Happy Holidays!
from the
ALL THINGS BAKELITE: THE AGE OF PLASTIC Team
|
Thank you NYU Tandon School of Engineering, Brooklyn, New York for a spectacular screening on November 29th
We are especially grateful to Lindsay Anderberg for initiating the screening. Lindsay is the Interdisciplinary Science & Technology Librarian and Poly Archivist at the Bern Dibner Library at NYU Tandon.
Lindsay Anderberg in the Bern Dibner Library during Hugh's visit in June 2017
Marc, John and Hugh send many thanks to Brittney Anne Bahlman, Director of Student Affairs & Activities for hosting the screening of our film in the Pfizer Auditorium at NYU Tandon School of Engineering. Brittney and her volunteer staff kept everything running smoothly and everyone had a good time.
Before the film, Hugh and John were interviewed by Mari Rich, staff writer with the NYU Tandon Dept. of Marketing & Communications. Additional photos and the video of the interview will be available soon. Read Mari's article, Lights, Camera, Bakelite!
Cindi Li, Assistant (with camera), Mari, John, Hugh and
Sheldon Smith, Director (sound), Creative Web & Media Services
Hugh with Professor Emeritus Dr. Mark Green and Dr. Louis Pilato
Hugh Karraker with Professor Magued Iskander, PhD, PE, F.ASCE
Chair of Civil & Urban Engineering
The audience of 40+ students, professors and a few friends of the Team showed their appreciation by staying for the Q & A. Panelists Hugh and John responded to many good questions. Dr. Louis Pilato, who appears in the film, handled the more technical ones.
Dr. Louis Pilato responds to a tough technical question
A table in the lobby displaying Baekeland laboratory glassware and a manometer. Included are Baekeland family heirlooms and present day Bakelite electrical and automobile parts.
Hugh, Michelle Brino,
Office Assistant,
Sarah Shields,
Assistant Director,
and Brittney Anne Bahlman,
Director, Office of Student Affairs & Activities
Volodymyr Krynytskyy, Technician
Hugh is particularly thankful to Volodymyr Krynytskyy, technic
ian from Chemical and
Biomolecular Engineering for his careful set up and breakdown of the laboratory glassware.
Thank you to Will Figeora and James Um, technicians in the Web & Media Services Dept., who made our film look and sound as great as it was.
Thanks to all of you on our forever widening web of advisors and friends in the worlds of film, plastics and education; on the inner circle since the beginning and coming on board for the first time.
As the Team packed up their gear to depart, Brittney and Louis Pilato suggested venues for screenings in the tri-state region. Stay tuned for upcoming announcements.
|
|
|
|
2017 has been a busy year for the Team...
In February, the Flanders Investment & Trade Commission hosted a screening of the 21 minute version of the film at the Flanders House New York City. (The long version was screened there in May '16). This time Mathias Declercq, the Deputy Mayor of Ghent and alumni of Ghent University in America, attended. Hugh's cousin, Roberta Roll and Frederick Baekeland's wife, Joan, enjoyed the event. Hugh was out of the country.
In early April, the film was shown to students and professors at UMass Lowell, and the next week it was screened at CT Film Fest 52, Bethel Cinema, Connecticut. This screening was anticipated by a write up in the Redding Pilot, part of the HAN Network.
John Maher, Director, and Marc Huberman, Media Manager, were interviewed by Pete Stewart on WPKN Bridgeport, CT. Pete was the sound technician on many of our shoots. Listen to interview.
The following week the Team flew to Austin, Texas where Professor of History, Jeffrey Meikle, who appears in the film, organized a screening at the University of Texas.
The next day the Team attended the Gala Awards celebration at the WorldFest Film Festival in Houston. We had submitted the short 21-minute version of the film, but they loved it so much, they showed the longer 56-minute version, which won a Platinum REMI Award.
In the first week of May, the short version of the film was shown at the Plastics New Zealand annual meeting. That same week, both versions were shown simultaneously at ANTEC and at the Society of Plastics Engineers 75th Anniversary celebration in Anaheim, California. Hugh was on hand for the screenings.
Soon afterwards, Plastics News ran an article, Celebrating Bakelite, and Baekeland, on screen, on the event and
At the end of May, Hugh and John presented the film at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. (A previous screening there was on Nov.'16).
In June, Hugh and John were interviewed for the premier of Fairfield County's CTV 192 show, "In Good Company" with host Ron Dukenski.
