Documentarian Ralph Arlyck and His Poignant Film I Like It Here Return to the Crandell on October 13 at 1 pm

posted on October 3, 2024

(Chatham, NY—October 2, 2024)—Crandell LIVE! at the historic Crandell Theatre is pleased to welcome back documentary filmmaker Ralph Arlyck for an encore screening of his film I Like It Here, a poignant, poetic and deeply moving visual essay about the simple pleasures of being alive and the undeniability of aging as we pass through it. The screening on Sunday, October 13, is at 1 pm. Arlyck and Executive Director Brian Edward Leach will discuss the film and take audience questions following the screening. I Like It Here continues to screen on the festival circuit to much acclaim and recently opened in New York. Said The New York Times film critic Alissa Wilkinson in her review, “I Like It Here is loaded with gentle humor….[Arlyck] is doing precisely what great memoirists do: invite us into their stories as a way of…

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photo by John Shea

Crandell Theatre Names Brian Edward Leach Executive Director

posted on August 29, 2024

(Chatham, NY, August 29, 2024) — After an extensive search process, Brian Edward Leach has been named Executive Director of the Crandell Theatre in Chatham, New York. On Thursday, September 12, from 5 – 7 pm, Leach will be welcomed by the community at the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce’s monthly Business After Hours reception hosted by the Crandell. The event is free and open to the public. Attendees will enjoy light refreshments and learn more about the Crandell’s upcoming renovation. Reservations are recommended and can be made by visiting https://staging.crandelltheatre.org/film/crandell-open-house-reception/ or calling 518-392-3445. Leach has extensive background in arts administration, programming, fundraising, and marketing for arts organizations. He was previously Managing Director of the Colonial Theatre in Westerly, Rhode Island, and Marketing Director of PICT Classic Theatre and Pittsburgh Festival Opera. Earlier, he served as Curator of the art…

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Killer Films Producers Christine Vachon and Pam Koffler to Be Honored at FilmColumbia 2023

Saturday, October 21

posted on September 5, 2023

Save the Date! Killer Films Producers Christine Vachon and Pam Koffler  to be honored at FilmColumbia 2023 Festival Kick-Off Party Benefitting the Crandell Theatre’s Operations + Programs Saturday, October 21, 2023, 6 – 8 pm Home of Jack Shear, Spencertown, NY $250 per person (invitations will be sent week of September 18)   FilmColumbia, the Crandell’s premier annual cultural event, will this year honor groundbreaking producers Christine Vachon and Pam Koffler, the founders of Killer Films. According to James Schamus, award-winning filmmaker and Crandell Theatre board member, “It is no understatement to say that the history of American independent cinema would simply not exist in its currently recognizable form without the work of Killer Films producers Christine Vachon and Pam Koffler. Killer’s range includes their work with Todd Haynes (from his early masterpieces Superstar and Poison through his mature triumphs…

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Succession Star Brian Cox in Conversation at the Crandell

July 6

posted on June 20, 2023

(Chatham, NY, June 20, 2023)—The Crandell Theatre is thrilled to announce that celebrated Succession star Brian Cox will join FilmColumbia’s Peter Biskind live on stage for a special Q+A on Thursday, July 6, at 7 pm to benefit the renovation and restoration of Chatham’s historic theater. Cox and Biskind will discuss Cox’s Succession character, media titan Logan Roy, and the staggering success of the acclaimed HBO series. Tickets are $25 per person. All proceeds from the event will benefit the restoration fund. When Succession debuted in 2018 it became a cultural phenomenon across four riveting seasons. Created by Jesse Armstrong, the series also stars Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook, Matthew Macfadyen and Kieran Culkin. Cox’s portrayal of Roy, the family patriarch, earned him a Primetime Emmy nomination, a Golden Globe Award and a legion of new fans. Nearly 3 million tuned…

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Crandell Theatre and Ellsworth Kelly Studio to Present Free Ellsworth Kelly Documentary and Post-Show Filmmaker Q+A

posted on May 12, 2023

On Sunday, May 21, at 1 pm, the Crandell Theatre and the Ellsworth Kelly Studio will present a free screening of the 2007 documentary, Ellsworth Kelly: Fragments. The afternoon is part of a year-long centennial celebration of one of the most influential American artists of his time and a long-time resident of Spencertown. A conversation and Q&A with the filmmaker, Edgar Howard, President of Checkerboard Film Foundation, and Jack Shear, President of the Ellsworth Kelly Foundation, will directly follow the film. “Ellsworth was a film lover and the Crandell Theatre was an important resource for him beginning when he first moved to Columbia County in the 1970s,” said Shear, the late artist’s husband and now President of the Ellsworth Kelly Foundation. “He really appreciated having a theater so close to home.” The Ellsworth Kelly Foundation and Jack Shear have long…

