PROGRAMMING & EVENTS

Expect hair-raising tales, a few laughs and behind-the-scenes insight into how all this unfolded – and continues to evolve, albeit under new approaches and an ever-shifting media landscape.

Craven will also take audience questions – and promises complete transparency.

For five decades Jay Craven has written, produced, and directed character-driven films

deeply rooted in Vermont and New England, including five films based on the works of

award-winning Northeast Kingdom writer, Howard Frank Mosher. His latest film, Lost

Nation, digs into the parallel stories of Ethan Allen and the pioneering Black Guilford

poet Lucy Terry Prince.

Craven’s work grew out of years of working as a teacher and arts activist whose mission

has been the advancement of community and culture in the region. In 1975, he founded

Catamount Arts in St. Johnsbury, which he ran for 16 years, presenting film screenings

and performing arts events in small towns. In 1986, he co-founded Circus Smirkus, with

Rob Mermin and, during the 1980's, he worked with visionary artist and teacher, Don

Sunseri, as a producer for the Grass Roots Art and Community Effort (G.R.A.C.E.) for

outsider artists.

In 1991, Craven founded Kingdom County Productions with Bess O'Brien, to make

place-based narrative and documentary films - and advance experiential learning. Jay

has also taught, at The Peacham School (1975-79), St. Johnsbury Academy (1991 and

2002), Marlboro College (1998-2018), Sarah Lawrence College (2017-2022).

Jay's films include five based on stories by Northeast Kingdom writer Howard Frank

Mosher. They include High Water, with Greg Germann, Jane MacFie, Dennis Mientka;

Where the Rivers Flow North, with Rip Torn, Tantoo Cardinal, Michael J. Fox; A

Stranger in the Kingdom, with Ernie Hudson, David Lansbury, Martin Sheen);

Disappearances, with Kris Kristofferson, Genevieve Bujold, Gary Farmer; and Northern

Borders , with Bruce Dern, Genevieve Bujold and Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick.

Other narrative films include The Year That Trembled, with Marin Hinkle,

Jonathan Brandis, Fred Willard); In Jest, with Bill Raymond, Rusty DeWees; Peter and

John with Jacqueline Bissett, Christian Coulson, Gordon Clapp; Wetware with Cameron

Scoggins, Morgan Wolk; Jack London's Martin Eden, with Andrew Richardson, Hayley

Griffith, Annet Mahendru; Lost Nation, with Ryan and Eva Ndachi and George Bernard

Shaw's Major Barbara, is now in post-production.

 He's planning a 2026 production that will be based on two stories - Henrik Ibsen's play, An Enemy of the People, and Dashiell Hammett's noir novel, Red Harvest. Craven also made the regional Emmy-winningcomedy series for public television, Windy Acres, and seven documentaries.

Craven's films have played festivals and special screenings including Sundance, South By Southwest, The American Film Institute, Lincoln Center, Cinematheque Francaise, the Constitutional Court of Johannesburg and Cinemateca Nacional de Venezuela. Awards include the Vermont Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts, the Producer's Guild of America's NOVA Award, and the National Endowment for the Arts American Masterpieces initiative. His film Where the Rivers Flow North was a named finalist for Critics Week at the Cannes Film Festival.

This Vermont Humanities event is hosted by the Friends of the Union Meeting Hall at the Ferrisburgh Town Hall is located at 3279 Route 7 in Ferrisburgh, Vermont. ADA access is currently limited due to on-going elevator maintenance. Concessions are availble for purchase. Questions? Email unionmeetinghall@gmail.com.