In August, because it had been suggested to us by reliable sources that many people under 50 don't know what Bakelite is, we decided to add a subtitle, making it: "All Things Bakelite: The Age of Plastic".
After a summer hiatus, the film was shown a second time at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, CT on September 12th. (The first showing was Oct.'16.). On September 16th, we screened at the Cheshire Public Library, Cheshire, CT. On the 23rd, John showed the film at the Vintage Radio & Communications Museum of Connecticut in Windsor, CT.
|
Henry Dreyfuss Bakelite phone
|
Floor model Bakelite tv
|
Coil fire scene
|
This footage was shot for the film at the Museum
The second week in October, Hugh presented the film at Leo Baekeland's alma mater, Ghent University, during the 200th Anniversary celebration of its foundation. The next day he showed the short film to employees of Helvoet Rubber & Plastics Technologies in Lommel, Belgium. That same week, Hugh flew to Vienna, Austria to visit Professor Katarina Posch, who appears in our film.
The first week of November,
Professor Hatsuo "Ken" Ishida hosted a screening of our film at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.
The campus newspaper, The Observer, announced the film in the article Bakelite film highlights the inventor of the first plastic.
Following the screening, Hope Yashnik, author of The Observer article, wrote a review.
The next day they drove to Detroit to show the film at the Design in Plastics 2017 Conference hosted by the Society of Plastics Engineers.
SPE continues to be our most prominent champion in the plastics industry.
At the Conference, we premiered our new design oriented poster created by Kansas-based artist Betty Teresso.
On November 29th, our last screening of the year, was at NYU Tandon School of Engineering in Brooklyn, N.Y.
|
|
|
|
Jordan Mattos joins ATB Team
as World Sales Agent
The Team has acquired a new member: Jordan Mattos of Aspect Ratio Films. Jordan is our World Sales Agent, whose energies are directed towards finding a distribution company. He also advises us on film and science festivals, and promotes our film at venues in this
country and around the world. We are excited to be working with Jordan.
|
|
|
|
Loretta Gardner, Bakelite Corp employee interview
Added to the line-up of short videos seen on our website, ATB filmmakers, John Maher and Cr
aig Mikhitarian, created a video of Hugh's 2010 interview with former Bakelite Corp. employee,
Loretta Gardner. Loretta, who passed away this year at 101 years old, worked at the Bound Brook plant in the early days.
|
|
|
|
A personal note from Executive Producer, Hugh Karraker
For over a year, our website, email newsletters, business cards and stationary, press releases, posters and social media posts have been have designed, executed and nurtured by various people.
For this, I would like to acknowledge the superb talents and services of Terry Laslo at Wingcat Web Design, Toby Welles at Design Core & Wowhouse, Marc Huberman, Media Manager, Albert "Bud" Mikhitarian, Publicist, and Edward F. Maher, Promotional Consultant.
For their steadfast work on our films from the very beginning, I send heartfelt thanks to Composer, Martin J. Fegy at Zethus Productions, and Film Editor, Craig Mikhitarian at ACM Productions.
I also thank relative newcomer Artist, Betty Teresso, for her drawings shown in our film and accompanying videos; and for creating the design oriented poster.
For guiding me, and the Team through the creation and delivery of our films, my deepest thanks go to John Maher, of JEM Films. John, I have the greatest admiration and appreciation for your love and passion toward this film and for the people who helped make it. To my delight, you continue to nourish the growth of all things Bakelite and Baekeland.
Many thanks to the often unsung heroes - the projectionists - in each of the venues, who worked with John and Marc, often for hours, to bring the best possible sound and picture to our audiences.
For those who I may have forgotten, many thanks. And for a more complete list of people who deserve my thanks, please go to the
Internet Movie Database (IMBd).
Thank you, one and all,
Hugh
|
|
|
|
Plans for 2018
2018 promises to be a busy year with numerous presentations of our film in this country and abroad. In April, Hugh will present the film (with Mandarin subtitles) at the 5th Bienniel Baekeland Thermoset Symposium in Shanghai, China. (Previous iterations of the film have screened at Thermoset Symposia in Japan, Niagara Falls, and Great Britain.)
If you have any suggestions for venues where our film could be shown, please contact Marc Huberman at: marc@allthingsbakelite.com.
|
|
|
All Things Bakelite: The Age of Plastic
Two versions of the film available
21 minutes / Educational - Industry
56 minutes / Full length
|
|
