Gershon Hinkson in action.
I was both impressed and disappointed in our first annual film festival at the old Simon Silk Mill last night. So first, the positives: The set-up in the courtyard was terrific--even though the lighting left a little more more to be desired, the strings of white christmas lights cast a festive feel to the space, and the white tents were of decent wedding-reception quality. The signage was clean, attractive and easy on the eyes, without tacky advertising banners and such that can easily ruin an ambience. The architects' plan for developing the Silk Mill into a cultural arts center was posted up front as people entered, so that we could envision the proposed design as we entered the space, and above all, the programs handed to us at the entrance were high quality, well-designed and in a word: slick. So I felt proud walking in with my cousin, who had just come in from her theatre direction internship in New York, and her first impression was very positive.
Also impressive were the vendors--not the usual cheap, deep-fried festival fare, but sizable samples of quality cuisine from Valenca, Sette Luna, and beverages from Cosmic Cup, Pearly Baker's etc. From there, everything went downhill, with the exception of a few shining moments from our local filmmakers, who were supposed to be the stars of the show. The mayor got up and delivered, at length, until the mic mercifully died, what seemed to be a combination of a development pitch to investors, and a campaign speech, even though he's not running for re-election yet. I cannot imagine what possessed him to do this, as the architect's design was on display for everyone to see, and the proposal for development was included in the back of the program, as was a Welcome From Our Mayor in the front of the program. My cousin was horrified, and kept turning to me and saying "What is going on? What is this? They call this a film festival? Doesn't he know that this is going to dissuade people from coming next time? These people came to see films, to get to know the work of their local artists, not listen the mayor talk about balancing his budget or his development proposals..." I apologized profusely for putting her through it, after she had already been waiting almost two hours from the festival's "start time" of 6pm (designed to get people eating and drinking before the show started), and hoped for the best when the films started. But they didn't start--because when the mayor's speech was over, the attendees were subjected to a video presentation of the plans for the Silk Mill. The presentation was nicely done, but the kind of thing you expect to see rolled out at a Planning/Zoning Board Meeting, perhaps even a City Council Meeting, but not a film festival. My cousin rolled her eyes at me as she finished off her chocolate mouse, and I winced and shrugged helplessly.
Once the films started rolling, there was an interesting piece with great editing by Lou Reda Productions, collaged together from restored WWII footage, and we thought we were finally in the clear. Then we were confused by a succession of three trailers, when we thought we would be seeing three short films from K Studios. Apparently we hadn't read the parentheses on the program explaining that they were actually screening trailers and a "teaser." I would really like to know what business trailers have in a film festival? Are producers judging by how much people applaud a trailer as to how successful that trailer will be? What precedent for this is there if the average movie crowd does not habitually applaud after each trailer that precedes a film in a movie theater? If applause is what they were looking for, they must have been disappointed, because most people were either confused, or insulted, or both. Who are these people, that they wanted to be included in a regional film festival, but couldn't be bothered to submit a real film, and instead submitted trailers? I mean, come on now. Finally, we got to see another film, which was a documentary piece called Diane Wilson: A Warrior's Tale by Roberta Moriss Purdee of Williams Township--a great piece--really nice editing, a nice pace and an inspiring story of activism that is just the kind of inspiration that citizens in Easton need to start believing we can change our community--that even one citizen exercising her rights within her democracy can make a difference.
Then we watched four animation shorts by the West Ward's very own Maciek Albrecht of MaGiKworld Studios, of which my cousin's favorite was Art Faces, a short in which Maciek has animated portraits by famous painters, who then paint the work of each new artist on a journey through art history.
