The 12th annual Monadnock International Film Festival (MONIFF) returned to Keene on Friday, Oct. 4.
The annual festival, a showcase of films from local, national and international filmmakers, screened from October 4 to 6 at the Redfern Arts Center’s Putnam Theater, the Keene Public Library and the Colonial Performing Arts Center’s Showroom venue. Online showings will continue from October 8 to 17, and tickets can be purchased at MONIFF’s website.
The in-person festival included a variety of films, filmmaker Q&As and an afterparty held at Keene’s Fireworks Restaurant, featuring musical performances by local funk rock band “The Blue Motel.”
Among a diverse catalog of filmmakers, KSC students and alumni had their films showcased at the festival. On Oct. 4, the Putnam Theater screened a student filmmaker showcase, containing multiple selections from the 2024 Student Film Festival, which was held in April of 2024 to showcase student capstone productions.
Senior Wilson Hines’s horror-comedy short “AirPods Pro” debuted at last year’s Student Film Festival and returned to the screen as part of MONIFF’s Student Filmmaker Showcase. Hines said he appreciated the opportunity to show his work again.
“I was asked if I was okay with showing my film at MONIFF, and I enthusiastically said yes. It’s an amazing opportunity, and it just feels good to be seen,” said Hines.
“If there’s an audience to watch your work, it’s amazing. You get to see their reaction, and you get to experience it alongside them,” added Hines.
KSC alumnus Gavin Key, class of ‘24, received his own time slot independent from the Student Filmmaker Showcase to screen his 2024 documentary “Not Fade Away: A Celebration of the Grateful Dead Legacy.” The documentary, a feature-length examination of “dead-heads,” a musical subculture composed of fans of the rock band “The Grateful Dead,” was also screened at last year’s capstone event.
Key, who now owns a production company, said he believes that passion is an important aspect of filmmaking.
“The dead-head community is something very near and dear to my heart, and that’s why I made the movie. It’s a lot of hard work to bring a feature-length project to the screen, and it’s important to have passion for the concept,” said Key.
“You have to find your passion, otherwise you’ll get sick of it fast. That passion is what’s going to keep you motivated,” added Key.
Local documentary filmmaker and journalist Sophie Rousmaniere’s environmental justice film “Fracking the Contract” screened on Saturday at the Colonial’s Showroom venue. Rousmaniere heads the production company “Issue TV,” which seeks to foster positive social change through education and film.
“Fracking the Contract” focuses on the struggle of southern Portugal’s Algarve region to resist fracking.
Rousmaniere said documentary filmmaking is an effective vehicle for uplifting unheard voices and causes.
“It’s amazing to give a voice to these causes, and find out that there’s so many incredible people doing incredible work to protect their space or community, or be active,” said Rousmaniere.
“I approach my films with the goal of making something that can go out and make changes. Giving voice to the people who are actively trying to bring about these changes is really what drives me, and it’s all worth it if someone sees the film and thinks a little harder or spreads awareness themself,” added Rousmaniere.
David Abel, a documentary filmmaker and reporter at The Boston Globe received the Jonathan Daniels Award, which honors “filmmakers whose film demonstrates artistic excellence and awareness around a social justice issue,” according to MONIFF’s website.
Abel’s film “Inundation District” examines the ramifications of developing Boston’s “Innovation District,” which Abel’s film argues faces an uncertain future in the face of climate change, likely at the expense of taxpayers.
Abel built a career as a print reporter but said he believes filmmaking can add a new dimension to journalistic storytelling.
“There’s only so much you can do by covering a story through written words. I covered a story a few years ago, accompanied by a video reporter and was blown away by what she was able to capture on film. The howling of the wind, the creaking of the boat, all these things I could only hint at through writing,” said Abel.
Deirdre Fitzgerald is the chair and festival programmer for MONIFF, and said she was enthusiastic about the variety of filmmakers who participated in this year’s festival, including a closer relationship with KSC filmmakers.
“We partnered with the KSC Film Society to highlight the impressive caliber of work being done by Keene State students, and that’s something we’re hoping to keep moving with in the future,” said Fitzgerald.
“We get a healthy turnout of filmmakers from far and wide to attend the festival, and it’s very special to think that our own student filmmakers will have the chance to network and meet interesting and insightful members of the filmmaking world,” added Fitzgerald.
John Tuthill attended “Fracking the Contract” and “Inundation District” and said the two films were enlightening.
“I’ve been coming to the festival for a long time, and the last two films were very powerful. The power of film to communicate these important topics is unmatched, and I’m glad I was here to see it,” said Tuthill.
Ryan Pacheco can be contacted at
rpacheco@kscequinox.com
