, according to a feasibility study completed in spring 2022 as phase one of the project.

It would be funded by a major capital campaign to be launched by the collaborative in several months.

“The community is very excited about this project going forward, as we’ve already garnered substantial grants from local banks, foundations, family trusts and individuals,” Pearlman told The Eagle on Tuesday.

The proposed 12,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art production facility would be designed as an international film and media education center as well as for job creation and workforce development.

The potential facility would include a full stage with virtual reality and augmented reality technologies, post-production and podcasting suites and access to the theater company’s costume and prop shops, Pearlman noted.

According to the collaborative’s website, the studio’s goals include:

• Develop the next generation of creative problem solvers and storytellers.

• Provide filmmakers an inspirational, cutting-edge production facility.

• Attract national and international film and media production to the Berkshires.

• Cultivate conversation around responsible media messaging and exceptional cinema.

• Stream and broadcast original media content from the Berkshires.

• Empower the Berkshires region by developing solutions that address job training, exciting new careers, population retention, and creative economic growth.

The nonprofit film and media collaborative promotes and facilitates film and media production in the Berkshires, creating educational, workforce and production opportunities as an economic initiative for the region.

Clarence Fanto can be reached at cfanto@yahoo.com.

The proposed 12,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art production facility would be designed as an international film and media education center as well as for job creation and workforce development.

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GREAT BARRINGTON — What do mermaids and flagmakers have in common?

In the cinematic universe, the answer is Academy Award-winning documentary, commercial and fiction director Cynthia Wade, who is bringing the first part of her four-part Netflix docuseries, “MerPeople” and her latest documentary short, “The Flagmakers” to the Berkshire International Film Festival.

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BY HANNAH VAN SICKLE

Hudson, N.Y. — Cutting straight to the chase, hair has always been a big part of Amani Kanaga’s life. As a child, her mother took the time to painstakingly braid her daughter’s hair as a means of establishing a connection; and of course she cut her own hair, like all kids, which “didn’t go well.” Then, in February of last year, Kanaga began to cut her friends’ hair in the living room of her Hudson home. While the first few cuts didn’t turn out great, the 16-year-old didn’t give up and, by extension, got progressively better—ultimately garnering the attention of a local barber who caught wind of her talents (and his competition!). The whole story is chronicled in “Cutting Connections,” the Hudson High School student’s short film, created in collaboration with classmate Kenold Dorce, as part of “The Bridging Divides, Healing Communities Youth Film Lab,” a joint effort led by the Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative and the Civic Life Project during the 2022-23 academic year.

“I enjoy cutting hair, so I’m just gonna take that as a career,” Kanaga told The Edge, explaining that she and Dorce—both juniors in high school—worked with Meghan Abitabile, their social studies teacher and filmmaker iin Purwanti of OUTPOST in West Stockbridge in the pair’s first foray into filmmaking. That said, the choice of topic was not surprising for a student whose side hustle has ultimately helped her to deal with social anxiety, connect with others, and build self-esteem.

“I think sort of organically, hair became a part of her life,” said Beth Kanaga, Amani’s mother, citing the inherent link between African hair and culture—which equates not only to connection, but also to a platform via which to engage in essential conversations.

“We’re thrilled to give local students the opportunity to learn about filmmaking and make their voices heard. It’s an important example of how civic engagement can involve both creativity and technical media skills,” said Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative Executive Director Diane Pearlman of this year’s initiative, aimed at enabling local students to voice their concerns and present their vision for a better future in short films. A free screening, panel discussion, and Q&A with the student filmmakers will take place on Tuesday, May 2 at 6 p.m. at the Fisher Science & Academic Center on the campus of Bard College at Simon’s Rock. They will be joined by Dien Vo, independent filmmaker and Simon’s Rock faculty member; iin Purwanti, social activist, documentary filmmaker, and media entrepreneur; and Jana Laiz, an author and educator who has worked with refugees as a counselor and ESL teacher.

“Young people have strong opinions about issues that are dividing us, and these films will demonstrate their ability to bring their ideas to the forefront,” Pearlman said in a nod to four short films—touching on diverse, topical subjects, including the resettlement of refugees; the disengagement of young people from politics; and how making a traditional food together can bond people from different backgrounds—created in collaboration with local filmmakers who served as mentors to students and their teachers. The remaining trio of entries are: “Messy Room” by Ashu Thara Rai, Bard College at Simon’s Rock; “Resettle” by Yonah Sadeh, Bard College at Simon’s Rock; and “The Bagel Shop” by Solana Priestley, Bard College at Simon’s Rock. The Youth Film Lab is funded by the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation as part of its multi-year initiative to strengthen community ties through collaborative projects that cultivate understanding across differences.

“I’m a shy person, I’m not that social,” said Kanaga, who calls cutting hair “just fun”—which means getting so much attention for something she simply loves has been tough at times. Still, she’s got her eye on the future.

Kanaga will turn 17 in June—a milestone she plans to celebrate by traveling to Albany with Canary (of Aikonyc Cutz on Columbia Street in Hudson) to get her apprenticeship. She plans to work under his license, starting this summer and after school come fall, for two years before earning her own license and, hopefully, opening her own shop.

As to Kanaga’s ultimate goal: “I want people to know me for my work,” which, in the coming days, might be as a barber and a filmmaker. Her advice to other young people contemplating the road less traveled: “I mean, just do what you set your mind to …and don’t let anyone tear [your dreams] down, you know what I’m saying? If you love something, and you want to do it—even if it starts getting hard—don’t give up.”

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