The Hanji Box

My Mother’s Early Lovers

Rooted: Cultivating Community in the Vermont Grange

The Grange, or Order of the Patrons of Husbandry, was the heart of rural community life in America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In one-on-one interviews and at social gatherings, members of the Middle Branch and Riverside Granges—both active in Vermont—reminisce about growing up in the Grange “family” and the challenge of preserving community in a world too busy to connect.

Circus Dreams

A year in the life of Circus Smirkus, one of the world's only traveling youth circuses. Immerses viewers into the lives of the 12-to-18-year-old performers, capturing their intense work ethic, passion for performance, deep friendships and budding loves. With a heartwarming story and compelling characters, Circus Dreams is an inspiring testament to the power of youth

Champlain College Student Showcase

A selection of current work from students in the television and film programs at Champlain College. 2 annual showcases will offer a look at contemporary subjects and offer a peek inside the mind of students in Vermont and their learning process.

Sunlight Man

This feature documentary is an intimate and personal biography of novelist John Gardner, author of Grendel, The Sunlight Dialogues, October Light and other works. The film was directed and produced by his son, Joel Gardner.

Freedom + Unity TV Festival Award Winners - Schools

Freedom + Unity TV (2018 Middle and High School), an annual film contest and festival for teens and young adults, bring thoughts and ideas of Vermont’s youth to the forefront. We present in two, 1-hour programs, winning films from the festival. Films selected from categories such as Vermont history, arts & culture and contemporary issues.

Freedom + Unity TV Festival Award Winners - Young Adults

Freedom + Unity TV (2018 Young Adults) , an annual film contest and festival for teens and young adults, bring thoughts and ideas of Vermont’s youth to the forefront. We present in two, 1-hour programs, winning films from the festival. Films selected from categories such as Vermont history, arts & culture and contemporary issues.

Liz

Homeless at 13, Liz lived a tragic life of despair, raging behavior and a brutal fight to survive on the streets. Filmed over four years, we follow Liz as she reclaims her life from desperation, to a place of love, forgiveness and hope. Her dreams manifest as she becomes a favorite for competing in the 2012 Olympic sport of boxing.

Best Day Ever: Forest Kindergartens In Vermont

This short film takes you outside, into the forest classrooms of two Vermont Upper Valley schools: Marion Cross (Norwich, VT) and Hartland Elementary (Hartland, VT) where students are rediscovering joy and wonder through the experience of playing in nature.

Black Canaries

Isolated, desperate, and haunted by his coal-stained birthright, Father continues his daily descent into the accursed Maple mine— even after it has crippled his ancestors and blinded his youngest son. Set in 1907 and based on director Jesse Kreitzer’s own coal mining heritage, Black Canaries is a powerful meditation on patrimony, loyalty, and love.

Land And Legacy Of An Art Colony

A story about the people who gathered in New Hampshire and Vermont around the Gilded Age sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens to form the Cornish Colony. Although many of their names are unfamiliar today, among the Colonists were America’s first conservationists, landscape architects, and musicians whose legacy includes the Appalachian Trail, the National Park System, and public gardens.

A Place In The Land

A Place in the Land is the story of George Perkins Marsh, Frederick Billings, and Laurance S. Rockefeller, three seminal figures in the history of the conservation movement in America. Their legacy and land inspired the creation of the Billings Farm & Museum and the adjoining Marsh Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park. A Place in the Land received an Academy Award® nomination.

Talking To The Wall: The Story Of An American Bargain

Talking to the Wall follows two New England towns over a period of seven years that make opposite decisions on whether to allow to build. Made by award winning filmmaker Steve Alves, who participated in his town’s battle against the world's largest retailer, this multi-award winning theatrically released film informs citizens about a side of the bargain not shown in advertising campaigns.

Food For Change

Current resurgence of food cooperatives in America and their unique historic place.The current resurgence of food cooperatives in America and their unique historic place in the economic and political landscape. Born in the heartland, cooperatives are seen as the middle path between Wall Street and Socialism. The film profiles several food co-ops that have revived neighborhoods and communities.

Resilience: At-Risk Youth In Vermont

A collaboration with the VT Coalition of Runaway and Homeless Youth Programs to highlight the experiences of at-risk youth in Vermont. profiling young people that are faced with challenges in their lives. These “coming of age” stories are set against diverse backdrops—a farm in Addison County, a residential living apartment in Bellows Falls, a summer outdoor adventure camp in north central Vermon

Stories On The Road To Proficiency

The current state of transformation unfolding in Vermont public schools. This film highlights the successes and struggles of students and educators at three Vermont high schools that are making the shift to proficiency-based learning: BFA St. Albans, Champlain Valley Union High School, Harwood Union High School, and Peoples Academy.

