With summer arriving, give yourself a relaxing weekend on an island in the Hudson River, visit an old Scottish castle, and watch an award-winning crime movie.
An island on the Hudson River, a castle, and a crime movie? The three things together sound a little outlandish. But on Saturday June 17, it’s happening.
The director and main cast of the award-winning movie “Collar” have chosen Bannerman Castle as the venue for a special screening to meet their audience and support the restoration of the historic island.
The film “Collar” won the “Best Cop Drama” award at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival (NYIIFVF). Noor Amed of Esq. of Reder & Fieg—the entertainment attorneys who brokered the deals for “Black Swan” and “The Twilight Saga” trilogy—declared it an “epic movie, the like of which we seldom see here.”
In reference to the jargon used by law enforcement when they capture perpetrators of crimes, “Collar” was inspired by the conviction of a judge in Alabama who was using his juvenile court to run a sex trafficking ring.
Multiple court cases of unprosecuted police homicides and a cop’s personal connection to narcotics detectives experiencing breakdowns in their families over job-related issues are a “perfect storm” in the film.
Nan Gill-Wilson, the movie’s producer, said that the movie was made 12 years ago. He said the movie was such an accurate and authentic reflection of sensitive social issues that Hollywood and the “power elite” in Washington, D.C., “stonewalled” its release for fear of the “social and political” repercussions that they feared it might inspire.
Gill-Wilson said that if the film had been screened 12 years ago, hundreds of innocent Americans, including Trayvon Martin, Eric Gray, and George Floyd, might not have lost their lives; billions of dollars in property damage wouldn’t have been incurred; and the Black Lives Matter (BLM) riots might not have happened.
“Unfortunately, this movie is not outdated. We would prefer that it was outdated,” said David Patrick Wilson, who wrote and directed the movie’s screenplay.
He said, “It has been demonstrated time and again, even until this today, these types of events and occurrences keep repeating.”
Director Wilson said he hopes the movie will be widely circulated.
“It is our hope that it may shift the prevailing crises of this nature and we can begin to heal as a nation and a world,” he said.
“Collar” has been well received by audiences, receiving four stars on Amazon.
“It’s especially popular with police officers,” producer Gill-Wilson said. He described it as a fast-paced movie starring Tom Sizemore, Rebecca DeMornay, Richard Roundtree, and David Patrick Wilson, as well as some local New York actors.
“This is a movie about the town and the community you live in and the social issues facing America,” the screening invitation says.
Neil Caplan, executive director of the Bannerman Castle Trust, said “Collar” is a great film to see. “It tells people something important that we need to know.”
Kaplan said that on the day of the screening, there will be two boats departing from Beacon Pier at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. respectively. There is free parking at the pier. If you drive from New York or take a bus or train to Beacon, and then take a boat, it will take about half an hour on the river to reach Pollepel Island, where Bannerman Castle is located.
Once on the island, there will be a guided tour. The film’s director and some of the cast members will be there to meet the public. After dark, an open-air screening of “Collar” will be held. After the screening, the group will return by boat to Beacon Pier.
The Bannerman Castle Trust aims to raise funds for restoring the island: creating a master plan and eventually stabilizing the castle’s structures. The Trust is working to make the island safe for volunteers and for the public to enjoy as an educational, cultural, historical, and recreational facility promoting heritage tourism in the Hudson Valley.
Kaplan said there are more events scheduled on the island, mostly Friday through Sunday, and there will be Wednesday events scheduled as we move into September.
“Everyone is welcome to come and visit the island and participate in the events,” Kaplan said.
For tickets and more information, please visit www.bannermancastle.org. Tickets are limited, so book your tickets as soon as possible.
Yu Lili contributed to this report.
