On Saturday, October 19 the Big Eddy Film Festival (BEFF) returned for its 13th year.  

Ariel Shanberg, Executive Director at the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance (DVAA) which hosts the BEFF, said that they have an all-new team this year after the previous Festival Director left to pursue another endeavor at the Repertory Theatre of St Louis. 

“It took a bit more time to get things rolling, but the best part about being around so long is that people were reaching out to us with excitement.” 

He went on to say, “This is the year we honed in on why the DVAA produces a film festival. We believe so much in the power of filmmaking and storytelling. We’re excited to have first time and local filmmakers, visionaries and storytellers that make powerful films that need to be shared.”

One of the featured films was Prodigal Daughter, which is a documentary about a Peruvian woman, Mabel Valdiviezo, writer and director, who confronts her fears of reconciling with her family after 16 years of silence. In an interview with Rennik Soholt, DVAA board member, Valdiviezo shared that she wanted the film to be used to document her family record.  

Rose Biondi, a resident of Milanville, PA, also attended the screening. She told the Democrat that the film was good despite its sad subject matter. Biondi comes to the festival every year and thinks it’s “a great thing!”

Eric Bruggeman, editor of the feature documentary, Space Cowboy, attended the festivals’ screening and had this to say: the film is “visually spectacular.” Joe Jennings, the subject of the story, had a rough childhood. 

“He suffered from ADHD, mental health challenges and depression. It’s about finding your own path. This film is for anyone,” says Bruggeman. Space Cowboy will screen next at the Montclair Film Festival and the DOC NYC film festival in November.

“Dory Previn: On My Way to Where,” a documentary based on the singer, songwriter came about when filmmaker Julia Greenberg was performing Previn’s songs and to her surprise, Previn was sitting in the audience. Along with friend and fellow filmmaker, Dianna Dilworth a resident of Callicoon, suggested to Julia that she should turn Previn’s  works into a documentary. With the blessing of Dory’s husband, Joby Baker, they combed through her journals and archived interviews to create this amazing film. They are currently working on distribution. 

Dilworth shared that there is “very possible future for collaboration with Julia again but nothing as of right now.” It is their first submission into the BEFF. The film screened at SXSW (South By Southwest) and Montclair Film Festivals in the states and Doc and Roll and Cambridge Film Festival in the UK. “Dory Previn: On My Way To Where” was the 2024 winner of the BEFF Audience Award.

Never to be outdone or overlooked is the “Kids Make Film” block, a favorite at the festival. This year the submitted films were part of the Bethel Woods P.L.A.Y. Summer programs for children ages 5-14 offered in July and August. They all echoed that it was their first submission to the BEFF and some may be interested in pursuing acting in the future. 

The next DVAA event will be on November 2nd and 3rd, at the Tusten Theatre in Narrowsburg. On Belonging, is an initiative by Standing People Together Theatre designed to draw on the voices of the community.