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 - 11:45 AM: Rutkoff Brunch: Robert Frank Centennial Celebration

Join Film Days artistic director Peggy Parsons and Professor Peter Rutkoff, Kenyon College, in a centennial celebration of the seminal photographer and filmmaker Robert Frank. "One of the most important and influential filmmakers of the last half century." (Manohla Dargis), Frank gained worldwide attention in the 1950s with his book The Americans before turning to film in 1959. After enjoying a hearty brunch featuring diner classics catered by Mel's at 22, we will screen both films, followed by a lively interactive discussion.

Post-screening Q&A discussion with speakers Peter Rutkoff and Peggy Parsons

Peter Rutkoff is a founding member of the Department of American Studies at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. He is the author of Fly Away and other recent non-fiction works that examine African-American art and culture, as well as two novels, most recently Irish Eyes. He is a regular summer visitor to Cooperstown, which is also the setting of his book of short stories, Cooperstown Chronicles. He is a member of the Film Days Steering Committee.

Margaret (Peggy) Parsons, Film Days founder and Artistic Director, founded the film program at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, an exhibition program and archival collection. She has served as board member for major film organizations including the Robert Flaherty Seminar and Washington Environmental Film Festival and has been on the editorial boards for The Moving Image and the Getty Trust’s Program for Art on Film. She has been a judge for international film festivals including Syracuse, Nashville, Turin, and Poznań, and her work in film preservation has earned her awards from the governments of France, Czech Republic, Italy, Romania, and Georgia. Other interests include folk and self-taught art, and her articles have appeared in Raw Vision, Folk Art, Folk Art Messenger, New York Folklore, Curator, and The Moving Image.

10:00 AM: Paper Route

Screened as part of the Rutkoff Brunch: Robert Frank Centennial

Filmmaker Robert Frank joins his neighbor Robert MacMillan on a subzero, pre-dawn morning in the country to accompany him on his daily rounds delivering newspapers to the towns in the rural Nova Scotia district where Frank has for years had a second home (he spent most of his time in a New York City apartment). Chatting amiably in voiceover as his camera observes the landscape and his buddy MacMillan’s encounters with his customers, Frank conducts a rambling interview inspired by his own desire to better understand how people live their lives in this isolated part of the world.

Note: Robert Frank also spent time locally at his Cherry Valley farm.

10:00 AM: Pull My Daisy

Screened as part of the Rutkoff Brunch: Robert Frank Centennial

Robert Frank’s photograph “Trolley — New Orleans” (1955) was cited by the New York Times in June of this year as one of the 25 photos that defined the modern age. While nearly everyone acknowledges Frank’s influence as a photographer, few know about his movies. Perhaps his most influential film is Pull My Daisy, his quirky 1959 portrait of his Beat friends with a cast that included Allen Ginsberg, Peter Orlovsky, Larry Rivers, Alice Neel, Delphine Seyrig, David Amram, and Walter Gutman. Loosely based on Jack Kerouac’s play The Beat Generation, the film is an informal tale about a bishop and his mom who out-of-the-blue visit a railroad worker called Milo in the same place where Ginsberg and the others are also staying. Today—65 years after its making—Pull My Daisy is recognized as one of the great works of American avant-garde cinema.

Restored by The Museum of Modern Art with support from the Celeste Bartos Fund for Film Preservation.

Location:
Templeton Hall
63 Pioneer Street
Cooperstown, NY 13326

12:00 - 1:45 PM: Evil Does Not Exist

Evil Does Not Exist is Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s follow-up to his Oscar-winning Drive My Car (2021). This new film is set in the rural alpine mountain hamlet of Mizubiki, not far from Tokyo. Takumi and his daughter, Hana, lead a modest life gathering water, wood, and wild wasabi for the local udon restaurant. Increasingly, the townsfolk become aware of a plan to build an opulent glamping site nearby, offering city residents a comfortable “escape” to the snowy wilderness. When two company representatives arrive and ask for local guidance, Takumi becomes conflicted in his involvement, as it becomes clear that the project will have a pernicious impact on the community.

The film was initially conceived as a 30-minute visual short, intended to be shown as a live performance accompaniment for musician Eiko Ishibashi. Unexpected inspiration during filming led Hamaguchi to evolve the project to feature length. This organic approach can be felt in the story's gentle unfolding. Ishibashi’s score remains a motivating presence throughout, playing with and against the natural rhythms of local routines. Despite the film's pleasantly languid pace and understated sense of humor, a simmering tension builds steadily from the first frame to the last. Evil Does Not Exist is a foreboding fable on humanity's mysterious, mystical relationship with nature. As the film reaches its conclusion, both the locals and the representatives are forced to confront their life choices and the haunting consequences they have.

In Japanese with English subtitles

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

12:00 PM: Otsego Land Trust Guided Forest Walk

Walk grade: steep

Join the Otsego Land Trust for a walk on privately owned land that has been protected forever through conservation and learn about Black Land Ownership with Christoper Banks Carr and Melissa Hunter Gurney. This walk is in conjunction with the film Farming While Black, which the Land Trust is sponsoring.

“We want our land to be a safe space for folks who would like to experience the great outdoors without the threat of harassment, intimidation, and overt racism.”

- Chris and Melissa, Black Land Ownership

Free. Please register in advance: www.otsegolandtrust/events

12:30 - 1:45 PM: Nets

Early in his career, the Austrian-born future Oscar winner Fred Zinnemann codirected with Emilio Gómez Muriel the politically and emotionally searing Nets (Redes). In this vivid, documentary-like dramatization of the daily grind of Mexican workers struggling to make a living by fishing on the Gulf of Mexico (the cast itself mostly consists of real-life fishermen), one worker’s terrible loss instigates a political awakening among these laborers. Commissioned by a progressive Mexican government in the mid 1930s, Redes was cowritten and beautifully shot by the legendary photographer Paul Strand. (Janus Films). Redes was restored by the Cineteca di Bologna/L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory, in association with The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project and Filmoteca de la UNAM in Mexico City.

