For Immediate Release
February 11, 2025

CLARK ART INSTITUTE SCREENS
FREE SMALL TOWN FILM SERIES

Williamstown, Massachusetts—This March and April, the Clark Art Institute hosts a series of modern and classic films highlighting the charms of small towns. All films are free and screened in the Manton Research Center auditorium on select Thursdays at 6 pm.

March 6
The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
Director Orson Welles follows the declining fortunes of the wealthiest family in town through its spoiled heir George (Tim Holt). As the Ambersons fall, the town they were once the talk of begins to change too.
(Run time: 1 hour, 28 minutes)

March 13
George Washington (2000)
Four children at the edge of adolescence make a mistake that cannot be undone. One of them, George (Donald Holden), emerges as a local hero. David Gordon Green’s film is about the relationship between choice and chance, and the aspirations that still prevail outside of it.
(Run time: 1 hour, 29 minutes)

March 20
Dazed and Confused (1993)
It is the last day before summer vacation at a Texas high school in 1976. Director Richard Linklater captures the students’ mood perfectly through the smoke and angst. He cast local youth—including Matthew McConaughey in his first role—and borrowed names and characters from his own childhood in Huntsville, Texas.
(Run time: 1 hour, 43 minutes)

March 27
Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
Teenager Charlie Newton (Teresa Wright) is bored out of her mind. When her worldly Uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotten) shows up, things become much more exciting, as Charlie begins to suspect him of a string of widow murders. This was director Alfred Hitchcock’s favorite of his own films.
(Run time: 1 hour, 48 minutes)

April 3
Shotgun Stories (2007)
Jeff Nichols’s debut feature Shotgun Stories hinges on the death of a father who leaves behind two groups of feuding sons. It’s an age-old problem, the town just isn’t big enough for both gangs. A Shakespearean climax awaits.
(Run time: 1 hour, 32 minutes)

April 10
Stellet Licht (2007)
Bookended by a sunrise and a sunset, this film unfolds gradually and beautifully in a German Mennonite community in Chihuahua, Mexico. Director Carlos Reygadas follows Johan (Cornelio Wall Fehr), a married man in love with another woman.
(Run time: 2 hours, 16 minutes)

April 17
The Last Picture Show (1971)
Teenagers Sonny (Timothy Bottoms) and Duane (Jeff Bridges) navigate friendship and fate, their trajectories intersected by the viper-like Jacy (Cybill Shephard). This may be Peter Bogdanovich’s most important directorial work.
(Run time: 1 hour, 58 minutes)

Free. Accessible seats available; for information, call 413 458 0524. For more information, visit clarkart.edu/events.

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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