Thank you!
Your support is sustaining the future of local news in our communities.
film

Survival and conflict on screen at Berkshire International Film Festival

Survival and conflict on screen at Berkshire International Film Festival

Psychologist, Holocaust survivor and specialist in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, Edith Eger’s book, “The Choice” has now been adapted into a documentary premiering at the Berkshire International Film Festival.

Photo courtesy The Choice Films

A new documentary exploring survival, trauma and resilience will make its world premiere later this month at the Berkshire International Film Festival. “The Choice,” directed by John David Coles, is scheduled to screen at 12:30 p.m. May 30 at The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington.

Inspired by the bestselling memoir of Holocaust survivor and psychologist Edith Eger, the film brings together the stories of several women confronting profound personal loss and trauma. The documentary follows Eger alongside Iris Haim, an Israeli mother whose son was killed by the IDF while escaping Hamas captivity. The film examines how individuals navigate grief while attempting to rebuild their lives.

Coles, whose previous directing work includes television series such as House of Cards, Homeland and The Sinner, will attend the screening.

The festival will also screen “Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk,” on Sunday, May 30, at 4:30 p.m. at The Triplex in Great Barrington. Directed by Sepideh Farsi, the documentary is built from video conversations with Palestinian photojournalist Fatma Hassona documenting daily life in Gaza during the ongoing war. The film gained international attention after Hassona was killed in an Israeli airstrike shortly before the documentary’s premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.

Together, the films underscore BIFF’s focus on urgent, emotionally resonant storytelling from around the world.

Now in its 20th year, the Berkshire International Film Festival runs May 28–31 and features more than 75 films, along with appearances by Karen Allen, Amy Goodman and other filmmakers and performers, as well as screenings, filmmaker conversations and special events across Great Barrington and Lenox.

For more information and tickets to the Berkshire International Film Festival, visit biffma.org

Brian Gersten
film

Latest News

The Millerton News - September 3, 2026

The Millerton News - September 3, 2026

Download directly

At Peggy Mercury, prep meets punk in ‘Imaginary Concerts’

At Peggy Mercury, prep meets punk in ‘Imaginary Concerts’
Greg Fricke and James Boehmer, co-owners of Peggy Mercury in Kent, recently launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts.”
Provided

Last month, James Boehmer and Greg Fricke of Peggy Mercury launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts,” wearable art sold exclusively at their store in the Kent Barns section of Kent, Connecticut.

The two fashion industry veterans opened Peggy Mercury more than two years ago, and a quick visit will tell you that people are finding what they’re looking for at the beauty and lifestyle store. But what they’re looking for is never standard.

Keep ReadingShow less
fashion

“Girlbomb” at 20

“Girlbomb” at 20
Photo by Jessica YurkoMillerton author Janice Erlbaum will celebrate the 20th anniversary of her memoir “Girlbomb” at Black Rabbit Dispensary on Sept. 5.
Photo by Jessica YurkoMillerton author Janice Erlbaum will celebrate the 20th anniversary of her memoir “Girlbomb” at Black Rabbit Dispensary on Sept. 5.
With memoir...the character only knows what the character knows.
—Janice Erlbaum

In “Girlbomb: A Halfway Homeless Memoir,” published in 2006, author Janice Erlbaum wrote about the years after she left her family’s Brooklyn apartment at 15, moving through shelters, group homes, squats, clubs and the streets of 1980s New York while somehow continuing to attend high school. The book has sold more than 75,000 copies, stayed in print for two decades and continues to find new readers.

Now Erlbaum, 57, lives in Millerton and on Saturday, Sept. 5, at 7:30 p.m., she will celebrate the 20th anniversary of “Girlbomb” with a reading at Black Rabbit Dispensary. The event is open to the public and will be livestreamed on Instagram.

Keep ReadingShow less
our community
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

Spencertown’s 21st Festival Of Books

Spencertown’s 21st Festival Of Books
Joshua Jelly-Schapiro, author of “Daylight Come: Harry Belafonte and the World He Made” is one of thefeatured authors at the Spencertown Academy Festival of Books on Saturday, Sept. 5.
Mirissa Neff

On Saturday, Sept. 5, the Spencertown Academy Arts Center in Spencertown, New York, will host its 21st annual Book Festival.

With over 20,000 gently used books, CDs, DVDs and vinyl donated by the community, it took volunteers 45 days — and an estimated 750 hours —to set the whole thing up. Most of that time was spent sorting through the vast troves of donations and organizing them by category.

Keep ReadingShow less
community

Community to take center stage at Dive Barn

Community to take center stage at Dive Barn

A scene from last year’s Dance Barn.

Steven Tayler

On Sunday, Sept. 6, PS21 in Chatham, New York, will host a celebration of community through dance at its second annual Dive Barn performance at the organization’s Dance Barn.

Dive Barn is the brainchild of dancer, teacher and choreographer Sayer Mansfield, who has dedicated her life to contemporary and experimental dance. She studied in the Department of Dance at NYU Tisch School of the Arts and at the Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance. She’s performed with companies including Pilobolus, Compagnie Marie Chouinardand Mark Morris Dance Group. Her work has been featured in films including “Little Women,” “Maestro” and “Sproutland.” She has served on the faculties of Jacob’s Pillow, Phillips Academy Andover, as well as Harvard and Yale Universities.

Keep ReadingShow less
dance

A family business gives old furniture a second act

A family business gives old furniture a second act

“London Sky,” a vintage settee reimagined by Pryor and Peacock with a dramatic view of the London skyline.

Provided by Pryor and Peacock

If you’ve ever seen one of those updated episodes of Antiques Roadshow, you know a lot of old furniture doesn’t hold its value the way it used to.

Gone are the days when the Keno brothers could tell you that your great-grandmother’s old chairs could pay off your mortgage. Instead, a younger market of buyers is looking for more simply designed furniture, often in the form of factory-made pieces using more affordable materials. Think Crate & Barrel or even IKEA, versus the ornate craftsmanship of yesteryear.

Keep ReadingShow less
lifestyle
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.