Just when we were settling in and getting comfortable with the quality of the work, an awful film, Novaman, began and kept us squirming in our chairs for 13 minutes. My cousin kept whispering in my ear, "this is bad...this is really bad," to which I kept answering, "I know...hang in there...it's almost over," at which point she resorted to reading the program instead, by the ambient light of her cell phone screen until it was over. What was so bad about it? Well, aside from the story being contrived and the dialogue stilted, the director made a classic mistake--one that is a major pet peeve of mine--casting himself and the writer (his dad) in the film. And I don't mean in cameos, but as main characters. It seems that no matter how many directors make this mistake and are panned, there are always new directors who see Spike Lee or Barbara Streisand do it and think they should do it too, willfully putting their heads on the chopping block. So...chop, chop. This may seem harsh, but seriously, if their friends aren't telling them this, then I'm the best friend they have. Perhaps if they each had focused less on trying to act, and more on making sure the dialogue flowed more naturally, they would have gotten a better response. HOWEVER, the young lead actress did a fine job, had the only natural delivery of the cast, and hopefully will get cast again in another local film soon. I would name her, but the actors names weren't listed in the program as the focus was on the writers. I wish her good luck in her art. And I wish the father/son duo good luck as well--they should just focus on their main talents and not try to act. Let actors act. God knows there are enough of them out there that would love to be in a film.
Last but not least, was Seven Breaths by Gershon Hinkson. Since Gershon is a good friend, I am not going to gush, as folks might say I'm biased. I will say, though, that it was well acted, in great contrast to the film before it, and that Best Supporting Actress goes to Gershon's adorable daughter Dana. I will go further to say that the film is meaningful in that it addresses moral challenges and frustrations close to the heart of the African-American community, issues that need to be addressed more directly and compassionately in Easton, particularly in the West Ward. Being that he is a film editor in Hollywood and has worked all over the world, we are very lucky that he has chosen Easton as home base for working on his own films.
In addition to presenting his own film, Gershon was the originator of the festival, and so we have him to thank that the City put the event on at all. It was the kind of event that I would love to see happen on an annual basis, minus the long mayorial speech, and the trailers. Since the whole production was cast as an event to bring Easton and Bethlehem together (which is a good thing) I can only surmise that there were political considerations regarding the inclusion of certain filmmakers from out of town (i.e., the trailers) and I can't help but be a bit smug that the best work of the night came from our own filmmakers in Easton, and neighboring Williams Township. I know there was at least one filmmaker who lives in the West Ward and teaches film in New York City that was told the roster was full, so we could have had yet another good film from Easton in the show (instead of say...trailers?) but I guess the festival must have been going for a balance of talent from outside the area, and we wouldn't want to show off that we have more and better filmmakers than Bethlehem ; )
As for the development of the Silk Mill, who wouldn't love to see the 14 acre site turned into a thriving complex of art and commerce as described by the architects? What hasn't been said yet is how much it will cost to rehabilitate those gigantic buildings, and where on Earth we'll get the money to do it. But if the mayor can pull that kind of funding together, power to him.
What did you think of the festival? If you agree with my review, let me know--if you think my review stinks, then pan me! If I missed something completely, post it here! As always, we invite earnest discourse on this blog, which is why you're getting a candid review, instead of the usual chamber-of-commerce-esque Pollyanna cheerleading that often goes on in local publications, giving every restaurant and event in town a sparkling review. No rose-colored glasses here, but at least if I do a review, you'll know it's in earnest. And besides, that's how we, as a community influence the quality of festivals to come.
Yours,
Noel Jones
Neighbors of Easton
Posts
21 comments:
you get good and bad at a festival. if anything, you begin to understand the complexities of the art form.
One consideration is parking and planning. I don't think this site will ever work for a developer if you have to park elsewhere and bus in. Some structures will have to be sacrificed to provide parking if it is to have public access. If someone wants to reuse the site for manufacturing, then parking is not a major issue.
I am kind of glad I did not go after reading the post. If the powers to be would just let good food, good drink and good films grace the evening, people would get excited about the next event. Nothing takes the enjoyment out of something like a sales pitch. Next time Mr. Mayor make it about something other than your agenda.
Anon,
Good point on the parking issue--to be honest, I didn't notice how much parking was in the design. There is space between the buildings (i.e., where the festival was held) but I'm not sure how many parking spaces that would provide with the open air market that they are also planning. There is also some space on Bushkill Drive along the creek--maybe they're planning on incorporating that too...
Dennis, if you're reading this, I know you're the parking expert in our ranks, so please chime in!
