There was a red carpet outside the old Great Barrington firehouse where the 5th annual Berkshire International Film Festival had a sit down dinner party for 225 guests on June 3, before a screening next door at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center of two documentaries about accomplished performers in their sunset years: Keep Dancing, a short film about the Broadway and Hollywood dance legend Marge Champion, and Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, a full-length film about a recent year in the life of the comedian who is about to turn 77. With the sunny skies and many guests wearing sunglasses, the evening had a Hollywood aura, and after the movies guests returned to the firehouse for the disco inferno dance party and to drink wine and beer in the filmmakers' lounge.
Vicki Bonnington & David Schecker; David Rosenthal & Leslie Milton of New York's Tenement Museum.
Filmmakers Ricki Stern & Anne Sundberg who made Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, the opening night film, with BIFF founder Kelley Vickery.
BIFF advisory board member Peter Herbst and Ann Colin Herbst, secretary of the board of Jacob's Pillow; Marge Champion, the subject of the dcoumentary Keep Dancing that was shown opening night, with actress and knit-wear designer Karen Allen.
Mark Pedrotti, Mark Tomasi & Fedalina Madrid of Berkshire Bank which sponsored the BIFF Filmmaker Award; Stephanie & Dick Solar with Tommy Werman of Stonover Farm in Lenox.
Jack Vickery, Parker Togut, Zachary Togut and Kaitlin Vickery
Berkshire Mountain Distillers' Chris Weld with Anne Johnston Albert and Martin Albert; Holly Morse, Maria Nation and Anne MacDonald.
Nancy Kalodner and Doug Shufelt; Helice & Steve Picheny.
Stone River director Hal Clifford with Kim Houston, photographer/filmmaker Jason Houston and The Women's Times'Eugenie Sills.
Haven executive chef Matt Schweizer and Haven owner Shelly Williams; Heirloom Food's Carole Murko with Seven Salon's Maurice Peterson.
Actress Elizabeth Aspenlieder, who's solo show Bad Dates is returning to Shakespeare & Company this summer, with Pittsfield Colonials president Buddy Lewis and Pine Cone Hill founder Annie Selke.
Tom Potter and BIFF board member Dan Mathieu whose MAX Ultimate Food catered the opening night dinner; Cookiehead Cookies founder Lisa Newman with Suky Werman of Stonover Farm.
Kailtin & Kelley Vickery; Tyler Weld and BIFF advisory board member and screenwriter Maria Nation of Good Dogs Farm.
Architect Ritch Holben, Mark Johnson of Seven Salon and Ken De Loreto plot a Queer Eye for the Berkshires at the post-screening dance party at the firehouse.
Written by
Matteline deVries-Dilling, founder of Lite Brite Neon, one of the evening's honoree of this year's Upstate Benefit adresses the gala from the Caboose's caboose.
- Karen Pearson. Courtesy Art Omi.
Olana senior vice president and landscape curatorMark Prezorski, president Sean Sawyer, The evenings honoree Kristin Gamble and New York State Assemblymember Didi Barrett.
- Oxygen House Photo
