For Immediate Release
March 10, 2025
CLARK ART INSTITUTE SCREENS STELLET LICHT
Williamstown, Massachusetts—On Thursday, April 10, the Clark Art Institute continues its Small Town film series with a subtitled screening of Stellet Licht (2007) at 6 pm in the Manton Research Center.
Bookended by a sunrise and a sunset, Carlos Reygadas’ film unfolds gradually and beautifully. Set and filmed in a German Mennonite community in Chihuahua, Mexico and with dialogue in the Mennonite dialect Plautdietsch, the film follows the simple story of a married man, Johan, (Cornelio Wall Fehr), who has fallen in love with another woman, Marianne, (Maria Pankratz), to the consternation of his wife Esther (Miriam Toews). The film explores the transgression of boundaries, be that the confines of the marital bed, the borders of the community, or indeed the boundaries of life and death itself. A cast of non-professional actors, all of whom are from Mennonite communities, give raw yet graceful performances. Often compared to Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer’s 1955 Ordet, Reygadas similarly combines an ascetic visual language with elements of magical realism. (Run time: 2 hours, 16 minutes)
Free. Accessible seats available; for information, call 413 458 0524. For more information, visit clarkart.edu/events.
The next and final screening in this series is The Last Picture Show (1971) on April 17 at 6 pm in the Manton Research Center auditorium.
ABOUT THE CLARK
The Clark Art Institute, located in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, is one of a small number of institutions globally that is both an art museum and a center for research, critical discussion, and higher education in the visual arts. Opened in 1955, the Clark houses exceptional European and American paintings and sculpture, extensive collections of master prints and drawings, English silver, and early photography. Acting as convener through its Research and Academic Program, the Clark gathers an international community of scholars to participate in a lively program of conferences, colloquia, and workshops on topics of vital importance to the visual arts. The Clark library, consisting of nearly 300,000 volumes, is one of the nation’s premier art history libraries. The Clark also houses and co-sponsors the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art.
The Clark, which has a three-star rating in the Michelin Green Guide, is located at 225 South Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Its 140-acre campus includes miles of hiking and walking trails through woodlands and meadows, providing an exceptional experience of art in nature. Galleries are open 10 am to 5 pm Tuesday through Sunday from September through June, and daily in July and August. Admission is free to all from January through March and is $20 from March through December; admission is free year-round for Clark members, all visitors age 21 and under, and students with a valid student ID. Free admission is also available through several programs, including First Sundays Free; a local library pass program; and EBT Card to Culture. For information on these programs and more, visit clarkart.edu or call 413 458 2303.
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