Black Bear Film Festival begins Oct. 9

The Pike County Historical Society and Museum is kicking off Black Bear Film Festival with an opening reception on Friday, Oct. 9 at the Columns hosted by Milford Mayor Candace Mahala.

The event will feature screenings of two silent films shot in Milford in 1912 and starring Mary Pickford: “The Informer” and “A Feud in the Kentucky Hills.” Both films feature a new musical soundtrack by Jane Mangini, who also plays organ at the historical society’s traditional Smoky Joe softball games.

The festival continues on Saturday, Oct. 10 in the museum’s Sgt. Milton W. Bailey Foundation Room with a viewing of the historical short film, “Warriors Beyond The Battlefield: African Americans in the Armed Forces,” a documentary highlighting the untold stories from multiple generations of brave African American soldiers who have served in the United States military since the Civil War. A more fitting place to host this film cannot be found, as the Museum features an exhibit dedicated to two members of the Buffalo Soldiers, Sgt. Milton Bailey, who lost his life in Korea, and his great grandfather Abraham Davis, who served for the U.S. Colored Troops in the Civil War. Four generations of the Davis-Bailey Family called Milford home and the museum is proud to highlight their extraordinary lives and times through exhibits and programs. This film will be shown at 1:30 p.m. There will be a Q&A session following the film.

The Columns will also show some of the best, worst science fiction films from the 1950s starting with “Attack of the Giant Leeches” at noon and ending with “The Wasp Woman” at 2:30 p.m. Intros will be offered by Milford’s Science Fiction Agent Extraordinaire Christine Cohen of the Virginia Kidd Agency and Arrowhead SF Foundation.

A suggested donation of $10 per person is asked of attendees. Concessions, including popcorn and Coney Island Dogs, are available for purchase on Saturday.