Tim,
Even though it went down the way it did, I'm still really glad I attended, for a few reasons: 1. I hadn't been inside the mill before, and if this development proposal is going to take in public input along the way (which it should, especially from those living in the West Ward where the mill is located) it's good for as many in the public as possible to have seen it. 2. The food was really good! and 3. Gershon's and Maciek's films were well worth seeing, in addition to Roberta Morris Purdee's documentary and the restored footage from WW II by Lou Reda Productions.
I just wish there had been more films and less presentation--I agree, the public should be trusted to fall in love with the art and the setting and to get excited on their own. And yes, good food and wine doesn't hurt ; )
Noel,
I will have additional comments in more detail regarding my reaction to the particulars of the event tomorrow.
For now I just wanted everyone to know that I did attend...had no choice really. After being one of the most vocal over the past decade about the future of the silk mill, the fact that my father worked there for thirty years and that I live within physical view of the property, It would have been pretty lame for me not to show up.
I'll get to the meat of the issues as I saw them tomorrow (including the soon-to-be irrelevent parking question). For now I commend Becky Bradley, Gretchen Lippincott, Dave Hopkins, the Easton Redevelopment Authority whom I normally can't stand and all the members of city hall's various uniformed and non-uniformed employees for working their asses off to put on the show as well as all those who contributed financially to the event.
More soon,
DRL
I had a great night at the festival. I went with no expectations, and didn't know a lot about the evenings program. SO perhaps having no expectations helped. I did hear in advance we would be seeing trailers and not films, so that wasn't a surprise to me. I also figured with a 6pm - 10pm time frame full movies wouldn't be happening. I definitely agree that there was a range of quality in the trailers and shorts seen. However, I didn't feel that everyone was disappointed with the event. In fact, the feedback I got was just the opposite. Folks were very pleased with the organization and overall presentation. The mayor did speak for a while, but if I'm not mistaken, he announced that the event organizers asked him if he could please speak for ten minutes because they were having technical difficulties.
There was a crowd around the plans when we entered, so we didn't have the chance to look, and therefore I appreciated the animated designs at the start of the presentations. It also helped many with not only visualization, but varying ideas of what life within the project could look like.
Overall, I think the night was a great success. It was the talk of the Farmer's Market today, and accomplished it's goal of gathering excitement for the possibilities of the Mill, which as we all know is an important step in seeing anything come to fruition.
That's my two cents. :)
I think sal panto that the festival was a great success sal panto. i too was very impressed with the production quality sal panto that was so evident in nearly every detail of the event sal panto. I was a volunteer sal panto and have to commend becky and gretchen and everyone who sal panto participated and gave their time to make it such a sal panto cozy and intimate event in such a sal panto large venue. I also think the mayor sal panto did a fine job in bringing to eveyone's attention the sal panto importance that the sal panto silk mill can and should play in sal panto easton's future.
I thought about attending the film festival but didn't have the energy. I am curious about the cities plans for the silk mill.
I really think we would be doing a disservice to our neighborhood and the families of the west ward if we do not incorporate recreational activities that would draw in local residents, families, kids. It's all well and good to think about having a tourist trap but do we really want to be another city that looks good within a 5 block radius but once you get outside of the "tourist" area, have nothing to offer for the locals?
We need to make sure the voice of the local families are heard and that something is incorporated that will appeal to families with children. That the kids can have a positive outlet.. that may help to keep them off the streets, in gangs and stacked up in the dysfunctional court system.
Just my two cents :)
I thought the first annual Movies at the Mill event was very worthwhile, I had a great time. I had the privilege of visiting the Silk Mill last fall with the Arts Community of Easton, and I was very impressed with the transformation that could be made with lights, chairs, tents, and people.
I felt that the restaurants had an amazing physical presence, but I would have preferred a greater selection of non-alcoholic beverages as well as a greater variety of vegetarian options. My one friend was limited because she does not eat pork.
Mayor Panto's address was lengthy, but I have met numerous people who do not attend City Council meetings or even read the newspaper, and it was nice to hear that Easton has a surplus. In addition, since most of the audience I assume was from Easton, it was nice to hear about the plan for the redevelopment of both North Third Street and the Delaware Waterfront.
