For those of you who have not seen this classic on the big screen and for those of you who have and would like to see it again, the Rosendale Theatre is screening Easy Rider on Thursday, July 6, at 7PM.

The premier counterculture odyssey of the 1960s, Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper motorcycle cross country on their way to Mardi Gras. What they discover along the way is an America that is both beautiful and terrible. Jack Nicholson soon joins them on a journey that would both delight and disturb initial audiences and remains immensely powerful today.

Roger Ebert– “….someday it was inevitable that a great film would come along, utilizing the motorcycle genre, the same way the great Westerns suddenly made everyone realize they were a legitimate American art form, “Easy Rider” is the picture.”

Come see this 1960s counterculture classic on the big screen with full theatre sound to capture the glorious soundtrack.

Thursday, July 6, 2023
7:00PM
  $10/$6 Members

And if you have time to see only one film screening at this year’s festival, let it be Bamboo Stories, a documentary film by acclaimed director/cinematographer Shaheen Dill-Riaz. Bamboo Stories is set in Bangladesh and is, per the title, the story of bamboo and the people who depend on it for their living, from cutting the 22 foot-long bamboo logs in the last great bamboo forest in the northeastern province of Sylhet to its arrival in the capital city, Dhaka, for sale. The film is a tour-de-force of story and cinematography accompanied by Eckart Gadow’s extraordinary and often haunting musical score.

A logger transports bamboo through a canal into the valley. Photographer: Shaheen Dill-Riaz © MAYALOK

I had the good fortune to discover Shaheen Dill-Riaz’s films during an extended sojourn in Berlin in 2016.  Dill-Riaz is from Bangladesh and many, but by no means all, of his films are set there. My first introduction to his work was Ironeaters; I assumed it would be a small film by a little-know independent film-maker – both assumptions were soon smashed. Dill-Riaz is highly acclaimed in the field of documentary film-making, and it was a huge film. Ironeaters is the story of farmers who, for months every year, must trade their idyllic but poverty-stricken home-lands in northern Bangladesh for the hell-on-earth of the beaches of Chittagong where the sea-faring detritus of the Western World goes to die – old cruise ships, vast container vessels, and massive oil tankers. There the erstwhile farmers work as ship-wreckers dismantling these behemoths without heavy machinery or protective clothing, risking their health and their lives for a pittance.  During that ten-month sojourn in Berlin, I saw a number of Dill-Riaz’s other films including Korankinder (Koran Children), a film set in the secretive world of the Madrassas, and none disappointed. So it was with great delight that I learned that he was bringing his latest documentary, Bamboo Stories, to Woodstock this year, 2019, which also celebrates the festivals 20th year in existence.

Foreman SHOHEED bundling the bamboo at the Kushiyara river. Photographer: Shaheen Dill-Riaz © MAYALOK

In Bamboo Stories, the film moves back and forth between a team of bamboo loggers in the forest led by foreman, Liakot, to the team of rafters led by Shoheed who ferry the cut bamboo on its month-long journey by river to be sold in the capital, stopping along the way at smaller port-towns in the hope of selling some of the logs ahead of arrival at the big market of Dhaka. Along the way we are introduced to the cast of characters for whom these men work: Mamun, the loggers’ boss, who worries that the bamboo isn’t being harvested fast enough; Juj-Mia the wholesaler to whom Shoheed answers; Ali, Ashraf and other retailers, who must drive a hard bargain in order to be competitive in the markets. The one thing all these men have in common is that they do not want their children to follow in their footsteps.

The raft anchors in the port town of Chatal Para to sell logs to retailers. Photographer: Shaheen Dill-Riaz © MAYALOK

Over the course of the film we also meet the families of our protagonists, their wives and children, and their stories are revealed. And our hearts break for them. Dill-Riaz’s films manage to combine pathos with laugh-out-loud moments and Bamboo Stories is no exception. The rafters, though away from their families for weeks at a time and burdened with the care of the cargo: 25,000 bamboo logs, the worries of their bosses, and their own fears of river pirates, retain a great sense of humor ribbing each other about their habits and lack of bathroom privacy. Shoheed points out the “amenities” of their floating home: here the bathroom; there the laundry room. We first meet Shoheed singing a sentimental love song as he and his team-mates, Nuru, Shiraz, and Hussain, make the bamboo raft (the raft and the cargo are one and the same). We might assume what he sings is a popular song from the radio; later we may have to revise that assumption. As the film progresses, we come to know these men and to be invested in them, and in their hopes for their children for whom they work so hard. And we learn that these are kind people, kind to each other.

