Film Series Overview - Torrington Uconn: Filmmakers

By Rebecca Ransom

Torrington- A Holocaust survivor once wrote in her memoir about a holiday performance she and the other women in the concentration camp were forced to perform for their Nazi captors. Disgruntled by the fact they had to “work” on Christmas, the Nazis orchestrated a “holiday show” for their amusement. The memoir’s author was a poet, another woman a former ballerina, and so on, each woman possessing a talent and artistic presence that couldn’t be destroyed by mankind’s evil deeds. They performed, but it wasn’t for their captors. They performed for themselves.
“Art saves lives,” Davyne Verstandig said. “Art not only saves the lives of those who create it, but those who see, read, reflect on those works.” As an English and Creative Writing professor, poet, and Director of the Litchfield County Writers Project at the University of Connecticut ’s Torrington campus, Ms. Verstandig is well versed in the immense healing and inspiring power of the arts.
This semester, the Litchfield County Writers Project and UCONN is hosting “The American Film – Filmmakers of Litchfield County”. The course and corresponding guest lecture series, both free and open to the public, “will examine the issue of human rights through film documentary and also the adaptation of literature to film”. The course and lectures will take place Wednesday evenings at the Torrington campus from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. through April 18.
† Guest speakers, all of whom are Litchfield County residents, will include: Adam Kimmel, cinematographer whose works include “Capote” and “Jesus’ Son”; journalist Amy Costello, whose investigative report on the Darfur crisis for PBS Frontline earned an Emmy award nomination; and writer, producer and director of the award winning film “Rain in a Dry Land” Anne Makepeace, to name a few.
This is the third year of the LCWP course and lecture series. Traditionally, the series has focused on Litchfield County writers and authors - but as Ms. Verstandig notes, the incorporation of film and filmmakers into the LCWP series is a natural extension of the institution’s mission. “The university’s responsibility is to enlighten and inspire students and the community, ” she said. “It’s really about raising people’s awareness, whether it be through fine arts, writing, film…”
She added that the Torrington campus is increasingly becoming a leading destination for arts and humanities. The LCWP, which is playing a front and center role in that movement, is ever broadening its scope to include a diverse range of art forms.
Additionally, the incorporation of film “puts a little light on other avenues of writing for students – whether it be as a career path, another form of self expression, or simply to foster an appreciation. It provides people with a wider understanding and awareness of the breadth of writing.”
In addition to inspiring artistic endeavors, Ms. Verstandig also hopes the human rights focused series inspires people to become more aware, and involved, in the world around them. “As the world becomes smaller and smaller due to technology, our sense of compassion for the world needs to increase,” she said. “My hope is that (the series) also inspires students and the community to become more involved with human rights initiatives.”
The class on Jan 24 will include screenings of “Rain in a Dry Land”, a documentary “chronicling the journey and resettlement of two Somali Bantu refugee families from Africa through their first two years in America”; and filmmaker Karen Bernstein’s “Troop 1500”, a documentary on a Girl Scout troop in Texas, focusing on the scout troop’s common bond as daughters of incarcerated mothers.
For a full class schedule and more information, visit www.lcwp.uconn.edu or call the LCWP at 860 626 6845.

Posted with the permission of The Litchfield County Times.
Film Series Overview - Torrington Uconn: Filmmakers - Friday January 19 2007 - page 3