Artists’ Medium

The VT Folklife Center collaborated with Edgewater Gallery in Middlebury, VT to showcase four regional artists, bringing viewers into “a day in the life” of each artist. Travel to the Adirondacks with TJ Cunningham for a day of plain air painting, explore the hills of Addison County with landscape painter Anne Cady, wander through quarries with sculptor, David Wade, and visit painter Rory Jackson.

The Ill-Made Knight

The Ill-Made Knight is a story about a 3rd grader named Ella, whose world is turned upside-down when a logging company buys the land behind her parent's home. When her family threatens to move, Ella decides to take matters in to her own hands. She enlists the help of Merlyn, a fictional character from her book, to wage war against the logger (played by Rusty DeWees).

Mad Music

When Ian Sweet moved to the Mad River Valley in Vermont in 2002, he soon discovered that music plays a vital role within the whole community. Since he always wanted to make a music documentary, the music and musicians in the Valley give him that opportunity. Why is the Mad River Valley full of musicians and host to such a diverse cross section of music?

Together In Time: A Story Of New England Contra Music

Using a wealth of rare archival films, animation, and traditional New England fiddle music, Together in Time tells a 250-year history of an enduring form of community music and dance.

Preview: Negotiating with Nature

A film about our relationship with the natural world. With a widening disconnect with nature shaping our lives and in a high tech world that is constantly changing, the garden still has an important role in a sustainable future. Broadcast only, ends June 2019.

Wind: A Struggle for the Character of Vermont

A rapid transition to clean energy is imperative for the future of our climate. But how to make that transition in a way that respects ecosystems, communities, and local democracy? In this documentary, Vermont filmmaker Mark Cline Lucey explores this important question through Vermont's turbulent experience with ridgeline wind energy.

Lake Effect

Amidst the rising threat of cyanobacteria (commonly known as blue-green algae) in our water bodies which has dominated local news coverage, Vermont filmmakers, father and daughter Jim and Jackie Heltz set out to investigate the possible link between exposure to neurotoxins found in cyanobacteria and the onset of sporadic cases of the terminal disease, ALS.

Of Stone, Wood, And Glass: Alnoba

Environmental sustainability meets structural sustainability in a remarkable NH building.Environmental sustainability meets structural sustainability in this film of a remarkable building project in New Hampshire. Born from the vision of citizen entrepreneurs Alan and Harriet Lewis, the Alnoba building embodies a spirit of learning, heritage, innovation and community.

A Living Memorial - The NH State Veterans Cemetery

The New Hampshire State Veterans Cemetery is a hidden treasure in the town of Boscawen. Its pristine grounds and serene setting make it a place of great pride for NH veterans and their families. The story of the cemetery is told through poignant interviews of the creators, the builders, the managers and most particularly, through the personal experience of one Gold Star family.

The Longest Game

Meet Hal, 87; Charlie, 87 and Maurie, 87. Three of a group of friends who gather every day at one p.m. in the village of Dorset, Vermont to play a game called "paddle tennis". They have been playing together for years. The Longest Game explores the joys of friendship and inevitability of change. Our time on the earth is fleeting, how do we make the best of it?

Frog Hollow Green Mountain Artisans - 2 Potters

Jeremy Ayers (Waterbury) and Jennifer Ranz (Greensboro) are potters tied to structures related to their family histories. These structures, in turn tie them to their communities in unique and different ways, allowing them the freedom to create their distinctive ceramic works.

Frog Hollow Green Mountain Artisans - Georgia and Robin

Georgia Landau (Barre) and Robin Kent (Brandon) are two artists, each with a unique approach and perspective to their given mediums. Working in clay and wood respectively they use the human form as a departure point to develop a visual narrative that employs humor in documenting our everyday tasks..

Québec: The Invisible Nation

Exploring how the Algonquin people once lived in harmony with the vast territory they occupied, and how the balance was upset when the Europeans arrived in the 16th century.

Québec: Museum in the City

We visit the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts. This exploration takes us behind the scenes at the institution and looks back over its 150-year history.

Québec: Where I'm From

An intimate chronicle that unfolds in the working-class neighborhood of Verdun

Québec - The Lumberfros

Working as brush cutters, 21st-century lumberjacks discover Québec's boreal forest.