RiverArts Launches Film Society with Screening of The Butler

RiverArts, a dynamic, regional arts center whose mission is to be the place where the arts meet the community, has launched a Film Society that focuses on film as a visual art form and forum for social commentary. A screening of The Butler will kick off the 2018 season with a talkback by Wil Haygood at Sumner Hall on Saturday, March 3, 2018 at 5:00. Register on the RiverArts website or call 410 778 6300.

The Butler tells the story of Cecil Gaines, the African American son of a sharecropper who serves as a White House butler to eight different presidents from Truman to Reagan. The film is based on a 2008 Washington Post story by Wil Haygood who served as an associate producer to the movie. Haygood’s article, entitled A Butler Well Served by This Election, described Eugene Allen, who worked in the White House for more than 30 years, under eight different administrations, as “a black man unknown to the headlines.”

Filmmaking is a complex and powerful art form in our world. The RiverArts Film Society mission is to provide transformative cinematic experiences by screening films with diverse perspectives followed by thought provoking discussions. RiverArts will partner with Sumner Hall and the Mainstay to show monthly films with talkbacks at their venues which offer large screens and an intimate, coffee-house ambiance.

The RiverArts Film Society is a membership club with an annual fee of $30 for one person or $50 for two. Membership includes free admission to up to ten films per year that include talkbacks and Q&A by engaging, knowledgeable presenters. You can join the 2018 Film Society on the RiverArts website, chestertownriverarts.org, click on film society, or call 410 778 6300.

The 2018 screenings are curated by Robert Earl Price and Pam Whyte.

They have chosen three films in each of four themes. Screening dates will be posted as soon as confirmed.

Films about African Americans
Curated by Robert Earl Price
Uptight
Nothing But a Man
Do the Right Thing

Bergman Films
Curated by Robert Earl Price
The Seventh Seal
Cries and Whispers
Persona

1960’s Cultural Phenoms
Curated by Pam Whyte
The Graduate
To Kill a Mockingbird
Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid

Documentaries
Curated by Pam Whyte
Anne Frank’s Holocaust
JFK: The Lost Bullet
9/11: Stories in Fragments

More information about the film society, the film screenings, and filmmaking classes can be found on the website, chestertownriverarts.org, click on film society. Louise Miller and Lani Seikaly chair the RiverArts Film Advisory Board and welcome any ideas you have for future film screenings, classes or workshops.

Chestertown RiverArts is located at 315 High Street, Suite 106, Chestertown, MD 21620 – (in the breezeway). Winter Gallery hours are Tuesday – Friday, 11 AM to 5:30 PM, Saturday 10 AM to 5:30PM, and open on First Fridays until 8 PM.