ROCKPORT — On Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. Maine Media College, 70 Camden Street in Rockport, will present a showcase of early video by Ben Levine, local documentary filmmaker. As a member of a 1970s video art collective, Levine recorded conversations in the streets of New York, teens talking about their disabilities (footage which is featured in the 2020 award-winning film “Crip Camp”), and video feedback on the topic of urban crime. A second part of the program shows samples from Central Maine’s 1970s and ’80s back-to-the-land movement, including forest homesteading and glimpses of the famous (or infamous) 4th of July parades and plays in West Athens. In the third part, Levine combines footage and stills from the experimental music group Central Maine Power Music Co., where musicians and MIT techies improvised to create stunning images from the sounds of hammered dulcimer, hand-made steel cello, flutes, and theremin performed against a backdrop of celestial images at Boston’s Hayden Planetarium.
The show “The Promise” includes footage recently digitized for viewing for the first time in over 50 years. A discussion with the filmmaker will follow the video presentation. Entrance is free. For more information, contact Levine at [email protected].
