Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative

Bfmc+/kemble street studios: we continued work on our intiative to build an international Film education center in the berkshires. We were awarded $25,000 from the Massachusetts cultural council for architectural renderings and engineering studies for the proposed space on the grounds of shakespeare and company in lenox, ma. We hired an architectural firm, clark, green & bek for the project.

Community Film fund: we continued the program we began in 2020 providing matching grants to the smaller nonprofits in our community to make videos for their social Media, branding and marketing.grants were awarded to the rope program (rites of passage and empowerment), the Berkshire music school and music in common's black legacy project.

Youth Film lab: we partnered with the Berkshire taconic community foundation and the civic life project to create a youth Film lab, where students make films in their local high school settings. It was part of Berkshire taconic's "bridging divides/healing communities" initiative. Young people in the Berkshire taconic region were invited to made films on social subjects that were important to them. After the screenings, the filmmakers were joined by local professionals who work with youth to discuss the films and the topics they covered.

Production services: we continue to offer assistance to Film and television productions filming in the berkshires finding locations, as well as services such as caterers and lodging, and a database to hire local crew and talent. Berkshire Film and our community: we partnered with the Berkshire international Film festival and produced a 'tea talk' at the mahaiwe theater featuring award winning local women filmmakers: karen allen, barbara kopple and cynthia wade. We also offered a seminar to teachers on teacher development day to bring filmmaking into their classrooms.