Film Festival Opens with Unique Look at The Beatles

Bethlehem’s Southside Film Festival will celebrate its opening night with a unique perspective on The Beatles.

On their 1963 Christmas record, The Beatles thanked “Good Ol’ Freda,” their devoted secretary and friend.

The documentary Good Ol' Freda tells the story of Freda Kelly, who worked for the band from its the early days at Liverpool nightclub, The Cavern, all the way through international stardom until their eventual breakup. 

In a time before Twitter and Facebook, Freda was the connection between The Beatles and their fans, answering thousands of letters weekly and following "the lads" to the barbershop to collect fallen locks of hair to send to adoring members of the fan club.  

Freda had never told her stories until this, in one of few documentaries with the support of the living Beatles and featuring original Beatles music.

The documentary will be shown at 8 p.m. in the auditorium of Broughal Middle School. The screening will follow the traditional opening night party, which will take place from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Comfort Suites on W. Third Street.

The party will feature catered food, entertainment, a slideshow reflection of the festival’s 10 years, and a cash bar. The traditional procession from the party to Broughal will follow.

The Southside Film Festival is an annual five-day event featuring international films, guest filmmakers, juried selections, locally produced films, seminars, and networking opportunities for filmmakers and fans of independent film.

Cost for the party and film is $10. Tickets for the opening night or any of the other screenings are available at Deja Brew, 101 W. Fourth St., and Cleo’s, 21 E. Third St. An “all access pass” for all of the screenings and the opening and closing night parties is available for $65. Tickets for individual film showings are available at Deja Brew, Cleo’s and any of the screening venues.

This, the 10th festival, will have a musical theme that runs through it. Here are some of the other films that will be featured:

• Greenwich Village: Music That Defined a Generation is a feature documentary from the United States that explores the history of the folk music movement and its epicenter, Greenwich Village.

• Mama Don’t Like No Guitar Pickers ‘Round Here is a feature documentary from The Netherlands about the cast of characters who frequent a guitar store in Amsterdam. The director and one of the characters from the film are expected to attend the festival.

• A locally made short documentary by directors Steve Abruzzese and Jennifer Suwak, Pulling Teeth, looks at the work and philosophy of equestrian dentist John Baker, whose communication with horses and ability to bond with them make him unique in his field.

• A feature documentary from Germany, More Than Honey, takes an in-depth look at honeybee colonies in California, Switzerland, China and Australia.

• Men at Lunch, a feature documentary from the United States, takes a look at one of the most iconic photos of the 20th century: 11 construction workers having lunch on an I-beam 69 stories above Manhattan.

This year, the festival has also brought back the Children’s Film Series, a free four-night event that will take place at Godfrey Daniels, starting with a red carpet premiere night Wednesday at 6.

This year's Children's Film Series was selected by a panel of youth judges and their parents/guardians through a jury process not unlike the one used for the main festival.

The 2013 Children's Film Series will have 12 blocks of films from acclaimed festivals and movie publishers like the New York International Children's Film Festival and Scholastic's Weston Woods Studios.

For more information on the festival and a schedule of screenings, go to www.ssff.org.