Rockland Events

Events

Screening off the documentary “Orwell: 2+2=5”

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58 Depew Avenue Nyack, NY 1096

(845) 353-2568

Contact: Patricia Schneider/Publicist

(917) 612-2675

Authoritarian Power, Past & Present is Explored in “Orwell: 2+2=5 “ At Rivertown Film

 

January 2026 – George Orwell was a prophetic writer whose interest in the subject of totalitarianism became the basis for his books, Animal Farm and 1984. On Wednesday, February 11th Rivertown Film will screen the documentary  “Orwell: 2 + 2 = 5” at the Nyack Center (58 Depew Ave., Enter on Broadway).

This essayistic film, directed by Raoul Peck, is a work of visceral urgency – heady, enlivening, and disturbing. Anchored by Orwell’s writing, Peck charts his life in tandem with world-shattering events.  A line from one of Orwell’s essays, “My starting point is always a feeling of partisanship, a sense of injustice” – could serve as an artistic statement for Peck, whose family fled Haiti under the Duvalier dictatorship. The director is clearly intrigued by Orwell the man, but he isn’t solely interested in the biographical basics. He’s more interested by the writer’s relationship to the world he harrowingly diagnosed. Peck juxtaposes past and present issues-George W. Bush speaking about Iraq in 2002, the Israeli Palestinian conflicts and the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capital-to create a through-line. The film is less 1984 than it is 2025.

There will be a discussion after the film with the produce/director, Alex Gibney, who won an Academy Award for his documentary “Taxi to the Dark Side”, and moderated by writer and director Susanna Styron.

Doors to the Nyack Center open at 7:30pm, and the film begins at 8pm. Tickets are $13/General admission, $11/Students & Seniors, and $9/Rivertown Film Members More information can be found at rivertownfilm.org. 

Rivertown Film is a non-profit organization which was founded in 2001. Their mission is devoted to celebrating, exploring and promoting the art of the motion picture through film screenings and educational programs. The organization is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts and with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, and our corporate sponsors are Elena Schloss, Happy Dwellings with Elena/ Julia B. Fee, Sotheby’s International Realty, PainterSmith, Harrington Press, and Emerald Medicare.

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Mount Moor Cemetery, Presented by Bill Batson

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Bill Batson, artist, historian, and activist, is the current President
of the Friends of Mount Moor Cemetery. He will share stories of
the over 300 residents of Mount Moor, including the
extraordinary service of the 32 veterans who served in every
American armed conflict since the Civil War. Batson will also
reflect on the heroic efforts of former Mount Moor President
Hezekiah Easter preventing over-development of the cemetery.

The post Mount Moor Cemetery, Presented by Bill Batson appeared first on  Visit Nyack.

Open Mic with Featured Poet Christine Potter

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Christine Potter has taught English and creative writing in the Clarkstown Schools, made church music, and cooked for a living. These days she’s the poetry editor of Eclectica magazine, and a poet whose work has appeared in Rattle, The McNeese Review, Tar River Poetry, ONE ART, Grain, Booth, Autumn Sky Poetry Daily, and many other literary publications. She writes a monthly column about local poets for the Rockland County Business Journal. Her time traveling young adult series, The Bean Books, is on Evernight Teen, and her last full-length collection of poetry, Unforgetting, is published by Kelsay Books. She lives locally with her husband and her indulged cat Bella. Her house is haunted.

The post Open Mic with Featured Poet Christine Potter appeared first on  Visit Nyack.

Film Screening: Orwell: 2 + 2 = 5

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Orwell: 2 + 2 = 5
Directed by Raoul Peck
USA/France, 2025, 119 minutes

George Orwell was one of the most radical and visionary authors of the 20th Century, whose 1940s novels, such as 1984 and Animal Farm, foretold a chilling, all-to-believable authoritarian future. Acclaimed director Raoul Peck (I Am Not Your Negro), working with the Orwell Estate, weaves together historical clips, readings from Orwell’s diary, cinematic references, and dynamic modern day footage to craft a definitive portrait and an entirely fresh take on how relevant and prophetic his work has become.

Discussion to be announced.

 

The post Film Screening: Orwell: 2 + 2 = 5 appeared first on  Visit Nyack.