A homegrown filmmaker returns to the Mad River Valley this month with a new feature film and a plan to celebrate local creativity.
Cameron Andrews, a Fayston native and Harwood Union High School graduate, will host Community Arts Night with B Team! Productions on Tuesday, December 23, at 5 p.m. at the Big Picture Theater & Café in Waitsfield. The event centers on “Missing Pieces,” Andrews’ second feature film.
Andrews said the evening is intended to showcase the artistic process and the community that helped shape his work. “Missing Pieces has always been a community affair, from the crowdfunding that made it possible to the time donated by its cast and crew in order to get it made,” Andrews said. “I hope to keep this spirit going through every screening.”
The program features a potluck dinner, an open bar and an exhibition featuring local artists, with a focus on Harwood Union students. Andrews said he wanted to create an inclusive gathering that recognizes The Valley’s role in nurturing artists of all ages.
Andrews said support from Harwood teachers, friends and family was fundamental to his career in filmmaking. He said offering space to young artists at the event is a way to give back.
“Support from family, friends, and teachers is what initially gave me the belief in myself to pursue art as a career,” he said. “Now, bringing this project of mine home, I’d love to offer space to local artists, especially Harwood students, whether painters, poets, or even filmmakers, to showcase their art ahead of our showing.”
Andrews described the evening as “an arts-focused supper club,” inviting residents to share a meal, meet local creators and explore new work before the screening. “We will be hosting a community potluck and opening the bar before the screening in tandem with the local artists’ display to allow the community to gather, hang out, and enjoy some local art before the screening.”
The filmmaker said the event is rooted in his belief that art should be understood as a process, not just a product. “I believe that the future of art, and film specifically, lies not in seeing it only as a finished product to be consumed, but as a process which has been undertaken by the artists who made it,” he said.
“Missing Pieces,” filmed in the summer of 2023, follows Andrews’ first feature “Holocene,” which he wrote and directed in The Valley during the pandemic. Andrews completed “Holocene” with help from local supporters and a network of friends and family.
After graduating from Harwood in 2017, Andrews attended Boston University, where he and several classmates formed B Team! Productions. The group relocated to Los Angeles after college to continue producing independent films. Today, Andrews works in the restaurant industry while developing his next feature and collaborating with B Team! on new projects, including an arts and culture magazine and community-based film and arts events in Los Angeles.
In 2022, Andrews premiered his first feature at the Big Picture. This year, he said he hopes the expanded format will foster the same creative energy that helped launch his career.
Community Arts Night with B Team! Productions is open to the public.
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