Members of the Bedford Acting Group get ready for this weekend’s performances of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. They are (l-r) Chloe Murray, Allie Francis, Lauren Lesher, Ella Alpert, and Gabby Messenger. Performances at Bedford Middle School are Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 7 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. . Tickets are on sale at www.bedfordactinggroup.com. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

By Susan Granger

“Remember” is an unusual revenge story, unlike any other Holocaust-inspired movie you’ve ever seen!

Zev Guttman, 90, (Christopher Plummer) has dementia, so he’s confused every morning when he awakens, calling for his wife Ruth. She’s dead, but it takes him awhile to adjust to his memory loss.

Zev lives in a nursing home not far from New York, where his best friend is wheelchair-bound Max Rosenbaum (Martin Landau), who’s hooked up to an oxygen tank.

They’re both Auschwitz survivors, and Max has hatched a plan to wreak revenge on the sadistic guard who was responsible for tormenting and exterminating both of their families.

There will be a new look to this summer’s 43rd annual edition of the Westport Fine Arts Festival sponsored by the Westport Downtown Merchants Association (WDMA).

Visitors enjoy last year’s Fine Arts Festival in Parker-Harding Plaza along the Saugatuck River. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Lynn U. Miller for WestportNow.com

The festival no longer will extend into the Gorham Island parking lot and will be contained entirely within Parker-Harding Plaza overlooking the Saugatuck River behind Main Street, WDMA officials told the Westport Board of Selectmen today.

The board approved closure of the Parker-Harding parking area from 4 p.m. on Friday, July 15 to 8 p.m.on Sunday, July 17 for the festival.

The change came about because there have been “challenges” involving the public and the artists in recent years, said Steve Desloge, WDMA president.

The Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County (CAFC) today named the founders of the Westport Artists’ Collective as a winner of its Inaugural 2016 ACE (Arts & Culture Empowerment) Awards.

Westport Artists’ Collective founders include (l-r) Jahmane West, Tammy Winser, Helen Klisser During, Miggs Burroughs, Duvian Montoya, and Nina Bentley .(CLICK TO ENLARGE) Lynn U. Miller for WestportNow.com

The founders, whose work includes organizing pop up art shows at the Westport Arts Center, include Duvian Montoya, Nina Bentley, Miggs Burroughs, Tammy Winser, Helen Klisser During, and Jahmane West.

Winners in the ACE Award, Artist category, they were recognized “for encouraging the careers and talents of local artists and contributing to our diverse artistic community,” an announcement said.

Other winners include: ACE Award, Nonprofit: Lou Ursone, executive and artistic director of Curtain Call, Inc.(Kweskin Theatre/Dressing Room Theatre), in Stamford. The organization provides a consistent outlet for artistic expression while entertaining the general public and providing a safe and nurturing environment for learning.

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) has honored Westport-based “Born to Explore with Richard Wiese” with two nominations for the 43rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards.

Richard Wiese of Weston is a world-class explorer and host of “Born to Explore,” which premiered on Sept. 3, 2011.  (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

The program was nominated in the categories of Outstanding Adventure/Travel Program and Outstanding Sound Mixing – Live Action.

“Born to Explore,’ with offices on Westport’s Main Street, is a syndicated adventure/travel series, airing nationally on ABC as part of Litton’s Weekend Adventure Saturday programming block. 

“My incredible team and I have a deep passion for exploration—whether it’s encountering orangutans in Indonesia, riding on camels through the sands of the Sahara Desert or climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro,” said host Richard Wiese of Weston.

The Westport Cinema Initiative (WCI) is set to show “The Princess Bride” —the 1987 take on an old-fashioned fairy tale replete with glamour, romance and a star-studded cast—on Saturday, April 9, at 4 p.m. at Town Hall.

Chris Sarandon: played Prince Humperdinck. Contributed photo

According to Sandra Lefkowitz, WCI executive director, the film will be followed by a lecture with one of the cast members, snacks, too.

“The talkback this time is special,” she said. “It will be led by Chris Sarandon, who starred in the movie as Prince Humperdinck, a role that catapulted him to a long and successful career.”

Other actors in the film are: Mandy Patinkin, Peter Falk, Billy Crystal, Carol Kane,  Peter Cook and Robin Wright.

Highlighting the Westport Library’s “A Year of Reading Jane Austen” program, professor Mark Schenker of Yale College is scheduled to lead a discussion of Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility” on Saturday, April 9, at 2 p.m. in the Library’s McManus Room.

Mark Schenker at 2015 Westport Library talk. Phyllis Groner for WestportNow.com

According to Library officials, the program is being offered in partnership with the Jane Austen Society North America, Connecticut Region and is free and open to the public.

The novel was Austen’s first published work, appearing in 1811 under the pseudonym “A Lady” since female authors were uncommon and frowned upon.

A work of romantic fiction, the novel is set in southwest England, London and the English county Kent between 1792 and 1797.

Westporter Susan Granger, film critic for WestportNow.com and other publications, was guest speaker today at the Y’s Women of Westport Weston. Among her comments: “I felt ‘Spotlight; deserved to win the Academy Award;” “Zootopia” is a wonderful film for the whole family;” “the Industry has to figure out how to get more diversity, but awards still should be for the best;” “because of the large amount of films viewed in the Far East in order to meet the market, the entertainment industry has to try to choose movies they want to see to do business.” (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Phyllis Groner for WestportNow.com

There was a packed crowd in the Westport Library’s McManus Room tonight for a talk by British author Helen Macdonald. Her best-selling “H is for Hawk” account of working through bereavement by training a bird of prey has won wide praise and was picked by The New York Times as one of the 10 best books of 2015. A Cambridge academic, Macdonald described her grief over her father’s sudden death in 2007. To overcome her loss and as an experienced falconer, captivated by hawks since childhood, she decided to purchase and train a Goshawk, a fierce and feral bird she named Mabel.(CLICK TO ENLARGE) Phyllis Groner for WestportNow.com