The Arlington International Film Festival will Kick-Off this year with the film JFK: THE LAST SPEECH. by Bestor Cram
October 25, 7 pm
Arlington Town Hall | 730 Mass Ave | Arlington
BOSTON’s Public PREMIERE of
JFK: The Last Speech
by filmmaker Bestor Cram
The Arlington International Film Festival (AIFF) kicks off its 9th year with the special screening of JFK: The Last Speech by award-winning filmmaker Bestor Cram. It is especially fitting to celebrate the man that initiated the space program as we celebrate the 50-year anniversary of Apollo 11’s lunar landing.
The moon has influenced religion, science, and daily life well into the modern age. Observation of the moon and its cycles has bridged science and the arts and is celebrated in poetry, storytelling, architecture, gardens, and music. As a part of the Kick-Off, AIFF will recognize the art of music with the performance of pianist Joe Hardwick, the art of poetry with a reading by Arlington’s Poet Laureate, Steven Ratiner, and storytelling through the amazing art of filmmaking by Bestor Cram.
JFK: The Last Speech is an exploration of the dramatic relationship between two seminal Americans – president John F. Kennedy and the poet Robert Frost – which reached its tragic climax in a surprising encounter with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev at the height of the Cold War. Born out of these events is Kennedy’s remarkable speech in October ’63 about poetry and power, which alters the life course of a group of Amherst College classmates who witness this compelling address and continue to exemplify in their contemporary lives a portrait of the challenges facing America.
About the Filmmaker
Bestor Cram has over thirty-five years of experience as a director, producer, and cinematographer. In 1982, he founded Northern Light Productions, where he is the Creative Director. Bestor has built Northern Light into one of the premier documentary production companies in New England, dedicating himself to films that strive to achieve a greater truth. His cinematography credits include the 1995 Documentary Academy Award winner, Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision and the acclaimed feature documentaries, After Innocence, and Wrestling with Angels: Playwright Tony Kushner; the Emmy-nominated Discovery Channel special, Mysteries of the Sea: Freak Waves; the HBO special, Mumia Abu-Jamal: A Case For Reasonable Doubt?; the PBS/BBC series, China in the Red; and the PBS American Experience on Eleanor Roosevelt. Bestor’s Unfinished Symphony premiered at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. Bestor has written, directed, produced, shot and executive produced over 30 films, including Scarred Justice: The Orangeburg Massacre; Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison; Circus Without Borders; Beyond the Wall; and ANITA: Speak Truth to Power.
There will be a conversation with the filmmaker following the screening
Awards: New Jersey Film Festival - New Brunswick, New Jersey - United States - October 5, 2018
Grand Prize - Best Documentary
“The other ending has to be with Robert Frost, whom JFK was eulogizing at Amherst: “We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth,” said the President. I love to believe that cinema is part of understanding what the truth is. The act of going to the cinema is part of our own search for truth. It is also an affirmation of friendship, for we are able to see life in a movie and share that with those we hold dear. For many of us, it is Frost who was able to underscore our humanity simply and eloquently as an extension of who we are to one another.”
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