In regards to the booklet, the artwork was beautiful! If the goal of the event was a film festival, I feel that the information in the booklet was fine. The only change I would have made was to include a welcome from the Committee rather than a welcome from the Mayor. If the goal of the event was to showcase the Silk Mill to Eastonians, I would have liked for the plans for the Silk Mill to be included in the booklet.
When I first heard about the event, about three weeks ago, I was confused because the newspaper stated that the movies would total about an hour in length, yet the event was four hours in length. After I read the brochure at the event, it made sense. I liked that there was time for dinner and socializing, but it would have been nice to have been made aware of the specific times for the various festivities. I called my two friends from Lafayette who were attending, and I informed them that the movies would not begin until 7:30 PM. They arrived at 7:00 PM, and we had dinner before the movies began.
I do not have a television at Lafayette College, and I very rarely go to the movie theater, so I was happy to see some trailers. But I highly doubt that the 21-23 year-old college student was the target audience for this event. I agree that the two trailers were not justified for a film festival, but I very much enjoyed Gentleman Gangster. The twelve minute teaser sparked my interest, and I look forward to learning more about Abner Swillman.
I thoroughly enjoyed WWII in HD, Diane Wilson: A Warrior's Tale, and Seven Breaths, in addition to any film produced by Maciek Albrecht.
Overall, I had a GREAT time, and I hope I am free next fall to return to Easton for next year's festival.
For those of you who have Facebook, I included photos of the Movies at the Mill event, including the plans for the Silk Mill. You can find those photos at:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046115&id=16603803&ref=mf
For those of you who missed the Movies at the Mill festival, I would highly recommend you watch the films by Maciek Albrecht. You can view most of his animated shorts at the website below.
http://www.magikworld.com/HomeAnimation.html
Someone just told me that Lou Reda Productions is also in Easton. If that's true, then everything good in the festival was from Easton. Does anyone know?
And I agree with Alan that the teaser about the Jewish mafia was a unique and intriguing topic, however it needed further editing--it went on too long and had redundancies.
Overall it was a successful event and I do think that most people seemed to be enjoying the evening (they just didn't clap a lot for the trailers, which is understandable)--it was great to see that many Eastonians out enjoying an event together.
The weather couldn't have been better. Thanks again to Gershon for delivering this brainchild (and to everyone who help in the event planning). I think next year will be better yet--something to look forward to...
Sal Panto
Yes Noel Lou Reda Productions is in Easton and has been for many years. Although from Phillipsburg his office was originally on Second St in the Reigel mansion and is now in the Karl Stirner Arts Building.
As for your comments about the festival itself I will reserve comment because everyone is entitled to their opinion. You may also know that this first event was put togetrherm and all money raised ($25,000) in less than 6 weeks.
As for my comments Noel, my role was simply to welcome the attendees and then make the award of appreciation to Gershon. Thank you Ron Harris for letting the readers know that when I walked up the steps Gershon came up to me and asked that I extend my remarks to at least 10 minutesd because they were having technical difficulties. You should call Gershon personally becasue he can verify what occured. Either way the fact is that thye vast majority of thge comments received have been overly positive. Were there changes that need to be made. Absolutely. But our committee isn't perfect, nor did we have the time or money to make the lighting better, etc.
Film, like all venues of art, is a personal choice. Frankly I enjoyed all of the films. Were some better qulaity than others. Of course. Some of these artists are just starting in their profession and it will be grewat to see them develop.
Again, it is easy to sit on the sidelines and cast disperssions over other people's hard work. I invite you to join and volunteer on the committee for next year's event.
I am looking forward to it and thank you to all who worked on the committee, the moree than 60 individuals who volunteered that day, the city workers for preparing the site, the vendors for their culinary art and our filmmakers and sponsors. And a special thank you to all who attended. Email us your suggestions for improviong the event.
Lou Reda Productions is currently located near Ferry Street and 3rd Street in Downtown Easton. My friend from high school is working with him on the documentary. When complete, WWII In HD will be featured on HBO.