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May 13: Q+A with Wild Life Film Editor Bob Eisenhardt

posted on May 5, 2023

  Wild Life, the latest documentary from the Oscar-winning team who produced Free Solo, will screen at the Crandell Theatre in Chatham May 12, 13, 14 and 18. Following the Saturday, May 13 screening at 7 pm, the film’s editor, Bob Eisenhardt (right), will take to the stage with FilmColumbia Managing Director Calliope Nicholas to answer audience questions and share more about how the documentary was shaped in the edit suite. Wild Life is directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin and follows conservationist Kris Tompkins on an epic, decades-spanning love story as wild as the landscapes she dedicated her life to protecting. After falling in love in mid-life, Kris and the outdoorsman and entrepreneur Doug Tompkins left behind the world of the massively successful outdoor brands they’d helped pioneer—Patagonia, The North Face, and Esprit—and turned their attention to…

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Crandell Membership Day

The Crandell to Launch May Membership Drive

May 6

posted on April 27, 2023

  KICK-OFF MEMBER DAY: May 6, 10 am – 4 pm The Crandell Theatre invites area residents and families to participate in a day of free film-themed activities on Saturday, May 6, from 10 am to 4 pm at the historic theater in Chatham, New York. The program includes family short films, tours of the theater, photo opportunities with film celebrity cutouts, and marquee cookies created for the occasion by Pooky Amsterdam of PookyStudio. Admission to the regularly scheduled 1 pm screening of The Eagle Huntress, an award-winning documentary about the first female eagle hunter in twelve generations of a nomadic Mongolian family, is free for new and current members. Those who join the Crandell or renew their memberships on May 6 or anytime during May receive free admission to all films during the month. According to Annie Brody, Crandell…

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Celebrate Earth Day Weekend at the Crandell

April 22 + 23

posted on April 14, 2023

On April 22 and 23 the Crandell Theatre will join the community in celebrating Earth Day with two special screenings that explore our critical relationship with the environment and the steps we can all take to ensure our planet’s future. Crandell Kid Flicks: The Lorax The inaugural season of Crandell Kid Flicks, the theater’s family-friendly film and activity series, concludes on Saturday, April 22, at 1 pm with a screening of the Dr. Seuss classic The Lorax. An eye-popping, 3D computer-animated update of the beloved original book and 1972 cel-animated TV movie, the film features the voices of Danny DeVito, Ed Helms, Zac Efron, Taylor Swift and Betty White. With an environmental message still as urgent as ever, the film follows Ted, a 12-year-old boy living in a world devoid of nature who searches for the one thing that will…

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15th Farm Film Festival Call for Entries

posted on February 17, 2023

Farm Film Festival, the annual event presented by the Crandell Theatre in collaboration with the Chatham Agricultural Partnership and the Columbia Land Conservancy, is currently seeking entries to its 15th season. The entry deadline is March 15, 2023. Farm Film Festival focuses on farms, farming, and farming issues with special interest in films that have a Hudson Valley connection. Submitted films can be either feature length or in short film format. The program will include those made by professional and amateur filmmakers. Students of all ages are encouraged to submit their work. Click below for the downloadable PDF entry form. Farm Film Festival 15 Entry Form NOTE: All submissions will need to include a Vimeo or YouTube link for jury viewing. Additional information about previous festivals is available at farmfilmfest.org.

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CRANDELL KID FLICKS: A New Saturday Matinee Film + Activity Series for Families

posted on January 11, 2023

The Crandell Theatre is very pleased to announce the launch later this month of Crandell Kid Flicks, a new family-friendly Saturday matinee series of contemporary classic children’s films (animated and live action) offered January through April on the fourth Saturday of each month at 1 pm. The series aims to provide the youngest moviegoers with fun, safe, exciting and positive opportunities to become engaged in the arts. Chatham’s beautiful, historic, single-screen movie house is the backdrop for an afternoon of educational fun that puts each film into special focus for these budding film lovers. This new series was created for Chatham-area families with children ages 3-12 in mind. Each film is paired with guest presenters and fun, theme-centered activities. Special Admission: $5 per ticket Crandell Kid Flicks is curated by the Crandell’s brand new Parent Advisory Task Force and co-chaired…

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SPECIAL EVENT: Q+A with AVATAR’s Stephen Lang

December 29 at 10:15 pm

posted on December 22, 2022

Join actor Stephen Lang, who originated the iconic role of Colonel Quaritch, for a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the making of Avatar: The Way of Water following a screening of the film. (Chatham, NY—December 22, 2022) —The Crandell Theatre is delighted to welcome actor Stephen Lang, best known for playing Colonel Miles Quaritch in James Cameron’s Avatar, on stage for a special Q+A following the December 29, 7 pm screening of the newly released sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water. In this rare, behind-the-scenes look at the 3D blockbuster, Lang and film historian Peter Biskind will discuss his recurring role in the Avatar universe and how he and his fellow actors prepared for and shot Cameron’s latest installment. Lang will also be signing a limited number of Avatar: The Way of Water theatrical posters for sale. Avatar: The Way of…

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