PUTNEY, Vt. – The Putney Historical Society presents a screening of Jay Craven’s new film “Lost Nation,” followed by a Q&A session led by Craven, on Saturday, Nov. 30, at 7 p.m., at Next Stage. The event is part of the film’s Vermont 50 Town Tour, and is a fundraiser for the Putney Town Hall Renovation Project, to make the building more efficient, and provide a home for the Putney Historical Society.
“Lost Nation” is a Revolutionary War-era action drama set in the early upstart Republic of Vermont. It features Vermont founding father and rebel schemer Ethan Allen, who leads resistance to New Yorker land claims, launches an ill-fated attack on British forces in Montreal, and leads invasions by his Green Mountain Boys into the Yorker strongholds of Guilford and Brattleboro.
The film’s parallel and intersecting story features pioneering poet Lucy Terry Prince, who was enslaved at the age of 3 in western Massachusetts, and settled a Guilford, Vt., homestead with her family during this same time. Like Allen, the Princes found themselves caught up in turbulent times that threatened their prospects for the land and freedom they sought. Like Allen, Lucy Prince upset the status quo in her assertive use of early Vermont’s legal and political systems to defend her family.
Next Stage is located at 15 Kimball Hill in downtown Putney, Vt. For information, call 802-387-0102 or visit www.nextstagearts.org. Advance tickets are available at www.kcppresents.org. Next Stage will provide snacks and a beer, wine, and cocktail cash bar.