Artist Spotlight

from Worcester Magazine April 1 - 7, 2021

by Worcester Magazine

Featured

Festivals

Continued from Page 13D

— $350,” she said.

Will people pay? Will they like the platform?

“My audience tends to be 40 on up. I don’t know if younger people will access the films,” Greenberg said.

For anyone who is technically challenged, “I’m preparing to be the helper person.”

A big plus in favor of online screenings is that they open up more possibilities for a live talk or Q&A because the participants don’t physically have to be in Worcester or Marblehead.

“I would occasionally have a speaker. Sometimes we’d do a discussion after a film,” Greenberg said of the in-person festivals.

“In this case because of the virtual, the distributor realized that (having participants) was advantageous. It’s sort of an equalizer being virtual. We’re able to do what the San Francisco (Jewish) Film Festival is doing also,” Greenberg said.

Still, she will be keeping a close eye on the Worcester JCC’s first online cultural event since the pandemic where people have had to pay for a ticket.

As for what the festival might look like next year, “I’m in the process of writing grants for funds, looking at what 202122 will look like. I guess it will be a hybrid of some things. It’s hard to know. In some ways I would love for the old normal. There is a sense of community. People chat before the film. People run into people they haven’t seen in a while. Zoom created connections when you can see other people. I would hope that maybe we could do a combination of both,” Greenberg said.

“There is nothing quite like viewing a film together, seeing something on a big screen as opposed to whatever device you’re watching. That’s the loss part of it. The gain part of it is these 13 films we’re able to show, and (people can) be anywhere. I think it’s going to be hybrid at least for the coming year, and dictated by whatever we’re able to do.”

Kari Simonson appears in “The Crossing.” PROMOTIONAL IMAGE