Behind the Screens April 2024

Hello Members, Supporters, and Moviegoers,

For anyone who was lucky enough to be at the Triplex last Monday, they were there for a memorable night. Boondocks Film Society, known for putting on critically acclaimed, but challenging films that have film-inspired menus and craft cocktails, partnered with the Triplex to have one helluva party. It was the first event of this kind in our newly renovated lobby, and it was awesome!

Inspired by the film Chunking Express , the excitement in the packed lobby was palpable. With folks sitting on the stairs or spread out throughout the lobby while live music was played on the mezzanine floor, it was clear everyone there was having a blast. Don’t miss Boondocks the next time they come to the Triplex; you won’t regret it!

Speaking of parties, the Triplex Cinema is proud to announce its first collaboration and fundraising event with Great Barrington Public Theater (GBPT) on April 11, with a special screening of Freud’s Last Session starring Sir Anthony Hopkins.

The screenwriter Mark St. Germain, who also wrote the play, which premiered in 2009 at Barrington Stage Company, will be giving a talkback after the film with GBPT’s Artistic Director Jim Frangione. The film tells the story of a fictional meeting between Sigmund Freud and C.S. Lewis, who debate the existence of God, among other things.

This special event includes the film, the talkback, delicious food, and drink. The celebration will take place in the Triplex lobby. Tickets can be purchased for this fundraiser via the Triplex website. We hope you will join us for what promises to be a fun evening and an interesting talkback after the film.

The weekend of April 20 and 21 will be a double bonanza weekend. On Saturday, David Rasche will be at the Triplex to do a talkback after the showing of In the Loop . Written and directed by Amando Iannucci (Veep) in 2009, Rasche says, “It’s part political satire, part slapstick, part social commentary, part hijinks . . . there isn’t another film quite like it.”

Rasche recently won the SAG Award as part of the best acting ensemble for the HBO series Succession. Rasche is also well-known for his portrayal of the title character in the 1980’s satirical police sitcom Sledge Hammer. We’re so glad that David will be here to help us kick off the first of several political films during this campaign season.

This April, we are particularly excited to present our Berkshire at the Counterculture series. We will be showing little seen films that were specifically shot in the Berkshires; The Children, End of the Road and a series of short films made by some of our wonderful local filmmakers Sam Handel, Ted Marcus, Ben Hillman, as well as others .

Perhaps our biggest event in this series will be on April 27 when we will be showing Alice’s Restaurant followed by a talkback in person with Arlo Guthrie and Matt Penn , the son of Arthur Penn, the director of the film. Matt, himself, has many directing and producing credits, most notably, Law and Order. Alice’s Restaurant is a film adaptation of Arlo Guthrie’s well-known and beloved song “Alice’s Restaurant Massacre,” which was inspired by Guthrie’s 1965 arrest in Stockbridge on a charge of illegally dumping garbage on a private property.

Triplex Outreach Program was pleased to bring civil rights activist Keith Beauchamp back to the Berkshires at the end of March to speak to Pittsfield and Taconic High School sophomores and to the Pittsfield Community after a screening of the film Till . The talkback was so successful that although the event was supposed to end at 9pm, the community conversation continued to 10:45pm. Thank you Yvette “Jamuna” Sirker for partnering with us to make this possible. Mr. Beauchamp also spoke at the Triplex back in January on MLK Day.