Vernon surroundings inspire filmmaker

Plenty of opportunities to see ‘Scarecrow’ all this week, By Jennnifer Knocha Vernon — The fledgling Vernon Free Arts Group is starting off its efforts to bring more art into the community by bringing home the work of a local. “Scarecrow” is a 16-minute film written and directed by Patrick Knipe, a Vernon native who cites the “heavily forested rolling hills, Revolutionary War-era hamlets and fog-haunted lakes” of the area as some of his inspiration. The film is the story of a soldier, Jack, who joins the Confederate Army to be a hero, only to discover that the bloody reality of battle is more than he can take. While on the run from his experience, he runs into two slaves who are running to the North for freedom. The courage of these slaves inspires Jack to find new courage in himself. Knipe calls this subject matter especially relevant in these times. “My wish is that audiences will watch this film about events of long ago and see and feel how they are reflected in the world we live in now, a world filled with terror and conflict, bravery and sacrifice. The lessons of the past are the same today. And underlying everything there is always a message of hope that we together will find a way to make the world better.” This film also serves as Knipe’s graduate thesis for his degree from The University of Southern California (USC) School of Cinematic Arts. He got his undergraduate degree from Boston College in 2003 and spent a year at St. Edmund Hall of Oxford University, in England, where he studied English, American and Irish literature. “Scarecrow” is currently making the rounds of the festival circuit and has done very well. It won Best Short Film at the Montgomery Film Festival and the Audience Choice Award at the same festival, as well as Best Short Feature at the Troy (NY) Film Festival. The film also won the 2009 Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Award at the Route 66 Film Festival held in Springfield, Ill. Knipe has plans for a feature-length version of the film, which he says will turn its focus more on the underground railroad, and more of New Jersey. But that’s just one project on deck. With his partners In Mythmakers, an entertainment production company, he’s working on getting financing for a family film called “A Touch of Magic,” and in his spare time, he works in sound production, including sound designing, mixing and recording. But for now, “Scarecrow” is appearing in Vernon Township. It will be shown throughout the week, starting at the Dorothy Henry Library on Tuesday, Aug. 25, then moving to the Hidden Valley Lodge on Thursday for a showing at 8:30 p.m., and wrapping up at the Nordic House on Route 94 on Friday, where it will run from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and then from 7 until 10 p.m. This is the first venture of the Vernon Free Arts Group, a new local organization whose goal is to make arts more accessible to the public.