Panel of local bee experts to discuss film, local writers contribute to support local farms

(3/21/11) On Friday and Saturday, April 15 and 16 at 7:30 pm, Pothole Pictures will present two screenings of the documentary film “Vanishing of the Bees” in the historic 400-seat Memorial Hall Theater, located at 51 Bridge Street in downtown Shelburne Falls.   Each showing is preceded by a half hour of “music at the movies” donated by local musicians.  On Friday, April 15 at 7:00 pm, the Back Porch Pickers play old timey music.  On Saturday, April 16 at 7:00 pm, Zadjedno presents men's acappella songs from the Dalmation coast of Croatia.  And on both evenings, Shelburne Falls poet John Berkowitz will read his short poem on the subject prior to the film.  A discussion panel with local beekeepers will take place only on Saturday, April 16 following the film.

Since 2006, honeybees have been disappearing from their hives in an alarming and perplexing crisis called "colony collapse disorder" (CCD) which threatens as much as 1/3 of the food we eat, including most fruits & vegetables. This compelling documentary investigates CCD with a scientific slant that also emphasizes the mythic and spiritual sense of the bee, resulting in a film with all the suspense of the best mysteries and dramas and the hard information of serious investigative pieces, and a wide perspective that expands into more sustainable approaches to living, organic farming, and alternative beekeeping methods. The 86-minute documentary, made in 2009, is narrated by actress, Ellen Page (“Juno”) and directed by George Langworthy and Maryam Henein.

On Saturday, April 15, the audience is invited to discuss the film with a panel of local experts.  Dan Conlon, president of the Mass. Beekeepers Association and owner of Warm Colors Apiary in Deerfield, will join Dr. Rick Intres of Bear Meadow Apiary in Ashfield to present their perspective on the film and answer questions. Dr. Intres is president of the Franklin County Beekeepers.  The film’s executive producer, Peter Heller will round out the panel. 

“We decided to show ‘Vanishing of the Bees’ at the start of the spring planting season, to bring a fascinating topic to our occasional community film discussions, and to remind ourselves how connected we all are to the web of life and food that bees help create,” said Pothole Pictures volunteer, Andrew Baker.  “We live in an agricultural region filled with orchards, dairies and organic farms that we all value and try hard to support with local purchasing.  Those farms depend on bees for pollination and we, in turn, rely on these small buzzing helpers for the food we eat.  The film helps show us how fragile and interconnected our world is.” 

The Shelburne Falls Area Business Association (SFABA) and Communities Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) -- two area organizations working to support local agriculture -- are co-sponsoring this presentation of “Vanishing of the Bees.”  SFABA includes 21 farms and agricultural businesses among its members and has organized an innovative partnership between six Shelburne Falls restaurants and groceries to compost their food waste at a local farm, diverting it from landfills to productive use.  CISA coordinates the now-famous “Local Hero” campaign supporting purchase of local farm products.  It has recently helped launch Pioneer Valley GROW, a collaborative effort to provide financing for local post-harvest value-added food production.

Bear Mountain Apiary and Warm Colors Apiary will have honey available for purchase in the lobby before or after the movie.  Local authors, Anne Woodhull and Shelley Rotner, will also have their children’s book “The Buzz on Bees” available in the lobby.  The Northampton area authors were motivated by the film and their concern about colony collapse disorder to write a book about the subject that is accessible to elementary school age children.  It was published in May, 2010 by Holiday House.  Local community supported agriculture (CSA) farmers will also provide information in the lobby about CSAs and how to purchase local vegetables by buying a share of the crop.

Pothole Pictures is a volunteer-run community movie theater that has been showing classic, independent and locally made films on the big screen in historic Memorial Hall Theater in Shelburne Falls since 1995.  Special features of its film series are “meet the director” presentations which engage the audience with people involved in the making of the movies it shows.  Movie tickets can be purchased in advance (Five tickets for $20) or at the door ($6 adults, $4 children).  For more information, contact Fred DeVecca at (413) 625-2896 or visit the web site at www.shelburnefallsmemorialhall.org.