Date: Fri 28-Mar-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Quick Words:

Bethel-Cinema-Merwinsville

Full Text:

MERWINSVILLE TO BE SCREENED AT BETHEL CINEMA w/ cut

B Y S HANNON H ICKS

BETHEL - During the span of 14 minutes, European immigrant Joseph Kalansky

will walk along the tracks of his life, haunted by memories of his deceased

wife and his lost little girl, while deciding what to do with his future.

Kalansky is the main character in the short film Merwinsville , a 14-minute

short that was filmed on location in Gaylordsville in 1995. Actual shooting

took two days, and then editing took another month for William Hahn and Robert

Huculak, owners of North/South Pictures, who created and produced the film.

Mr Hahn served as director, co-producer, co-writer and cinematographer for

Merwinsville . His partner, Robert Huculak, co-produced, co-wrote, and starred

in the 14-minute film, which will receive its Connecticut premiere this Friday

at Bethel Cinema. It will be shown for at least one week, being screened

before each showing of the feature Sling Blade .

"We're going to handle this on a week-by-week basis, so it will certainly be

showing through April 3," says Paul Schuyler, owner of Bethel Cinema. "Maybe

longer, depending on the kind of response we get."

Merwinsville was shot on a spring-loaded 16 mm Bolex camera. Original

black-and-white footage was blended in with archival footage from the

Depression era, according to production notes supplied by North/South.

Sound was done in post-production. The effects were recorded off compact discs

(music lovers may recognize the sounds of the Benedictine Monks of the Abbey,

the sounds of which were cleared for use by Polygram Records), transferred to

digital audio tape (DAT), and then to hard drive. Foley and voice-overs were

done onto DAT in the studio.

From its 16 mm format, Merwinsville was first transferred to ‹ -inch video for

editing purposes. In order for the short to be available for screenings at

public theatres and film festivals, it was necessary to further transform it,

this time onto 35 mm film. Financing for the film came in part from the

Danbury Cultural Commission.

Mr Schuyler saw the film about a year ago, he said, while it was still in its

video form. He was impressed not only with the film, but also with Mr Hahn's

tenacity in not giving up on the project.

"That process to get it changed from 16 to 35 mm is an expensive one, but he

followed it," Mr Schuyler said. "Just the fact that it got done says a lot."

As an independent theatre owner, Mr Schuyler would like to be able to offer

his customers more non-mainstream movies, he says. But too many so-called

indie filmmakers do not always follow up on their projects.

"We would want to do this with any local filmmaker, because that's partly what

we're all about ... But so many times, I am approached before a film is done,

and then I never hear anything else about it."

Bethel Cinema, a two-screen independent movie house, has been open since

February 1993. Owner Paul Schuyler decided to present movies that were less

mainstream, more "art house" in scope, than a typical multiplex cinema would

offer. He has succeeded in drawing some of the most successful independent

films in recent years to his establishment, including three of the four Best

Picture feature film nominees for this year's Academy Award ( The English

Patient , Shine and Fargo ).

Merwinsville marks the third time in Bethel Cinema's history it will offer

local audiences the chance to see a short film by an independent filmmaker. In

the summer of 1993, the cinema offered audiences Memoirs of a Madman , which

was shot in Danbury. The following summer, Vermont indie filmmaker Jay Craven

brought his film, Where The Rivers Flow North , to Mr Schuyler's attention,

who in turn screened it.

"I think we were the only ones in Connecticut to play it," Mr Schuyler said

earlier this week. "It was filmed in Vermont, and it had kind of a New England

theme, a New England feel to it, which was why I liked it.

"I would like to do more [short film screenings]," he continued, but frankly

we aren't approached more with them.

"I'm impressed when anybody locally says they're going to shoot a film, and

then they turn around and say here it is. A lot of times that doesn't end up

happening."

Since its 1995 debut, Merwinsville has been screened in Canadian theatres;

shown at festivals and conferences around the world (including Denver

International Film Festival, Colorado; Gallup Film Festival, New Mexico; and

Cork International Film Festival, Cork, Ireland); and has been on US

television in Baltimore, Los Angeles and Topeka (the Canadian Broadcasting

Company gave the film its worldwide premiere in December 1995). Connecticut's

screenings next week provide the first time the film can be seen anywhere near

the Northeast United States.

Merwinsville 's producers say the film captures the heart and soul of a

country's depression and one man's hope. Newsweek magazine has dubbed it "...a

very good film" and it was honored already this year with Best Amateur Film at

The Blizzard Awards in Winnepeg, Manitoba, Canada. It was also nominated for

Best Editing at The Blizzards.

Area filmgoers who decide to take in a screening of Billy Bob Thornton's Sling

Blade at Bethel in the immediate future can decide for themselves how they

feel about one man's journey when all tracks lead to Merwinsville .