Logger-Foreman LIAKOT at work in the forest . Photographer / © : Munem Wasif

Back in the forest where the work is unrelenting and back-breaking, where the bamboo loggers are plagued with mosquitos, leeches, and even the bamboo itself which is covered with fine filaments that irritate the skin, there is less to laugh about. The boss, Mamun, who holds a limited-time lease for this section of forest, arrives to see how the work is progressing and accuses Liakot of always taking the easy route. Then, paradoxically, speaking to the camera, he confides that cutting bamboo is so exhausting that “If I cut one stem of bamboo, I need to sleep for two days.”

Director and cinematographer SHAHEEN DILL-RIAZ films the loggers in the forest. Photographer / © : Munem Wasif

The genius of Dill-Riaz is the lightness of his touch. It is as though there is no camera nor any sense of an invisible hand directing the narrative. The protagonists appear to speak directly to us, the viewers, and their lack of self-consciousness is testimony to Dill-Riaz’s ability to put them at ease – how does he do it? A good question for the Q & A after one of October’s screenings (both Shaheen and his film-composer, Eckart Gadow, will accompany the film to Woodstock). In Bamboo Stories, having forgotten that there is a cameraman in the forest with the bamboo loggers, we suddenly become aware of him when Liakot comes racing towards us (the camera) through the woods shouting: “Shaheen, run, run!” A male elephant has appeared in the forest and being in musth (in “heat”) is aggressive and might charge. There follows camera chaos as the director/cinematographer hastily follows the instruction. Choosing to keep this chaotic shot in the final cut, despite its revelation of the camera, reminds us that this is real, and it works as the viewer is also behind the camera, also scrambling over roots to get out of the way, also in danger.

Bamboo Stories will be screened at Woodstock’s Bearsville Theater on Thursday, October 3th at noon, and at Rhinebeck Upstate Films II on Saturday, October 5th at 4:30pm.

Featured Image: “After the sale, the bundles are removed from the raft.” Photographer: Shaheen Dill-Riaz © MAYALOK

For more about Shaheen Dill-Riaz and his films, go HERE:

To book tickets for Bamboo Stories from the Woodstock Film Festival:
Go HERE: 

Claire Lambe is an Irish born painter whose works have been exhibited on both sides of the Atlantic; she is a graduate of the National College of Art and Design in Dublin and holds an MFA in painting from the City University of New York. Writing credits include contributing author to Teen Life in Europe (part of the Teen Life Around The World series), and articles and reviews for this publication. Claire Lambe’s art work can be seen here: 

“A perfect movie” Orson Wells

“One of the very greatest pictures ever made: pagan, poetic, and incomparably witty. If the cinema could only live up to its standards, we should all very soon be spoiled.” Frank Nugent, NY Times

“Flagrantly unfashionable, but bursting with bucolic vigor and and sly, satirical wit.” Geoff Brown, Time Out

Originally titled La Femme du Boulanger, French filmmaker Marcel Pagnol returns once again to the Procencal countryside he knew intimately. The Baker’s Wife is an enchanting slice-of-life comedy from 1938. The peace of a Provençal village is shattered when the baker’s beautiful, and bored wife runs off with a handsome shepherd who is a distinct contrast to her middle aged husband Raimu, who sports a rather “lived in look”. In his despair, Raimu (the only baker in town) becomes heartbroken and can no longer bake. The villagers organize themselves to bring the wife back to her husband and so regain their daily bread. An amusing satire about life in a tiny town and the warmth and wit of auteur Pagnol shines through this droll and perceptive examination of relationships and their complications.

The Rosendale Theatre Collective, a 501©(3) nonprofit organization is dedicated to preserving the historic Rosendale Theatre and enhancing the cultural life and economic vitality of Rosendale and Ulster County.

“The Baker’s Wife” is made possible by the generosity of
“The Bakery” – New Paltz & “Le Canard Enchaine” -  Kingston

Asbury Shorts combines award-winning films from past years with new international festival honorees, creating a rare opportunity for audiences to see world-class short films on a real cinema screen as opposed to You Tube or smart phones. Academy Award nominated director Jason Reitman (JUNO, Up in the Air, Thank You for Smoking and Young Adult) calls Asbury Shorts: “The best short film show I’ve ever seen.” The highly entertaining evening features the best in comedy, drama and animation.

