5-30-2023 8:21pm

Piermont Film Fest returns with international flavor, free screenings

Robert Brum Contributor

Flier for the film 1660 Vine, choreographed by Paula Abdul.

The 2023 Piermont Film Festival returns the weekend of June 10-11, with 28 films from around the world scheduled to be screened, including four feature length presentations, at three venues in the heart of the riverfront village.

While most entries selected by the festival's judges are from the United States, selections from Canada, Austria, Germany, Iran, Egypt and Morocco are also represented.

Billed by its managing director, Marcia Robins, as “a small film festival in even smaller rooms,” the showings are free. There are Q&As scheduled after the screenings, with many of the filmmakers planning to attend.

Among the festival highlights are four feature-length selections:

1660 Vine, a musical choreographed by Paula Abdul
Everybody Wants To Be Loved, a drama from Germany directed by Katharina Woll
Destiny Concealed: The Eagle Academy Public Charter School Story, a documentary directed by Cheryl Montalvo
Stewart Udall and the Politics of Beauty, a documentary directed by John E de Graaf

Short films include:

The Unquiet Dead by John Gray, creator of the TV series Ghost Whisperer
Past Prologue, a drama starring James Naughton
Happy Ever Ally. a comedy featuring Tovah Feldshuh and Alyse Kenny

Local musicians Pat Keating, Adam Falcon and Tim O'Donohue will be performing inside and outside one of the venues, Bunbury's Coffee Shop, during the two-day festival.

On June 10, the film fest will share the stage with Piermont's arts and music festival, which takes place from noon -8 p.m. in the village's downtown.

If you go