THE B-SIDE: ELSA DORFMAN'S PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY Opening at the Cinema Art Theater

 

Starting on August 11th the Rehoboth Beach Film Society’s Cinema Art Theater will present THE B-SIDE: ELSA DORFMAN'S PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY, a documentary which caringly portrays an unassuming, gifted, and whimsical, analog photographer.

 

The B-Side begins with Dorfman’s personal narrative of her struggle to find an identity as a young woman coming of age in the 1960s. When a colleague presented her with a Hasselblad camera on a whim, Dorfman quickly declared, "I’m a photographer!" and began her new journey. In1980 Dorfman found her ultimate medium: a rare large-format camera devised by the Polaroid Corporation. The instant photographs it produced were enormous—20 inches wide and 24 inches tall—with saturated colors and unparalleled detail.

 

The film traces Dorfman’s love affair with the 20x24, while also presenting the wide range of formats in her portraits taken of families, Beat poets, rock stars, and Harvard notables over 35 years. As pictures begin to fade and her retirement looms, Dorfman gives Errol Morris an inside tour of her backyard archive. She always took at least two 20x24s per portrait session, but her clients only purchased one. The remaining portrait was "the B-side." Like the flipside of 45s, Dorfman’s B-sides are hidden treasures when revisited.

 

The B-Side is a loving portrait of a unique artist too often overlooked in considerations of 20th century photography. It revels in the intimate beauty of Dorfman’s portraits and in her singular appreciation for the ordinary aspects of human life.

 

Jeffrey M. Anderson of the “Combustile Celluloid” states “There is an elegant, simple beauty in documentarian Errol Morris’s affectionate portrait of his friend, soft-spoken, 90-year-old Elsa Dorfman, in his new film.”

 

Screening times are 7:00 pm on Friday (August 11), 4:00 pm on Saturday (August 12), 7:00 pm on Monday (August 14), as well as 4:00 pm on Wednesday and Thursday (August 16-17). Tickets can be purchased at the Cinema Art Theater, starting 30 minutes prior to each screening. Admission for a screening is $8 for RBFS members and $10 for future members. All screenings are held at the Cinema Art Theater located at 17701 Dartmouth Drive in Dartmouth Plaza, behind the Lewes Wawa.

 

The mission of the RBFS is promoting cinematic arts and providing education and cultural enrichment for our community. The Film Society sponsors ongoing screenings, special events, and the Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival (November 2- 12, 2017). Having met all the requirements for best practices in nonprofit management, the Rehoboth Beach Film Society is accredited by the Standards for Excellence Institute®. The Film Society is funded, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. The Division promotes Delaware arts events on www.DelawareScene.com. For more information on this series, other events, or to become a member, visit the Rehoboth Beach Film Society website at www.rehobothfilm.com, or call 302-645-9095.