Glimmerglass Film Days Festival

Join us for the 12th annual Glimmerglass Film Days, November 7-11, 2024 in Cooperstown. We will have our signature combination of compelling independent films, filmmaker talks, art, books, parties, guided walks, and collaborations with local museums, nonprofits, restaurants, and businesses.

Schedule:

10:00 - 11:30 AM: A New Kind of Wilderness

On a small farm in the Norwegian forest, the Payne family seeks a wild and free existence. They practice home-schooling, live off the land and strive for a closely-knit family dynamic in harmony with nature. However, when tragedy unexpectedly strikes the family, it upends their idyllic world and forces them to forge a new path into modern society. Intimate and deeply personal, this is a story that delves into life choices, one’s responsibility to the planet, family, and how to navigate life after a significant loss. The film won the Documentary Grand Jury Prize at Sundance earlier this year.

In Norwegian with English subtitles

Generously sponsored by the Otsego County Conservation Association

Location:
The Farmers' Museum
5775 State Hwy 80,
Cooperstown, NY 13326

11:30 AM - 12:30 PM: Lunch Between Films: Alex's Soups (advance purchase required)

Enjoy a warming bowl of Alex Webster's delicious soup, Heidelberg Bakery roll, and a Middlefield Orchard apple for dessert between screenings. Choose between Jalapeno Sherry Cream Chicken Corn Chowder and Honey Roasted Acorn Squash Coconut Curry Bisque. Purchase by November 4.

Please note: This lunch is not included with the Patron or Glimmerglass Pass. Please purchase lunch separately. Thank you.

Location:
The Farmers' Museum
5775 State Hwy 80,
Cooperstown, NY 13326

12:00 - 1:15 PM: The Day Iceland Stood Still

On an October morning in 1975, women in Iceland walked off their jobs and out of their homes. Fed up with the inequity between wages for women’s labor and men's, these female employees, wives, and mothers stopped everything—their office jobs, their cooking, cleaning, childcare, really the works. And subsequently, the entire country came to a screeching halt. But a revolution had begun! Intriguing archival sequences alternate with new interviews, animation, and first-hand accounts in The Day Iceland Stood Still. A half-century later, movie director Pamela Hogan and producer Hrafnhildur Gunnarsdóttir reconstructed the dramatic 12 hours that reimagined what was possible for Iceland—and, in fact, for the entire world. Relive the tense moments as these champions of equality (and reality) share what it was like to throw overboard a long-standing machine.

“The overriding mood of the film is joy.”-The Globe and Mail

In Icelandic and English with English subtitles

Generously sponsored by the Emery C. Jr./Nancy F. Herman Fund

Location:
The Farmers' Museum
5775 State Hwy 80,
Cooperstown, NY 13326

1:30 - 3:00 PM: Farming While Black

In 1910, Black farmers owned 14 percent of all American farmland. Racism, discrimination, and dispossession over the subsequent decades brought that number below two percent. Farming While Black examines the historical plight of Black farmers in the United States and the rising generation reclaiming their rightful ownership to land and reconnecting with their ancestral roots.

The film chronicles Leah Penniman, co-founder of Soul Fire Farm in Grafton, NY. It was on this land just outside of Albany where Penniman developed and ultimately shared her mission to end racism in the food system and reclaim her ancestral connection to land. Influenced and inspired by Karen Washington, a pioneer in urban community gardens in New York City, and fellow farmer and organizer Blain Snipstal, Leah galvanizes around farming as the basis of revolutionary justice. These inspiring journeys of discovery and activism, shared with a disarming spirit of generosity and openness, move us to re-examine common assumptions around the agricultural systems we have inherited and their societal implications.

Generously sponsored by the Otsego Land Trust

Location:
The Farmers' Museum
5775 State Hwy 80,
Cooperstown, NY 13326

3:15 - 5:15 PM: Shorts+Cake

The ever popular Shorts+Cake features short films set in Canajoharie, Cohoes, and Rochester as well as farther afield, accompanied by complimentary coffee, tea, and cake!

3:15 PM: 13 Driver's Licenses
Documentary Short

Screened as part of the Shorts+Cake Program

The discovery of 13 confiscated driver’s licenses from 1938 leads a small German town to face its unfortunate past. With no other clue but those small cards, a group of high-school students and their teacher research the fates of 13 Jewish license holders. One year later, an unexpected turn takes place. The modern-day young Germans and some of the Jewish descendants from overseas gather in the town, and a fortuitous friendship begins. “This high school project from a small Bavarian community is now used by educators as a teaching tool worldwide”—Lisa Salko.

