Lisa Green reports from North Adams. It almost felt like a behind-the-scenes Hollywood on the Housatonic at the Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative networking event on Wednesday, Nov. 29. There are a large number of film and media professionals in our part of the world, and a substantial group of them showed up at Bright Ideas Brewing in North Adams, Mass. to engage in trade talk and, of course, craft beer. Many of them were first-time attendees at a BFMC event, validating the collaborative’s assertion that there’s a new momentum building in a growing local industry. “We want to keep more people in western Mass,” said executive director Diane Pearlman, and to that end, the organization creates educational, workforce and production opportunities for those in the film industry who want to live and work in the region. [Above, Board of Advisor members Joe Finnegan and John Whalan flank Diane Pearlman, executive director of the BFMC.]
Emily Jawadekar, who has recently moved to Amherst, and Jesse Freidin, who specializes in photographing the human-animal bond; Freelance writer/editor Robin Catalano, Nannina Gilder and costume designer Sarah Goethe-Jones.
Paige Carter, who works in set dressing and decoration, and Laura Gratz, the BFMC’s administrative director.
Film industry professionals Ramona Fabregas, Poppy Wanamaker and Jeremiah Murray.
Joe Aidonidis, a documentary filmmaker, and Doug Jones, executive director of Images Cinema; Networking group in an E.F. Hutton huddle.