NARROWSBURG - Join us for the 10th Annual Big Eddy Film Festival, featuring 25 new independent films, visiting filmmakers, and a variety of exciting special events from Thursday, September 30 to Sunday, October 3 at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts and various locations in Narrowsburg.

“The cinematic experience is a communal one and more precious than ever before amidst the current state of the world. In seeking to celebrate the Big Eddy Film Festival and the role it has played in providing our community with access to great independent films, we are grateful to Bethel Woods Center for the Arts for partnering with us to provide our audiences with the unique screening environment we will have this year” shares Ariel Shanberg, the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance’s executive director.

Film highlights throughout the weekend include the New York Premiere (In Person) of the new documentary THE FIRST STEP. In a divided America, Van Jones attempts to pass a landmark criminal justice bill — and finds himself under fire from all sides.⁠⁠ The film’s producer Lance Kramer will be in attendance. ⁠⁠(Thursday, September 30 at 8 p.m.)

Additionally, the festival is proud to screen CANE RIVER, a film completed in 1982, but only recently rediscovered and released. A budding, forbidden romance lays bare the tensions between two black communities, both descended from slaves but of disparate opportunity—the light- skinned, property-owning Creoles and the darker-skinned, more disenfranchised families of the area. The film was directed by the late documentarian Horace B. Jenkins, father of prominent Sullivan County businesswoman Dominique Jenkins. (Saturday, October 2 at 7 p.m.)

The festival will also premiere several new films in their program of Rural Shorts. This collection of seven vastly different short films showcases this area’s filmmakers at work. From documentary to music video, television segments to dramatic films, each piece in this program was shot in the Sullivan County Catskills (and one in neighboring Orange County) over the past 18 months. (Saturday, October 2 at 5:30 p.m.)

“When DVAA started the Big Eddy Film Festival in 2012, we did so with the intent of bringing first class independent film to upstate audiences,” recalls festival director Tina Spangler. “What we’ve discovered in the meantime is how many local residents are making first-rate films. And we are delighted to be able to premiere so many of these home-grown projects at our 10th anniversary event.”

The festival opens on Thursday, September 30 at 6:30 p.m. with “Cinematic Strings,” a special outdoor performance of classical music used in cinema over the past century. An ensemble of top tier musicians from the Sullivan County Chamber Orchestra will perform a collection of classical chamber music used in iconic films from CASABLANCA to THIS IS SPINAL TAP.

In addition to screenings, the festival hosts panel discussions where filmmakers can share ideas and audiences can glimpse into the creative process behind the films.

Film tickets are $15 (DVAA Member discount $12). The full lineup and tickets are available on the festival’s newly redesigned www. bigeddyfilmfest.com.

COVID-19 safety guidelines will be in effect for festival attendees and staff. To learn more, visit www.bigeddyfilmfestival.com/safety.

In celebration of the Big Eddy Film Festival’s 10th Anniversary, DVAA has presented a series of special events throughout the summer of 2021 leading up to the four-day festival. They can be viewed at www.bigeddyfilmfest.com/special-events.