Stephen King Dollar Baby Film Festival is One Highlight of Fall 2019 Cultural Events Schedule
August 20, 2019
The Dollar Baby Film Festival will be a rare opportunity to view four short films inspired by the work of the legendary author Stephen King, including a Capital Region premier of local author and filmmaker Bryan Higby’s “Here There Be Tygers.” The festival will be Friday, Nov. 22 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Bulmer Telecommunications Center on the Troy campus and is open free to the public.
“Here There Be Tygers,” (2019, 11 min.) is a liberating tale from the viewpoint of a child who sees tigers in the school restroom. The evening also will feature Jay Holben’s renowned “Paranoid” (2000, 8 min.), a favorite of King himself; Rodney Altman’s “Unmeny’s Last Case,” (2006, 18 min.), about a 1930s private detective whose life bizarrely and swiftly falls apart, and Shawn S. Lealos’s “I Know What You Need” (2005, 33 min.), in which a young woman has strong suspicions about the true identity of her roommate’s “too good to be true” new boyfriend. A Q&A with Higby will follow the films.
The Dollar Baby concept was born in 1977 as King’s growing popularity fueled his desire to help novice filmmakers seeking permission to make films of his work. Under the program, fledgling filmmakers pay just $1 for the opportunity to create a film based on one of the horror master’s short works. The caveat: Dollar Baby films cannot be released to the pubic or on the internet, thus festival viewing usually is the only way to see them. It’s difficult to determine exactly how many Dollar Babies have been made, but King has described the films as “usually interesting and sometimes quite brilliant.”
The Dollar Baby Film Festival is presented by the college’s Cultural Affairs Program. The fall 2019 schedule also will include the following performances:
Hot Club of Saratoga
Thursday, Sept. 19 from noon to 1 p.m.
Bulmer Telecommunications Center, Auditorium
Hot Club of Saratoga, upstate New York's premier gypsy swing band, performs in the spirit and style originated by Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli (The Quintet of the Hot Club of France), most prominent in the 1930s yet still vibrant and gaining in popularity today. Since forming in 2013, Hot Club of Saratoga has brought its irresistible music to myriad venues and festivals, keeping alive the tradition of a long line of gypsy jazz artists. Core musicians Chuck Kish, rhythm guitar; Tucker Callander, violin; and Jonathan Greene, clarinet; often are joined by others in the club’s “collective.” Adding solo guitar, string bass, and sax allows the group to explore the full range of this musical style from sweet, soulful ballads through hard-driving swing and fiery, upbeat tempos that make it impossible to sit still.
Shiri Zorn and George Muscatello
Thursday, Oct. 3 from noon to 1 p.m.
Bulmer Telecommunications Center, Auditorium
The nearly 10-year-old collaboration of international vocalist Shiri Zorn and guitarist George Muscatello never fails to amaze and delight audiences. The two “turn standard jazz repertoire on its head.” Great American Songbook classics take on Middle Eastern influences and unusual time signatures, while Latin tunes and sambas are improvised with new harmonies. Zorn discovered her singing talent as a young child in Israel and later trained at the famed Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London before arriving in the United States in 2007. Well known for his extraordinary guitar playing and improvisation skills, Muscatello has been a mainstay on the local jazz scene for 25 years. An adjunct lecturer at Skidmore College, he also hosts master classes bringing world-renowned jazz musicians to the Saratoga Springs campus.
Lost Radio Rounders: Demon Rum! Songs of Temperance and Prohibition
Thursday, Oct. 10 from noon to 1 p.m.
Bulmer Telecommunications Center, Auditorium
Take something away, you only make it more attractive. Songs of temperance and prohibition come from both sides of the bar, with some trying to quell the flow of demon rum and others hurrying to drink it up. Typically, Lost Radio Rounders finds the history, the humor and the pathos in the great American battle over the bottle. The band members are Tom Lindsay – vocals, 6-, 12-string and baritone guitar, strumstick, 6-string banjo and piano, and Michael Eck – vocals, mandolin, guitar and tenor guitar, dobro, ukulele and banjo. Outside the duo, Lindsay is a photographer and educator, and Eck is an arts publicist, critic and writer. Local audiences are both educated and entertained by their themed, radio days-inspired programs such as Blue Collar Blues, Campfire Songs & Sing-A-Longs, and The Gospel Trail.
Piscataway Nation Singers & Dancers
Thursday, Nov. 7 from noon to 1 p.m.
Bulmer Telecommunications Center, Auditorium
Celebrate Native American Heritage Month and learn more about American Indian history, culture and traditions. Mark Tayac and the Piscataway Nation Singers & Dancers carry on the long standing traditions and culture of their indigenous ancestors. The troupe travels from the Tayac Territory in Port Tobacco, MD with its colorful, educational and entertaining pow wow-style program of American Indian dance, drum and song. The Piscataway Nation Singers & Dancers also appear frequently on the History and Discovery channels, and perform regularly at the Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC and at major Native American festivals throughout the United States. Successors of the Algonquin peoples, members of the Piscataway Nation were the first Native Americans to encounter Captain John Smith along the Potomac River in 1608.
More Information
The full Cultural Events Calendar is available at www.hvcc.edu/culture.
Please call (518) 629-8071 or email d.gardner@hvcc.edu for more information.