Greasepaint Screening

The SouthSide Film Institute is proud to present a screening of Peter Piper the Balloon Meister and Greasepaint, from 2014 SouthSide Film Festival Linny and Beall Fowler Audience Award-winning director Daniel Espeut on Saturday, November 8th at the Icehouse (56 River St. Bethlehem, PA 18018).

Peter Piper the Balloon Meister, a short film, follows Brooklyn native Peter Waldman as he makes balloon for kids throughout the Lehigh Valley and also channels his talents into glassblowing at Bethlehem's Banana Factory.  By director Ulli Gruber, from Austria by way of Brooklyn, this is a film with a local connection that you won't want to miss!

Greasepaint follows Joey Thurmond and his family as they travel around the country performing the art of American circus clowning.  The movie resurrects the dying art of clowning demonstrated by Joey’s love for the craft and makes sure that people see the human side of clowning.  While the over-arching story focuses on Joey and his ability to balance the business and family life, the viewer also hears from circus performers, old and new, discussing the positive and negative connotations that people have of clowns.

Having started the clowning full time, Joey Thurmond has put his life savings and police pension into his ultimate passion.  He overhauls the new show completely with a new background, traveling set, and living quarters.  The family starts the year not knowing whether they will have enough money to make it back home from the road.  His wife, Jamie, manages a lot of the day to day affairs and keeps the peace in the family.  Joey’s son, Tyler, weighs his options of staying with the business or pursuing his own dreams.  Hernan Colonia, a late-comer to the show works on adjusting to his new surroundings and unfortunate immigration situation.

The movie is a glimpse into a year of traveling in the most significant and dynamic year in the business’ history while examining the clowning world as a whole.  The audience sees the backstories of quite a few of the characters including Joey’s rise from professional wrestler, to police officer, to clown. It is about the love of a family and how they manage to live and work together 24 hours a day while following their circus dreams.

Doors for the screening open at 7:30pm and the films begin at 8pm.  Tickets are $10 for general admission, and $5 for students (valid ID required) and seniors.  This screening is presented as part of the Icehouse Tonight series, a consortium of artists and arts organizations who have come together to utilize a beautiful historic space in Bethlehem to spread our love for the arts.

Linny and Beall Fowler Audience Award Winners Announced

The 2014 Winners of the Linny and Beall Fowler Audience Awards were announced at last night's SouthSide Film Festival Closing Night Party. The Favorite Short Film was "Beware of Children", a comedy/horror from Germany Directed by Ares Ceylan. The Audience Favorite Feature was tie between "The Bachelor Weekend", an Irish comedy Directed by John Butler and "Greasepaint", a documentary about the art of American circus clowning Directed by Daniel Espeut.

Congratulations to our winners!