Centre Film Festival Unveils Lineup for 8th Annual Event

The Centre Film Festival will return Nov. 2-8 with films from around the world, Pennsylvania-made productions, special guests and screenings in State College and Philipsburg.

Organizers announced the lineup for the eighth annual festival at a press conference Tuesday at 3 Dots Downtown in State College. Selected from more than 750 submissions, this year’s films include documentaries, features, shorts and virtual reality experiences.

State College Mayor Ezra Nanes attended the announcement and presented a proclamation recognizing Nov. 2-8 as Centre Film Festival Week.

“As mayor, I love that we have this festival,” Nanes said. “It shows the best of what we have in this community, across the region, across the state, and really, we’re bringing people from all over the world, filmmakers, artists, talent, producers of every kind here to show their works.”

The proclamation recognized the festival’s contributions to local businesses, tourism and the arts, as well as its educational programs and partnership with Penn State for the Center for the Study of European Creative Economy Through Cinema, which received a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence designation from the European Commission.

Founded in 2019 by artistic director Pearl Gluck and the late Curt Chandler, a Penn State journalism professor, the festival has featured more than 500 films from over 30 countries.

Screenings will take place at the State Theatre in State College, the Rowland Theatre in Philipsburg, UEC Theatres and several Penn State and community locations.

3 Dots Downtown

3 Dots Downtown will serve as a gathering place for filmmakers and festivalgoers throughout the week.

“Storytelling, community and film arts are a great fit for this space,” said Jean Roman, a director at 3 Dots Downtown. “I think we can expect conversation, relaxation, the sharing of ideas and food, some special events and a party or two.”

The venue will host morning coffee, meet-and-greets and short-film screenings Monday through Friday. Other events include a “Spotlight on Puerto Rico” gathering Tuesday, a filmmaker lounge Thursday and a Jamaican-themed party scheduled from 8 to 10 p.m.

Roman also thanked the Borough of State College for a grant that helped make the partnership possible.

Festival lineup

The festival opens Monday, Nov. 2, at the State Theatre with La Bola Negra, a film about three generations of men whose lives are connected through love, desire and loss.

One of this year’s featured programs is “America 250: Spotlight on Puerto Rico,” presented with Happy Valley Latin Fest. The program will include films, live music, food and events celebrating Puerto Rican culture.

Michelle Malley Campos’ Extranjera will screen Tuesday, Nov. 3, at the State Theatre. The film follows a Puerto Rican woman whose trip to Taiwan forces her to confront her past. Malley Campos and actress Aris Mejías are expected to attend.

The program also includes William D. Caballero’s animated family story TheyDream and short films from the Cortadito Film Lab of the Puerto Rico European Film Festival.

Other selections include Tipping Point PA, which examines Pennsylvania politics ahead of Election Day, and Uniontown, a documentary about delivery workers organizing in New York City.

Hollywood Does Abortion, directed by Pennsylvania filmmakers Barbara Attie, Janet Goldwater and Mike Attie, will screen Thursday, Nov. 5, at Foster Auditorium. The documentary examines how abortion has been portrayed in movies and television over time.

The festival’s “Made in PA” program will feature Penn State alumnus Mo Marie Almo’s documentary Life, After Life, which follows Irvin Moore as he works toward a college degree after serving 52 years of a life sentence.

Filmmaker Tony Buba will return with Becoming Benjamin Lay, a documentary about actor Mark Povinelli’s portrayal of the abolitionist on stage. Other selections include Mark H. Rappaport’s Godhead and Penn State professor Boaz Dvir’s To Kill a Nazi.

The Rowland Theatre will screen JIMMY on Friday, Nov. 6, as part of a program honoring veterans. The film explores actor Jimmy Stewart’s military service during World War II, with filmmaker Luke Charles Fisher expected to participate in a discussion afterward.

On Saturday, Nov. 7, the theater will show I Play Rocky, which follows Sylvester Stallone’s efforts to write and star in the original Rocky.

International selections include Vértices from El Salvador and One Woman One Bra from Kenya, both selected by their respective countries for Academy Award consideration.

Other films will explore Indigenous heritage and life in the Middle East, including 13 in Gaza, Tell Me Everything and Escaping the Taliban.

Additional programming

The Palmer Museum of Art will host a free virtual reality and immersive-film experience Thursday, Nov. 5, from 1 to 7 p.m.

The program includes 17 works from filmmakers around the world, including Honey Fungus, The Dollhouse and The B Cells: A Chemotherapy Poem. Headsets will be provided.

Tempest Studios will host the festival’s First-Act Script Lab on Wednesday, Nov. 4, where local actors will read developing screenplays. The venue will also host family-friendly film screenings Saturday, Nov. 7.

Opportunities for filmmakers and students

Centre County film commissioner Pablo Lopez said the festival provides opportunities for filmmakers to connect with local resources and industry professionals.

An industry brunch scheduled for Nov. 7 will introduce filmmakers to resources available for productions in Centre County. Lopez said a feature film currently being shot in the area connected with the Film Commission through a previous festival brunch.

“It was a way for them to connect with the resources that we have here and the local people that can make their production a little easier to actualize,” Lopez said.

Gluck also discussed opportunities for high school and Penn State students to serve on juries, work at festival events and meet experienced filmmakers.

“I always tell them to think selfishly when you do sign up to do something like this and make sure that it feeds where you want to go, your portfolios, and ways in which you want to engage,” Gluck said.

“You should use this as a platform for your own growth,” she added.

Gluck also discussed the possibility of the festival eventually becoming Academy-qualifying, which would allow winners of eligible festival awards to qualify for Academy Award consideration.

Closing night and tickets

The festival will conclude Sunday, Nov. 8, at the Rowland Theatre in Philipsburg, where artist and arts activist Nashormeh Lindo and her husband, actor Delroy Lindo, will receive separate honors.

Nashormeh Lindo, a painter, arts activist and returning student, will receive the Chandler Living Legacy Award, named for Curt and Stacie Chandler. The award recognizes contributions to film, television and media arts.

Delroy Lindo will receive the festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his career in film and television.

The festival will also offer online screenings through its Watch Anytime program during the week following the in-person event.

Individual tickets go on sale Wednesday, Oct. 21. The full lineup, screening schedule and festival passes are available at CentreFilm.org.