March 18, 2002

Film by North Adams Native at MASS MoCA Thursday, April 18

(North Adams, Mass.) Straight from its New York premier, Besotted will play at MASS MoCA on Thursday, April 18, at 8 P.M. Writer/director and North Adams native Holly Angell Hardman appears as a sorceress who uses her enchanting gifts to help lost souls in a charming Cape Cod fishing community put together their broken dreams. Film critic Steve Puchalski calls it, "a bedazzling mix of romance, heartbreak, and magic." According to CinewomenNY's Dianne Barnes, "Besotted takes traditional narrative form, shatters it, then reassembles the parts in a thought-provoking, and very entertaining whole. Besotted is truly courageous filmmaking!"

Set against a postcard New England backdrop - the film was shot on Cape Cod in Chatham, Orleans, and Eastham, Massachusetts - the beauty of the film belies the harsher realities of the unloved and their unfulfilled desires. The film stars Jim Chiros (The Proposition) as the charming town drunk who pursues his lost love played by Susan Gibney (The Great White Hype, Star Trek: The Next Generation), a hard-as-nails fisherwoman. She, in turn, pursues her summer handyman, a handsome young college student played by Liam Waite (Ghosts of Mars, Simpatico). The film also stars Amy Wright of The Accidental Tourist and Gary Ray of Desperately Seeking Susan. Besotted sold out both screenings at its 2001 premier at the Provincetown International Film Festival.

Tickets for Besotted are $5. MASS MoCA members receive a 10% discount. Tickets are available through the MASS MoCA Box Office at 1040 MASS MoCA Way in North Adams from 11 A.M. until 5 P.M. Wednesday through Monday. Tickets can also be charged by phone by calling 413.662.2111 during Box Office hours or purchased on line at www.massmoca.org.

MASS MoCA, the largest center for contemporary visual and performing arts in the United States, is located on a 13- acre campus of renovated 19th-century factory buildings. MASS MoCA focuses on the work of visual and performing artists charting new territory.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Katherine Myers
(413) 664-4481 x8113
katherine@massmoca.org