A documentary short explores the meaning of Groundhog Day to the residents of Punxsutawney, who number under 6,000 and who see their town’s population septupled by visitors for a few days each February. Watch here.
“What is this town without its thing?” the filmmaker David P. Zucker asks. “That became the central question of the film for me.”
In the opening moments of David P. Zucker’s documentary “Groundhog Town,” a woman stands in a dim bar and describes what it’s like in her small town, Punxsutawney, on the holiday for which it is widely known. “Chaos—it’s absolutely insane,” she says. “You can’t even drive through town.” Another shot shows the rest of the bar, its pinball machines and TV screens aglow while its stools sit empty. An uneasy, expectant quiet sets in on the film and never quite leaves.
Zucker was at film school in California when the pandemic took hold and froze so much of American life in isolation. He craved the kind of communal gatherings that had become off-limits. In contemplating their significance, his mind turned to the Groundhog Day celebrations in his home state of Pennsylvania. “It’s this real grounding moment for the community,” Zucker told me. “It’s the middle of winter, it’s freezing.
What he found in Punxsutawney was a range of feelings. One woodworker who has spent decades carving groundhogs jokes that he sees the creatures in his sleep, and his face appears to shift from delight to alarm. A child beams with hopes of his home town’s impending boom; an alpaca farmer, lamenting the loss of local jobs, says that “this whole area is going backwards.
The sunny woman at the miners’ memorial alludes to one of Punxsutawney’s larger problems. “I think the future for energy is going to be in solar,” she says. The town has been hit hard by the changing industry which has left scarcely any coal operators in business in the area. Unlike surrounding towns, Punxsutawney has at least had its holiday tourism influx to fall back on, but at the time of Zucker’s visits, it felt as though even that was in doubt. There was no gathering in 2021.
Deutschland Neuesten Nachrichten, Deutschland Schlagzeilen
Similar News:Sie können auch ähnliche Nachrichten wie diese lesen, die wir aus anderen Nachrichtenquellen gesammelt haben.
Woodstock celebrates 30 years of 'Groundhog Day' film with familiar festival'Groundhog Day' hit the big screen 30 years ago this year, a year after the iconic comedy was filmed in Woodstock. In keeping with the movie's plot, the city hopes this year's festival looks similar to previous ones.
Weiterlesen »
Today will be the warmest day on the Denver 7-day forecastIt’ll be the warmest day of the 7-day forecast today with highs in the low 40s, but we'll see a drop by tomorrow as we prepare for bitter cold temperatures by the start of next week. 🌤➡️🥶 LisaDenver7 tells you much temps will drop by Monday: COwx
Weiterlesen »
Luka Doncic day-to-day with sprained ankle: reportDoncic left in the first quarter of Thursday's game against the Pheonix Suns after the All-Star stepped on Mikal Bridges' foot and twisted his ankle.
Weiterlesen »
Thousands join 'Invasion Day' protests on Australia Day holidayProtesters carrying Aboriginal flags mark anniversary of day British fleet sailed into Sydney Harbour on January 26, 1788, sparking a brutal colonisation of Indigenous people and their land.
Weiterlesen »
Georgetown’s tourist trade gets squeezed as town, county squabble over lodging taxAt issue is a 2% lodging tax that Clear Creek County and the quaint mountain town of 1,100 residents, a short exit ramp off of Interstate 70, are each collecting from hotels, bed and breakfasts and short-term rentals
Weiterlesen »