Thursday November 8, marks the beginning of the 2nd Annual Polish Film Festival at the Market Arcade Film and Arts Center in Downtown Buffalo. Inspired by the feedback from a well-attended screening of “Nikifor” by Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Krauze, the festival was conceived to fill a need that the buzz from the film seemed to call for. Dr. Margaret Stefanski in the Canisius College, Department of Modern Languages Office, explains that she saw that a film festival could “fill a cultural gap that existed for those who were seeking intellectual entertainment in connections with Polish culture.” Comprised of seven films…
Author: Joseph DiDomizio
Question of the Week: What do you call yourself if you are interested in more than the average beer, yet are averse to the negative connotations implied by the term “connoisseur”? I have two suggestions: Adventurous Beer Enthusiast (A.K.A. Ol’ ABE), and Beerie (if you don’t get it, you don’t read Yum! often enough). Anyone have any better ideas? Article of the Week: Halloween is coming! Therefore, we must drink beers associated with it. It’s not very hard to do; brewers, as a group, seem to take great pleasure in naming their creations after mythological beasts, demons, and ghosts (although…
10 years ago, the Manhattan Short Film Festival began with 14 films projected on the side of a truck parked in Manhattan. Growing every year, and moving to their current location in Union Square Park in New York City, Manhattan Short introduced “You Be the Judge!” audience voting in 2004. Each one of the 99 venues screening the films, allows audiences to cast their vote and choose their favorite film. This year’s twelve films chosen as finalists, out of 456 submitted entries from 32 countries, will screen this week. “We expect 50,000 people to come together this year to view…
Buffalo is a city built by immigrants. An important building block in gathering the industrial work force for Buffalo was the “Great Migration” of African Americans, starting around 1900. This Great Migration moved millions of African Americans from the rural South to Northern cities, including Buffalo. The move was predominantly fueled by the creation of industrial jobs in the North. Today, Buffalo is filled with the stories of African Americans and their descendants who came to a place of opportunity and continue to make a difference. Our friend LaDine Davis is just one example. Her dad, Boyce Allen, was born…
19 teams entered Squeaky Wheel on Friday, August 10, to receive a genre, character name, prop and line of dialog they were to use in their film for the 48 Hour Film Project. As the local producer of the project, Eric Ayotte checked registrations and explained the rules. Everyone in the room was awake, clear-eyed and anxious. 48 hours later, as teams trickled in to Squeaky Wheel again, the scene was quite different: teams were tired, and rushed when they arrived, completed DVD in hand, after completing Buffalo’s inaugural weekend of the project. Now that everyone has had some rest,…
“It’s almost like a crash course. Whether you’re a novice or a professional, you probably haven’t done anything like this, going from Point A to Point B in such a short period of time,” according to Eric Ayotte, local producer of the 48 Hour Film Festival. The festival, which makes its first ever stop in Buffalo this weekend (August 10th through the 12th), consists of teams racing to make the city’s best film in 48 hours. Back in late spring, Ayotte was uncertain how many people were going to sign up; this being the first year for the program in…
Wow Buffalo. It’s not very often we get two amazing concerts on the same night. In fact, I can’t even remember the last time I had to make a decision this tough. Lucky for us, its a win/win situation because when Chromeo visits The Patio at the Calumet on the same night Micheal Franti (photo) & Spearhead visit the Town Ballroom, there is no wrong chioce. TGIF indeed. Chromeo harks back to a time when glamor was god, and embellishment was king. It commands imagery of Miami night life in the 80’s. White suits, neon pink dress shirts, driving 100…
This Independence Day marks the Seventh Annual Cobblestone Criterium Classic bike race! Each July 4th, cyclists come from all over our region, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Canada to participate. This year, they’ll be competing for more than $2,000 in cash and prizes. “In European races, there’s always a cobblestone segment,” said Jim Costello, owner of Handlebars Cycling Company, which sponsors the event. Seven years ago, he recognized something unique in the Cobblestone District. “We wanted to put out a bike race utilizing two of the cobblestone streets in the district,” he said. Considering the fact that most local cycling events start…
This Independence Day marks the Seventh Annual Cobblestone Criterium Classic bike race! Each July 4th, cyclists come from all over our region, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Canada to participate. This year, they’ll be competing for more than $2,000 in cash and prizes. “In European races, there’s always a cobblestone segment,” said Jim Costello, owner of Handlebars Cycling Company, which sponsors the event. Seven years ago, he recognized something unique in the Cobblestone District. “We wanted to put out a bike race utilizing two of the cobblestone streets in the district,” he said. Considering the fact that most local cycling events start…
Big things are happening over at Sunday Skate Shop: tonight, the Sunday crew is inviting everyone to the Town Ballroom for a free screening of their new DVD, Vice Versa. Bill Bottreill filmed and edited Vice Versa, often hopping on his skateboard with his camera to shoot alongside or in front of the action. Jim Cielencki, co-owner of the shop, said the goal of the film was to represent Buffalo’s unique skateboarding culture. “There’s something original here, we’re doing it our own way. We’re not trying to be someone else,” Jim said, noting that Buffalo skateboarders must be creative and…