Roslin Smith

The 1891 Fredonia Opera House will present “Among the Hemlocks: Fantastic Stories from Fredonia,” the recently produced documentary from Filmmaker Roslin Smith, on Thursday, April 4, at 7 p.m. Smith, an assistant professor of Communication at the State University of New York at Fredonia, will introduce the film and will lead a talk-back and Q&A following its screening.

The film, which Smith describes as a “memory documentary,” depicts the history of Fredonia using voices of Fredonia residents. Historical photographs, newspaper clippings, re-enactments, interviews and voice-overs bring to life humorous, strange and factual stories from long ago. More than 84 community members, faculty and staff from the university — as well as students enrolled in courses taught by Smith — were involved in the production. Research, production and post production spanned 18 months.

Inspiration for the title was drawn from the Seneca Indian nation that once lived along the banks of a small creek surrounded by towering evergreen trees. “These gentle people called the area ‘Ga-na-da-wa-o,” which means ‘among the hemlocks’,” Smith explains. “That creek is known today as Canadaway Creek, and the surrounding area, of course, is Fredonia.”

Beautiful landscapes of the Fredonia area are featured, as well as historical music and sounds to relive a bygone era and the people who lived among the hemlocks.

The film recently was screened as part of the Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival in Mumbai, India. It was one of 500 films spanning eight categories that were selected for screening from among more than 2,800 entries from filmmakers around the world.

Smith is the former managing director of the Scottish media company Fierce Films, based in Edinburgh, UK, that won a Best New Business in Scotland award. As an early champion of digital media, she co-founded and developed The Film School Scotland, which has attracted more than 2,000 students and cemented educational ties with Ireland and Denmark.

Concentrating on documentary/drama production, her broadcast credits include the BBC and Yorkshire TV. Her award-winning films include Priscilla’s Legacy, a documentary about a slave girl, which won Best Regional Short at the Charleston Film Festival in 2014 and was officially screened at the Buffalo Niagara Film Festival and the UFVA annual conference in Washington, DC. Her poetic documentary, Views from Within, won the I Love CHQ promotional video contest in 2015. Her 2017 trilogy of documentaries, Moons, Mountains and Masterpieces. A Portrait of An Artist, was screened locally at the Opera House, nationally in Miami, FL, and internationally in Montreal.

“Among the Hemlocks” was partially funded by the Office of the Provost at SUNY Fredonia and also supported by the New York State Opportunity/Council on the Arts. The project was made possible with funds from the Decentralization Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, as administered by the Tri-County Arts Council. A copy will be given to the Darwin R. Barker Library in Fredonia as a permanent installation.

Admission to the presentation is free, with donations gratefully accepted.

The 1891 Fredonia Opera House is a member-supported not-for-profit organization located in Village Hall in downtown Fredonia. A complete schedule of Opera House events is available at www.fredopera.org.