Short Films, “Made in Hardwick,” Debut Sept. 28
“Let’s Talk Music” by Rip Keller is autobiographical film by a lifelong musician and entertainer. It debuts at the Town House on September 28.
A film by Roy MacNeil exploring monuments left behind from Vermont’s bygone railroad era, “Under the Rail Trail,” was made with a grant from Hardwick Community Television.
Meredith Holch’s short film, “Tell Me How It Was,” debuts on September 28 at the Town House.
Filmmaker Elizabeth Rossano focuses on Reeve Bascom of the Center for an Agricultural Economy in her form, “Cooking Up Community.”
HARDWICK – Four Hardwick area creators will debut their short films at the Town House on September 28 at 7:30 p.m. The run time is approximately one hour, followed by a brief talk with the filmmakers.
In 2021, Hardwick Community Television awarded grants to four local applicants who had an idea for a short film. The results resonate with the local community.
The short film “Tell Me How it Was,” by Meredith Holch, offers a glimpse of East Hardwick in glory days of old. Handmade stop-motion animated sequences created from old black and white photos bring to life the history of East Hardwick. Interviews with local folk who grew up in the town in the thirties, forties and fifties provide the voice-over. Information from local historian Paul Woods and the Hardwick Historic Society set the scene of bygone days when village life centered around the mills lining the river just south of the long-gone covered bridge. Local filmmaker Meredith Holch specializes in short animated films. Her work has been shown at venues ranging from the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) to the walls of endangered community gardens in NYC and the sides of old barns in northern Vermont.
At the age of 12, Rip Keller, formerly of Seattle, became an immigrant boy in Mexico. As he confides in his video “Let’s Talk Music” that the experience gave him a new understanding of what music means, and how it means it, setting him on the curious path that has kept him and his international audiences entertained in the decades since. Rip Keller grew up in Seattle, Mexico, and France. After graduating from Harvard, he worked as a choral conductor in Los Angeles and Mexico, and then moved to New York to pursue solo performing. He created the Emmy-nominated series “Viaje al Centro de la Música” (Journey to the Center of the Music) for Chilean television. South Walden has been home since 1986, and home to his Chilean wife and their bilingual daughter since 2008.
“Under the Rail Trail,” by Roy MacNeil, is a journey of introspection and wonder that explores the monumental stone culverts left behind from Vermont’s bygone era of the railroad. It captures the remarkable experience of walking through a lush forest, ancient and timeless, to stumble upon a towering stone structure. MacNeil is a music producer, violinist, and award-winning composer, now turned filmmaker, from Greensboro. He draws inspiration from exploring the natural world.
Elizabeth Rossano’s short video, “Cooking Up Community,” focuses on the youth-centered programming of the Center for an Agricultural Economy and community partners. From gardening with elementary school students to preparing food for community meals, the Place-Based Education program supports participatory, community-centered learning experiences that unlock opportunities for meaningful connections to place, each other and to a sense of possibility. Rossano is a video content creator and documentarian based in East Hardwick. Her work has been included in art installations, featured in national media outlets, and viewed all over the world on social media.
Donations are welcome at the film viewing, and will go towards funding a new round of grants. The event is free. More information can be found at hctv.us/madeinhardwick-screening.