Post-Screening Q&A with filmmakers Elisabeth Gareis and Ryoya Terao

Elisabeth Gareis teaches courses in intercultural communication at Baruch College, CUNY. Her research focus is on intercultural friendship and its role in prejudice reduction. Elisabeth’s work on the friendship between international and domestic students has been widely covered in the media. In recognition of her contributions at her home college, she received the Presidential Excellence Awards for Distinguished Service in 2018 and for Distinguished Teaching in 2021. She has authored the book Intercultural Friendship: A Qualitative Study, the textbook series A Novel Approach, and numerous journal articles.

Ryoya Terao has co-produced and/or directed documentaries focusing on human-interest subjects. For NHK and PBS, stories include Sled-Dog Dreams about a sled-dog team from an animal shelter in Durango, Colorado; Go Achilles! on disabled athletes from around the globe; Gun Runners on gun-violence through the eyes of former gang members in New York; and Klavierhaus on immigrant brothers who import and restore antique pianos. With respect to environmental concerns, he worked on a documentary about asbestos litigations and in the process, discovered a groundbreaking historic document that led to compensations for asbestos-related diseases in Japan. He also directed Bamboo Bicycle, a story on an innovative bike studio in Brooklyn operated by three young men, hand crafting bamboo bikes for eco-friendly New Yorkers and people in the developing world.

3:15 PM: Anomaly

Screened as part of Shorts+Cake

A renowned magician features a very strange illusion in his final run of performances. Meanwhile, a government agent who witnesses his baffling act becomes hell-bent on uncovering its method. Filmed at Cohoes Music Hall in Cohoes, NY, by Otsego County natives Ryan Jenkins and Spencer Sherry.

3:15 PM: Scars Along the Mohawk

Screened as part of Shorts+Cake

The town of Canajoharie, New York was the home of the Mohawk tribe of the Iroquois Nation. The identity of the town was built on folklore. (Canajoharie is mentioned in Drums Along the Mohawk). The remnants of the tribe are almost gone. At the start of the 20th Century, Beech-Nut built a plant in Canajoharie, and soon the town was known for the factory that made baby food and gum. The factory closed in 2011 after 118 years. The town has lost its identity once again and many scars remain.

3:15 PM: The Other Side of the Mountain

Screened as part of Shorts+Cake

After his father died in 2007 his mother moved, Phil Hopper inherited seven metal boxes full of Kodak color slides shot between 1955 and 1969. The arrangement of the slides in these boxes was meant to be chronological and well-organized, including a corresponding list that his mother took great pains to write. The list is faulty though and the images shifted. Perhaps someone was careless when putting them away after a family slideshow or perhaps they exist like memory in a fluid changeable order.

3:15 PM: Under the Hat: The Complicated History of the Pith Helmet
Documentary Short

Screened as part of Shorts+Cake

Filmmaker Olympia Stone explores the untold story of the sun helmet-an accessory which, over the last 200 years, has become a weighted symbol of power in the modern world.

Post-screening Q&A with filmmaker Olympia Stone

Olympia Stone is an independent documentary filmmaker with a focus on art, artists and collectors. Based in Chapel Hill, NC, her production company, Floating Stone Productions, creates films that explore the personal stories and creative processes of a wide range of artists and collectors, providing viewers with a deeper understanding of their work and inspirations. Her films have been recognized at numerous festivals, winning awards and receiving critical acclaim. Several of her works have premiered at prestigious events and gone on to be broadcast on PBS. Olympia’s first project, which centered on her own family’s connection to the art world through her father, a New York gallerist, set the tone for her ongoing exploration of the impact of art on both creators and collectors.

Location:
The Farmers' Museum
5775 State Hwy 80,
Cooperstown, NY 13326

5:45 - 7:20 PM: Checkpoint Zoo
Documentary Feature

In the Kharkiv region of Ukraine, next to the boundary with Russia, lies Feldman Ecopark, once home to many species of animals including lions, bears, tigers, and kangaroos. When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2020, the zoo was trapped between the advancing Russian Army and the defending Ukrainian Army. Enter filmmaker Joshua Zeman who, perceiving the problem, began filming in the early days using his cellphone. The relentless shelling meant the animals needed to be evaluated. Checkpoint Zoo recounts the efforts of the brave team of zookeepers and volunteers as they work to save more than 1000 animals despite unimaginable adversity.

Location:
National Baseball Hall of Fame Grandstand Theater
25 Main Street
Cooperstown, NY 13326

7:30 - 9:15 PM: That's a Wrap! Party

Raise a glass to the wrap of another year of Glimmerglass Film Days, reflect on your favorite films of the festival with other filmgoers, and, in a nod to our closing film, enjoy delicious Ukrainian-inspired fare from Brian Wrubleski of Mel’s at 22.

Ticket includes buffet and one complimentary beverage. Cash bar.

Wines donated by Rudy’s Wine & Liquor.

Location:
The Smithy
55 Pioneer Street
Cooperstown, NY 13326

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