Sanjiban at the premiere of one of his films at the Mahaiwe (undated)
(GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass.) – Friends and colleagues of Sanjiban Sellew, the much-beloved Berkshire filmmaker, artist, actor and all-around character, have joined hands to raise funds to help defray medical expenses he is incurring while combating brain cancer with a tribute to his work and artistry in Konkapot Big Boys Present Restless Rascal: A Sanjiban Celebration, at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center on Sunday, March 4, 2012, at 3 pm. The event will include a selection of Sellew’s films and writing as well as tributes to the artist, who has received 9 national film awards in super 8 filmmaking and has been a finalist nineteen times in national and international film/digital competitions.
Sellew’s quirky and tender films and performance art have been seen by audiences at the Berkshire International Film Festival, Made in the Berkshires and Mixed Company amongst numerous other places. His short films include Self Arrest, Not Me, Animal Tricks, I Got Mail, and One on None.
John Valente, general manager of the Beacon and Triplex Cinemas, says that Sellew’s films are “energetic, bold and sometimes downright odd, but are made with courage and vision, beholden to no one’s expectations but his own.”
Sellew, the son of Catherine L. Spadaccini and Welles H. Sellew, grew up in New Marlborough, Mass., with his twin brother, John, a composer, and their sister, Susan, a farmer. Sellew has been diagnosed with Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) brain cancer. GBM is a high-grade, rapidly growing tumor, and due to the extent of the tumor, there will be no further surgery. Sellew decided not to have radiation and chemotherapy and left the hospital to live at home on December 30, 2011.
Sanjiban Sellew
Sellew, who was trained as a carpenter and never expressed any interest in making movies, became a filmmaker on the day in the mid-1970s when guru Sri Chimnoy handed him a box with a Super 8 camera inside and said, “Entertain us and the world.”
There is a minimum donation of $25 (cash only) and all funds raised will go to Sellew and his family. Immediately following the celebration at the Mahaiwe, there will be complimentary hors d’oeuvres with a cash bar at Castle Street Café, next door to the theater.
Tickets are available in advance at Triplex Cinema, Studio Day Spa, Tune Street, the Snap Shop, the Mill River Store and at the Mahaiwe on the day of the show.