In Spanish with English subtitles

Location:
Village Hall Ballroom
22 Main Street,
Cooperstown, NY 13326

2:15 - 4:00 PM: How to Come Alive with Norman Mailer

View all films tagged "Documentary Feature"

A star in the history of American letters, Norman Mailer lived a life that was stranger than fiction. Jeff Zimbalist’s documentary does an extraordinary job of capturing the substance of this man who in many ways shaped cultural life in mid-twentieth century America with his experimental fiction and nonfiction works, and general outspokenness and bold perspectives on the activities of the times. From his modest Brooklyn beginnings to a near-mythical reputation by mid-career, this intimate portrait of the literary giant reveals a life as complex and contentious as the works that he penned. Mailer was a pioneer of “New Journalism,” pushing the boundaries of traditional reporting, rebelling against traditional styles, and weaving fact with fiction. He produced multiple bestsellers and received Pulitzers for his efforts. Known for sharp societal insights, his penchant for controversy also spilled over into his roles as a filmmaker, talk show provocateur, and political activist. His tumultuous public persona was paralleled in his personal life by six marriages and nine children. Enriched with rarely seen interviews and abundant new footage, Zimbalist’s engaging biography captures the ironies, contradictions, and lasting power of this audacious literary titan.

Generously sponsored by the Raymond Han and Paul Kellogg Foundation

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

2:30 - 4:15 PM: Wilfred Buck

Lisa Jackson’s portrait of Cree Elder Wilfred Buck moves between earth and sky, past and present, bringing to life ancient teachings of Indigenous astronomy and cosmology to tell a story that spans generations. 

Buck grew up on the Saskatchewan River, where generations of his family had made their living. In the 1960s, hydro-electric infrastructure was developed in the area to fuel ever-increasing energy demands. The once thriving ecosystem which had provided the livelihood of thousands of families was suddenly rendered barren. Families, including Buck’s, were pushed into the margins of communities where they were not welcomed. Family ties disintegrated and a connection to a culture was lost. This displacement ultimately sent Buck into years of turmoil and addiction. It was in pursuit of sobriety that Buck eventually found himself in the company of elders who introduced him to the ancient stories found in the stars. These stories transformed Buck, waking him up to a deep sense of purpose. Buck has dedicated himself to passing on both these stories and the traditions and ceremonies integral to the culture that sustained his ancestors.

Adapted from Buck’s rollicking memoir, I Have Lived Four Lives, the film weaves together stories from his life, seamlessly fusing present-day scenes with cinematic re-enactments and archival footage. In this intimate yet expansive documentary, Jackson (herself Ojibwe) takes us on an inspiring journey to the space beyond, and to the spaces between us all.

Location:
Village Hall Ballroom
22 Main Street,
Cooperstown, NY 13326

3:00 - 4:30 PM: Otsego 2000 Historic Preservation Walk

Join in a guided walk, "Business, Commercial, Residential? Boundaries and Land Use in Cooperstown," led by Dr. Cindy Falk, Assistant Dean of Graduate Studies at SUNY Oneonta and Professor of Material Culture at the University’s Cooperstown Graduate Program.

Zoning laws have shaped cities throughout the country, and Cooperstown is no exception. Zoning creates districts dedicated to certain land uses. Learn about how those districts and district boundaries have evolved over time and how zoning factors into development today.  

Free. Meet on the steps of the Village Hall at 22 Main Street, Cooperstown.

This walk is the last in the 2024 Otsego 2000 Historic Preservation Walking Tour Series.

Location:
Village Hall Ballroom
22 Main Street,
Cooperstown, NY 13326

5:30 - 7:30 PM: Perfect Days

Hirayama (a Cannes Award-winning performance by Koji Yakusho) feels content with his life as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo. Outside of his structured routine, he cherishes music on cassette tapes, reads books and takes photos. Through unexpected encounters, he reflects on finding beauty in the world in this revelatory film from auteur Wim Wenders (Wings of Desire; Paris, Texas). In this striking and contemplative ode to his idol Yasujirō Ozu, Wenders crafts a film of immense warmth, kindness, and care that will make you appreciate all of the small, wondrous things that the world has to offer.

Perfect Days “should be the most soul-crushingly bleak film ever made – a Groundhog Day grind with added despair and urinal cakes. But Wim Wenders’s zen meditation on beauty, fulfilment, and simplicity is quite the opposite: it’s an achingly lovely and unexpectedly life-affirming picture.” -The Guardian

Generously sponsored by S. Tier French

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

7:45 - 9:45 PM: Ricardo and Painting

Ricardo Cavallo is an artist from Buenos Aires, Argentina, who now lives and works in Finistère, France. Cavallo takes full advantage of his adopted region’s naturally rugged beauty and spends much of his time painting in the secluded cliffs of Pointe du Raz near his home. In the film, he engages us in his everyday life as a teacher of art and the history of French painting, working on his own canvases plein air, preparing simple meals with local produce, and passing on his knowledge of art to the young people of his village. Though self-effacing about discussing his own life, he clearly adores having the camera focused on his picturesque region and likes having the company of his old friend, the film’s Iranian-born Swiss-French director Barbet Schroeder.

In French with English subtitles

Cheese and Charcuterie Selection, Cash Bar

Location:
Templeton Hall
63 Pioneer Street
Cooperstown, NY 13326

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