Innocence recalled at Black Bear Fest
By Anya Tikka
MILFORD — Visitors wandered among silent auction items, browsed for souvenirs, ate and drank and had a good time under the sky tent at Milford's Black Bear Film Festival, now in its 16th year.
In late afternoon on Saturday, as part of a busy schedule, the documentary “9/10: The Final Hours“ was screened to full audience. The producer, Amy Briamonte, and sommelier George Delgado, comments frequently throughout the film, were there to answer many questions from a fascinated audience, many of whom traveled far to attend the festival. The bar served "la Rumba" cocktails, the signature drink Delgado created for the Windows on the World restaurant that once sat atop the World Trade Center. The drink is shown in the film’s opening sequences.
Painful memoriesBefore the screening, Delgado told the audience that 9/11 is still raw in the minds of many who live in the area because many lost relatives and friends in the attacks. He’d not been back to the area until recently, when 9/11 museum opened. The first screening of the film took place there.
Delgado and his wife, Frances, met at Windows on the World. Both lost many friends and co-workers in the attack.
Delgado was late to work that fateful day, having worked and celebrated at the restaurant until early morning. Frances was home with their small baby and happened to see the TV coverage. She called George, saying, “I don’t think you’re going to go to work today.”
The documentary presents the events of Sept. 10, 2001, the ordinary day that unfolded before the nation's loss of innocence. People went about their usual business that day. Artists and regular people alike took photographs. But after the attacks, these photos were hard to find.
“This was before the era of the cell phones when everyone is taking pictures all the time," Briamonte explained. "We thought there would be tons of photos, but they were actually hard to track down."
Most people don’t realize there was an artists’ space on one of the upper floors of the World Trade Center. Some artists spent Sept. 10 working there, photographing the clouds and skyline from the height of the city's tallest building.
People remember 9/11 as the perfect September day, sunny and brilliant. But few remember that the day before was very stormy. The documentary shows footage of the storm and TV commentary about it.
Ronnie Reiburn came from New York City mostly to see "Amy," the film about singer Amy Winehouse. But she also saw "9/10." The film and the festival were "pretty cool" she said.
Michael and Diane Bailey were bidding in the silent auction. They said the film recalled the city as it was before the attacks, but fading from memory.
Monica Casey of Nutley, N.J., had a mixed reaction to the film.
“It was different from what we expected,” she said. “We expected more.”
She had family members who died on 9/11, and said that might be why she feels a little differently about it.
She said she much preferred the short films at the library's Film Salon, which had some great selections.
The theater was filled to capacity for the screening. Delgado and Briamonte, who were sitting on the stage, found themselves with many questions to answer.