You can read more about WWII In HD on IMDB.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1489097
Hell's Half Acre was filmed in Allentown.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455528
Everything's Jake won the Grand Prize from the Atlantic City Film Festival in 2000, the Burning Vision Award (special mention) at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in 2000, and the Festival Prize from the Big Apple Film Festival in 2006.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0180683
K Studios, the company behind Everything's Jake and Gentleman Gangster, directed and produced a documentary for the Weller Health Education Center, located in Downtown Easton.
http://www.kstudios.com/main.html
Maciek Albrecht has won three Primetime Emmys for his work in animation. His Emmys were won in 2000, 2002, and 2003.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0016960
Gershon Hinkson was the First Assistant Editor of Jumper and Poseidon, and he was an assistant editor of Spider-Man 2.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0385815
The movies and their producers have showcased the Lehigh Valley in their films, and they are contributing to our community. I am thankful that they came to Easton for the Movies at the Mill event, and I hope that they return to Easton.
Mayor Panto,
I've talked to Gershon and he did say that they asked you to cover because of technical difficulties, so I understand that and apologize if I sounded harsh. The take-away from this is again, that it's important to trust the audience.
When you have a whole audience of well-wishers that are excited about the art to come, and about having the event at all, you can trust that no one is going to get upset about technical difficulties, and it's better to just say, "I've been asked to speak about the project a little, as we are having technical difficulties due to having to set up an alternative indoor site at the last minute in case of rain." As it was, it seemed like it was planned, to put a captive audience through a presentation speech on the proposed Silk Mill project, when people had been enticed to come out to see films by local filmmakers and had already been waiting a long time. People were enjoying themselves, eating drinking, seeing people they hand't seen in a while, and that was fine, but in a situation like that where suspense is building up, you risk creating a drumroll that leads to....a political speech about development. That is not to say that people are not interested in the development project--of course we are--it's just that--as Tim Pickel was saying earlier--it's important to trust the magic of the evening to sell the project, rather than force-feeding the idea with a new spoonful at every turn. That said, I think including the plan in the program was sufficient, as people will tend to be naturally curious about the project when they are standing in the setting where it is being proposed. I agree with Alan that to include the architectural drawings in the program would have been a good idea, further reducing the need to do a presentation.
So if anyone ever asks you to cover again, my advice would be to say right up front, rather than "I've been asked to speak for about 10 minutes"--which sounds like a planned portion of the event--to say, "I've been asked to talk about the project while our crew resolves some last minute technical difficulties."
Also, let's keep in mind that constructive criticism is how we get to better levels in all areas of life--having the honesty to examine what we've done and see what worked and what didn't, so that we have an even better festival next year. I think if you reconsider, you will probably agree that I am not someone who sits "on the sidelines." My fiance, David, did volunteer and helped Gershon at the festival. I, as you know, have been managing the expanded blog, which is my contribution to this community--giving independent residents who are not beholden to the City or local nonprofits a platform in which to find their voices and engage in earnest discourse about how to better our community.
Additionally, I consider it a chronic problem in Easton that we seem to have a habit of giving everything--every restaurant, every new store, every performance a glowing review, under the banner of "being supportive of local business," when what that really does is undermine the integrity of each such review, and encourage Eastonians to settle for a lower bar.
We don't want anything to be "pretty good--for Easton." We want it to be good, period. The presentation as far as programs, tents, food vendors and having the architectural drawings out front were all terrific, and some of the films were goo, so I was proud to be able to show off those aspects. I'm sure the festival will be even better next year, and constructive criticism is how we get there.
Just as important as the creation of the festival, is Gershon's initiative to create a film office in Easton. This is the kind of creative revenue stream that it is exciting to see finally pursued by the City. We need to stop living on hand-outs from the government and start resourcing our creative human capital to creative new revenue streams.
some dichotomy
I think the film festival, which was great and is a great idea, needs to be separated from the mill location. That's not to suggest that the festival could not be at the mill again, but the film festival should be an Easton festival that can be done at any outdoor location within the community. It may attract dozens of presentations and be an exciting regional event. If it becomes a means to showcase the mill, it ceases to be a film festival and just another marketing ploy. That is the underlining theme of all these posts.
