Our 2019 Winter Fest Film Festival has ended, but the impact of several of the films will live on for many of us filmgoers.

A Friday night showing of “Beautiful Boy” was followed by a discussion for those 21 and under, led by Tunkhannock Area High School educators Katie Wisnosky and Drug and Alcohol Prevention Education Coordinator Cammie Anderson. Thank you Tunkhannock Teachers Union for your sponsorship of the 70 high school students and staff who saw this showing.

“Beautiful Boy” tells of the pain of drug addiction on the individual, the family, and the community and the film spoke to everyone in the audience. The movie provided a platform for an honest discussion of a problem so prevalent in our communities. We were not only able to show this important movie, but also to host a discussion that is sure to have lasting impact on young lives.

Another impacting movie that brought in an audience of 80 environmentalists on a Tuesday evening was “Free Solo,” directed by Jimmy Chin, world-renowned photographer and mountaineer. Members of Countrywide Conservancy came out in force to see this stunning portrait of a free soloist climber as he climbed the face of the famous El Capitan in Yosemite National Park – without a rope. No one will forget the beautiful vistas, nor will they forget the athlete who went beyond our concept of human physical and mental capability.

A Winter Fest movie that will stay with me for a long time is “Becoming Astrid.” As a former librarian, I am very familiar with the Pippi Longstockings series of books for children. “Becoming Astrid” is a beautifully filmed story of how she was able to break loose from the confines of her restricted childhood, but only by working through the pain of loosing her out-of-wedlock son, then reconnecting with him and raising him as a single parent. Everything about this movie is stunning – the insight into what rural Sweden was like in the 1920s, the costumes, the scenery. First and foremost it is the story of her courage and her “becoming” her true self and accomplished author. I will always remember Astrid Lindgren for the way she was portrayed in this film.

Winter Fest ended but spring is almost here, which means the Dietrich’s 2019 Spring Festival is right around the corner. Would you like a sneak peek of the featured films? Opening Night Gala is Friday, April 12 with the festival continuing for three weeks. Opening Night movies are “Stan and Ollie,” a delightful movie about Laurel and Hardy; and “The Favourite,” with Academy Award Best Actress winner Olivia Colman. “Apollo 11,” “On the Basis of Sex” and “If Beale Street Could Talk” are just a few of the acclaimed films featured in the festival. The brochure is at the printer and we will be telling you all about these and other films in the coming weeks.

Don’t forget you have another opportunity to see the National Theatre Live production of “Antony and Cleopatra” on March 24 at 2 p.m. And Donna LaBar’s Health Transformation Workshop on Saturday, March 23 from 9 a.m. to noon can literally change your life. For information or tickets, call 570-996-1500.

With the coming spring, watch for the many opportunities for mental and physical renewal at the Dietrich Theater. Yoga classes, Nia classes, health transformation classes, London theatre, the best in foreign and independent movies, and so much more. All we need is for you to come and discover them. We do it all for you.

Levi Kozlansky learns about a live screech owl, shown by Rebecca Lesko, in Little People and Nature at the Dietrich Theater.

https://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_Little-People.jpg.optimal.jpg

Levi Kozlansky learns about a live screech owl, shown by Rebecca Lesko, in Little People and Nature at the Dietrich Theater. Submitted photo

Young
https://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_Margie-Young-1.jpg.optimal.jpgYoungSubmitted photo

More than

the Movies

Margie Young