We make films about Vermont, its land and its people.  Our main interest is in the arts. Along with larger film projects, the independent production company shoots footage for a variety of local sponsors, including the Middlesex Historical Society, Rumney Elementary School in Middlesex, ORCA Media in Montpelier, Freedom and Unity: The Vermont Movie, the Bread and Puppet Theater, and private individuals.

 

Catalog of films

In Production (2015/2016): A Fleeting Animal: An Opera from Judevine

September 2015 saw the revival of A Fleeting Animal: An Opera from Judevine, an important work by two of Vermont’s outstanding artists, composer Erik Nielsen and poet David Budbill. The opera was performed at six venues across Vermont, to enthusiastic audience response. https://vimeo.com/130355622

2014–Birdcatcher in Hell 57 Minutes
The 2014 remounting of Bread and Puppets’s original all red performance. https://vimeo.com/125090475

2013–Bread, 40 minutes

This is a documentary of Peter Schumann baking the sourdough rye bread that the Bread and Puppet Theater famously offers its audiences after performances. https://vimeo.com/125604843

2004–Beyond 88 Keys, the Music of Michael Arnowitt.

This 76-minute documentary portrait of Montpelier’s concert pianist is the skillfully told, moving story of how the qualities of musicianship, compassion and commitment come together in the life and career of Michael Arnowitt.  Winner of the Vermont Film Commission’s 2004 Goldstone Award for Best Vermont Film. https://vimeo.com/125088577

2006–The Singers, 18 minutes.

Narrative film based on Turgenev’s short story, Singers, the story of two men competing in a singing contest in a country tavern.

2010–Four Friends, 20 minutes.

Bread bakers, political activists, theater-makers, and long-time friends, two couples, Jules and Helen Rabin, and Peter and Elka Schumann, talk about their lives, their philosophies, politics, and life in rural Vermont.

 

What people say about the films   

“The film is…intellectually, socially, and emotionally engaged, expressing a…social depth and intensity rarely seen.”
David Budbill, poet, playwright and NPR commentator, Wolcott, VT

 “… A beautiful piece of work—inspiring and wonderfully musical, and also one of the nicest portraits of Vermont I have seen.”
Allen Shawn, composer, Bennington, VT

“I adored your movie…. Thank you from the bottom, top and center of my heart for the graceful way you’ve found to tell this extraordinarily subtle story.”
Jim Schley, writer and performer, Strafford, VT

 

Grants and Awards

UNIMA-USA—Union International de la Marionnette

Vermont Arts Council

Vermont Film Commission’s Goldstone Award

Washington Electric Co-op Community Fund

Anne Slade Frey Charitable Foundation

 

White Rock Productions is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. All contributions are tax deductible.