“The Drive” — Directed by Corinne Kassor

Asbury Shorts is celebrating the work of women directors in this year’s presentation. Highlights include: “The Suitor,” a dark comedy from director Kate Riedl of Australia, a surreal tale of a young courtship in the wilds of the Australian Outback. “The Drive” is the poignant story of Evie, a loving daughter who struggles with role reversals as she drives her aging parents to an assisted living facility. Corinne Kassor directed this heart warming short. Director Amy Nicholson’s documentary “Pickle” examines the complicated relationships humans have with their pets in a film of unexpected warmth and mirth.

Death Taxes and Apple Juice

Asbury Short Film Concerts have been presented at: The Museum of Fine Arts Boston, The Lake Shore Theatre in Chicago, Summer Stage in Central Park, Director’s Guild Theater in Manhattan, The AERO Theatre in Santa Monica, CA, The Osprey Art Center in Nova Scotia, Canada, Royal Festival Hall in London, U.K., The Vero Beach Museum of Art and the Leminske Theater in Berlin, Germany to name just a few of the prestigious venues where audiences have enjoyed these amazing films. This will be Asbury Shorts eighth consecutive year screening globally honored films at The Rosendale Theatre.

The Rosendale Theatre Collective is dedicated to preserving the historic Rosendale Theatre and enhancing the cultural life and economic vitality of Rosendale and Ulster County through film, the performing arts and educational programming. The Collective works together with other arts organizations to sustain diverse cultural activities and exchanges for a wide audience.

The Rosendale Theatre is located at 408 Main Street, Rosendale, New York. General admission tickets cost $12 and $10 for Rosendale Theatre members. For directions and more information please call: 845.658.8989.

Ulster County Tourism & The Rosendale Theatre are co-presenting this special international showcase of award-winning short films from the past and present. The 38th Asbury Short Film Concert is recommended for ages 16 and way way above.

Asbury Shorts presents award-winning films from past years mixed with new international festival honorees, creating a rare opportunity for audiences to see world-class short films on a real cinema screen as opposed to You Tube, smart phones or computers. Academy Award nominated director Jason Reitman (JUNO, Up in the Air, Thank You for Smoking and Young Adult) calls Asbury Shorts: “The best short film show I’ve ever seen.” The highly entertaining evening features the best in short film comedy, drama and animation.

Highlights of the June 7th showcase include: “Food City, Feast of the Five Boroughs,” the multi festival honored documentary from filmmakers Lars Fuchs and Matthew Fleischman. Matt and Lars challenge themselves to serve a 4-course meal for 8 people using only ingredients that are farmed, fished, or foraged within New York City. The film follows them as they discover the rich diversity of food the city produces.

“The Caption”

Also, “The Caption” the story of a frustrated cartoon caption writer whose submissions are constantly rejected over many years by a famous New York magazine straining his health and marriage. Nick Miller and Jonny Zwick of Los Angeles are the co-directors of this smart comedy. There wiil be 10 globally honored shorts in total in the two act program.

The Asbury Short Film Concert has been presented at: The Museum of Fine Arts Boston; Summer Stage in Central Park, NYC; The Director’s Guild Theater in Manhattan; The AERO Theatre in Santa Monica, CA; The Osprey Arts Center in Nova Scotia, Canada; Royal Festival Hall in London, U.K.; The Vero Beach Museum of Art in Florida; The Algonquin Arts Theatre in Manasquan, New Jersey and the Leminske Theater in Berlin, listing just a few of the prestigious venues where audiences have enjoyed these amazing films…including The Rosendale Theatre.

The Rosendale Theatre Collective is dedicated to preserving the historic Rosendale Theatre and enhancing the cultural life and economic vitality of Rosendale and Ulster County through film, the performing arts and educational programming. With the emphasis on supporting local and regional artists, the Collective works together with other arts organizations to sustain diverse cultural activities and exchanges for a wide audience.

The Rosendale Theatre is located at 408 Main Street, Rosendale, New York. General admission tickets cost $12 and $10 for Rosendale Theatre members. Tickets can be purchased at Brown Paper tickets: https://bpt.me/4238214. For directions and more information please call: 845.658.8989.

Featured Image is from Sac de Merde