Hot Dates: Williamstown Film Festival Oct. 30-Nov. 1

Ethel, the string quartet has created a high octane score to the sci fi film Ship of Monsters
Coming up for the second weekend are several more great films of interest. The first weekend was a bang up success. It featured the touching Handsome Harry, the teen sexual explorations of Dare and all those great shorts, not to mention the documentary Beyond Greenaway and the more mainstream Against the Current.

Friday night 10/30 is going to be an adventure as Mass MoCA hosts LA NAVE DE LOS MONSTRUOS. The screening also features Ethel – America's leading rock-infused string quartet in an original score to the Mexican '50s sci-fi classic The Ship of Monsters. Two hot Venusian babes target Earth on a quest to find men for their planet. Ethel's electrifying new original score will be performed live. Previewing Halloween, a costume contest will precede the film.

To get a taste of the wierdness in store go here:



Also on the docket on Saturday 10/31 at 10:00am

ALL-SHORTS Slot II: A provocative spectrum of shorts – an entirely different program from Weekend I. Artists from the films will be on hand to discuss their work.


Then at 2:45pm is a screening of MAKING THE BOYS. When it opened off-Broadway in 1968, Mart Crowley's The Boys in the Band jolted audiences and revolutionized the stage's treatment of homosexuality. Months later, the Stonewall riots signaled a landmark sea change in gay attitudes toward repression. How much have things changed since? A fascinating study of art and morality in modern America.A Work in Progress.


Saturday at 8:00pm is POLIWOOD. A documentary by Oscar-winning director Barry Levinson (Diner, Rain Man,Wag the Dog, Bugsy) about the collision and collusion between politics and Hollywood. Grab a frontrow seat to the 2008 presidential campaign . . . and the ever-thinning line between actors and politicians, news and entertainment. A sizzling look at the roles media and celebrities play in society. New England Premiere, followed by the annual champagne/desserts party at the Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute.


Finally, on Sunday 11/1 at 11:00am (Bagels and coffee served at 10:30) is the comedy, HUMPDAY. The male ego comes in for a shellacking in Lynn Shelton's bubbling Sundance award-winner. When best friends (and straight guys) Ben and Andrew reunite, they find themselves dared into entering an amateur porn contest. The plan: to create a "work of art"by having sex together. But will they go through with the scheme – and who's going to tell Ben's wife? A buddy movie gone hilariously haywire.

"It's our most diverse lineup yet," says WFF executive director Steve Lawson. "Drama, comedy, animation, documentaries, and world-class acting and direction. In addition to the features and seminars, the 30 shorts on tap this season cover an amazing range of material. And - as always - everything screens just once to maximize personal contact between artists and audiences." 

To order tickets (or discount Passes at 10% off), visit Williamstown Film Festival or call the Ticket Line at (413) 458-9900.