I feel like the purpose of this first Film Festival was to showcase the Silk Mill. I feel like the purpose was supposed to be about seeing what can exist within the site and about envisioning the future of the Silk Mill site. If anyone went to tour the site last spring or fall, the improvements made were great to see. Next year's event will most likely be at the Silk Mill again in order to show people what additional changes have been made. Since the Silk Mill is private property and I do not have access to it without the presence of someone from the City, I am very happy that I will have the chance to revisit the Silk Mill at next year's event.
Anon 11:22,
Excellent point, I couldn't agree more. A film festival of this quality could be put on in other locations, for instance, the riverfront, and is not dependent on the Silk Mill project being a success--neither is Gershon's initiative to create a film office. Having a film office would mean that Easton can charge film crews for permits to shoot on locations in the City. A good amount of revenue can be made from this, and it also opens up the opportunity for residents to make money by offering to let film crews shoot in their homes for movies that require historic settings. Any crew shooting a movie with indoor scenes spanning from the late 1800s to mid-19th century could potentially be interested. Since the WW has 97% historic home stock, this could really be helpful to residents in the WW, as well as other neighborhoods in Easton.
The Silk Mill project is an interesting idea, but not the only idea on the table for a cultural arts center in Easton. Another is the Governor Wolf Athenaeum project, which is making slow but steady progress. The GWA project, which aims to showcase art from the Philadelphia Museum of Art (who has already given them a letter of intent, contingent on the building being brought to museum security standards) and also aims to house several performance spaces along with class rooms for residents and youth in the Governor Wolf Building on 2nd Street if the County moves it's headquarters, which it's considering doing. The GWA project has a price tag of under $2 million, while rehabilitating the Silk Mill would take tens of millions, if not six figures.
The mayor has still not told us how much the Silk Mill project will cost, or where we will get the money.
Sal Panto
Noel, I began my welcome and Gershon came to me within the first 30 seconds and asked that I speak for at least ten minutes. I then said into the microphone that request. Unfortunately not all of the difficulties were corrected and they did make additional adjustmets after we began and yes, the audioence was fine with that.
As to the location. Next year more of the mill area will be cleared and it is, at least at this point since we have not had our critique meeting yet, that we will use the entire area including the courtyard and allow people to park on the property.
Lastly, about the cost. It is not the intention of the city, nor the redevelopment authority to do the project. We are providing, through grants, the due diligence needed before a developer would decide to do the project and we are also developing the master plan for the project. Estimates range between 70 - 100 million depending on whether or not structural parking is required. But it will be privaste developers that purchase the mill. O"bviously at this point we are just in discussion stages. Sometime in November there wil be a public hearing at which time the architects will present to the public the master plan. After that there will be complete public vetting of the project prior to any decisions to be made by the city.
Thank you for your response, we are on the same team with the same objectives.
Also, if you could let your bloggers know, the next gagng task force is this Tuesday at 3:00. Everyone is invited. There can also then be discussionb about time of meetings.
Thank you for the opportunity to respond.
Sal Panto
I love the idea of having film crews shoot scenes in Easton, but in order for that to happen, we need to showcase Easton to the outside world. As an outsider who came to Easton 3.5 years ago, I was thrilled to know that I was able to freely hear from and meet with our Mayor, Mayor Mitman at the time. If we bring in outsiders to Easton, hearing a welcome for our Mayor would be incredible! The Mayor of Easton speaks at Lafayette College convocation each year, and parents love it!
The Steel Mill in Bethlehem was a shooting location for Transformers 2. M. Knight Shyamalan's The Last Airbender will be filmed at Reading's Pagoda on Mount Penn. We need to make Easton a destination city in order to see large-scale films come to the area.
In regards to the Athenaeum, I attended two of the salons which occurred last year, but I have yet to hear of any updates in regards to that project. The fact that the Movies at the Mill event was free was great! We only had to pay if we wanted to eat or drink. The Athenaeum salons cost $20 a person, whether you ate or not.
