Saratoga Book Festival gets a Hollywood twist
A September collab with 518 Film invites cinephiles to the theater for a dazzling screening and special event.
A special Saratoga Book Festival preview event is bringing Hollywood glamour to the Scene One Cinemas movie theaters at the Wilton Mall.
The peek behind the curtain invites cinephiles to hit the theater (Sept. 20, 7 p.m.) for a screening of Merchant Ivory, a documentary about the famous movie-making partnership behind legendary films such as The Remains of the Day, Maurice, Howards End and A Room with a View. A Q&A with the movie’s director, Stephen Soucy — who’s originally from Saratoga — will follow.
“Merchant Ivory is considered the comprehensive documentary about their start, and their careers,” says Spencer Sherry, who will moderate the Q&A, of Ismail Merchant and James Ivory. “[Soucy]] interviewed a ton of really big A-list actors that have worked on their films, some of which were adapted from books and plays.”
Hugh Grant, Vanessa Redgrave, Emma Thompson and Helena Bonham Carter are some of the Hollywood heavyweights who appear in the film.
The movie’s composer, Ryan Homsey, will join the Q&A to talk about the film’s composition and music. Homsey is also from Saratoga and still lives locally.
Ivory is now 97 and lives in the Hudson Valley. “He and Stephen are really good friends, so Stephen will pick him up and bring him up for the event if he if he's feeling up to it,” Sherry says. “So there's a chance.”
The evening — there’s also a VIP reception and meet-and-greet before the show — is a collab between Saratoga Book Festival (Oct. 2-5), 518 Film Network (of which Sherry is president) and Saratoga Arts (where Sherry has been Grants and Community Outreach Coordinator for the past two years).
“We'll have little cards for people to sign at the reception, and it's an opportunity to come and mingle with the filmmakers beforehand,” Sherry says. “Coming out to this event supports local filmmakers, the book festival, and Saratoga Arts.”
To purchase a ticket to the VIP reception and movie screening, visit Saratoga-arts.org.
Keep reading about the Saratoga Book Festival and other upcoming fall activities!
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