As I sit here in my shirtsleeves, typing away near a slightly open window, I really must insist that readers of this column remember this minor detail: it is February. This is the time when we’re all supposed to be calling all the hardware stores, asking about roof rakes and ice dams; or buying one of those weird ergonomic shovels because all the normal ones are sold out, bought by normal people who think ahead.
I mention it not because I miss the snow, but because you might get caught off guard soon when, on some high-50s day, your afternoon stroll or outdoor tennis match is interrupted by a swarm of school- age kids. You might think that they should be in class, but no: those kids running by in their shorts and T-shirts are enjoying their Winter Break. And every year, area theaters bring in some interesting programs to give all those roving packs of youth something to do and somewhere warm to do it. This year, despite our winter’s balmy beginnings, is no exception. Perhaps we’ll finally get a cold snap while this column waits to go to press — or perhaps our theaters will be cranking up the AC. Either way, these mostly kid-friendly films are worth a look this winter vacation.
At the Academy of Music in Northampton, I Am Big Bird offers an incredibly rare chance to come face-to-face with an icon. Caroll Spinney was the man in the yellow feathers (and also the man behind Oscar the Grouch) for decades on Sesame Street, and on Friday at 7 p.m. he will be on hand with his wife Debra — and a “very special guest” yet to be named — to take part in a Q&A session about his life and career. Now 81, but still an enthusiastic performer — his handpicked successor has been an understudy for nearly two decades — Spinney’s life has taken him from being the target of childhood bullies to a man who has inspired billions. To tell his story, I Am Big Bird weaves past and present together, using interviews with Jim Henson, Frank Oz, and others to illuminate Big Bird’s place in the world today.
Also at the Academy this week is The Son of The Sheik, with a live score performed by The Alloy Orchestra. Screening at 2 p.m. on Sunday the 14th — you can spend Valentine’s Day with Rudolph Valentino — this classic silent picture featured the “silver screen’s greatest lover” in a story of passion, betrayal, and redemption. When Valentino died unexpectedly just as the film was reaching screens, it cemented his place among the Hollywood pantheon. The musically curious are also welcome to stick around after the show to sit in on a master class the orchestra is putting on for Five College film and music students. There they will re-screen excerpts from the film while they discuss their music-making process.
To top it all off, the Academy is also hosting KidsBestFest — YouthFilm 2016 this week. Running from Monday through Friday, the free series — donations are welcome — is a dedicated-to-kid’s-film film festival that each year brings in a mix of lesser-known films that haven’t had wide distribution and a selection of kid’s movies from abroad. On Friday, the festival will feature short films written, directed, and starring local kids. But in the lead up to the local shorts, movies that will be screened this year are the animated Disney classic Alice in Wonderland; Labyrinth; 5@5 Doodlin’, an international collection of over a dozen short films; and Shana, The Wolf’s Music, about a Canadian First Nations girl who, with the help of a wild wolf she meets on a spiritual journey, discovers her remarkable ability to play the violin. Filmed with a cast of first time performers, the film is both magical and grounded, with a message worth a look, even if you’re not trying to get in out of the cold.•
Jack Brown can be reached at cinemadope@gmail.com.