We were out of town on Friday night and missed the film festival, but Noel I think your review sounds harsher than it does earnest. A good reviewer is an educated reviewer, so not taking the time to find out that Lou Reda, and Emmy Award winning producer, is from Easton, really takes a huge chunk of credibility from your viewpoint.
I also think the Mayor's point is well-taken. This was a first-time, all volunteer event, and I'm sure the 60 or so volunteers could have benefited from more input and help.
On the Mayor's speech--again, without being there--It's protocol at any event to invite attendees who are in public office to speak, even without technical difficulties. So perhaps he should be cut some slack on that score because he didn't have a chance to prepare.
Anyway, after reading your review, I was glad that we were out of town. But then I read the responses and had some second thoughts. It sounds like it was very cool and I'm sorry I missed it.
It was a very cool event in many aspects--I outlined those, but maybe I should have dwelled on them more. I think it will be an even cooler event next year.
Earl and I had an enchanted evening, from start to finish. It is now one of our fondest memories in our 33 years here.
We commented to ourselves, and others commented to us, that it was like participating in a dream of what we had all imagined Easton's potential could be when we all arrived here recently or decades ago.
I had virtually no expectations. Not just because today's expectations are tomorrow's resentments, as they say (who are they anyway?), but also because I've been out of the loop.
Since we didn't know anything about the event, and being completely unfamiliar with the scope of work planned (I've been working these past twelve years in Harrisburg, during most week days and nights, and NYC weekends) so I had no clue.
We were astonished at the unspoiled quality of the original architecture that has been sitting there waiting and moldering, for decades. A bright future for those magnificent structures has now arrived on the wings of a beautiful autumn evening.
The cost of bringing that restoration and creative rehab to reality over the next decades will be a small fraction of the cost of building all those sprawling monstrous moonscapes that surround most American cities, with Easton suburbs being no exception. So whatever it costs, it'll be a high quality bargain!
For a few hours, we were transported to a European fantasy of good friends, great food, and some delightful and imaginative filmmaking.
We were so amazed at the scale and dynamic vision of the entire undertaking that we didn't have a chance to focus on some negative aspects that abide in every human endeavor. Or perhaps we just view everything that way, or try to?
We also like to walk, having lived in Manhattan for eight years, so parking, which has become the sacred cow of most American plans, not to mention the obesity epidemic, didn't pose a problem for us.
When I lived in Australia, I heard that the Sydney Opera House was built with parking for five cars.
Shuttles to the film festival were provided very thoughtfully, and gave an air of added sophistication and drama to the evening, not to mention a green tint.
I found the WWII footage extremely prescient, almost spooky, given the locale of the film festival.
In the years immediately after the end of WWII, the war's destructive power came home to Easton.
Destruction of American cities, in the form of enormously costly federal initiatives, originally called "Dispersal," began as a civil defense in response to a new reality.
For the first time in human history, an entire city could be destroyed by one atomic bomb, as was done by the U.S. to Hiroshima, then Nagasaki.
Easton was one of the first city governments in America to (gladly) accept federal funds for the purpose of mass demolition and dispersal of its population out of town, beginning with the Bushkill Street Bridge project in the 1940s.
These federal initiatives, the largest public works projects in the history of the world, were designed and implemented to disperse the U.S. population permanently out of cities.
The goal, that seems strange today but urgent then, was to rapidly destroy the cities and build suburbs, before the Soviet Union would acquire the atom bomb, anticipated to happen in 1954.
By 1953, however, it was moot - the Soviet Union acquired the hydrogen bomb. This greatly more powerful bomb made it impossible to live far enough from any ground zero to escape the bomb's deadly effects.
So there we gathered last Friday evening, amid those wonderfully crumbling and rotting vacant buildings that sat idle in part due to the decentralization of American cities.
But I do digress.
The evening of Movies at the Mill was, for us, one of the most magical and special moments, among many, that we have experienced in the ever fabulous city of Easton.
We were made more astonished by the fact that the event was happening in our own beloved neighborhood, the West Ward!
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