Hartwick’s Yager Museum Film Series Dives Into the Impact of Reservoirs
Hartwick College’s Yager Museum of Art & Culture will present “Beneath Reservoir Waters,” a film series that examines the intersection of urban water demands and rural communities. The documentaries complement the current exhibition, “’With That Shadow Over Them’: Constructing Catskill Reservoirs, Remembering Home,” which is on view through July 30.
The series, which highlights the Northeast’s lakes, streams and ponds as vital sources of both recreation and drinking water, begins Thursday, July 10, at 6 p.m., with a double feature. First up is “Indian Summer,” a 1960 documentary directed by Jules Victor Schwerin with music by Pete and Mike Seeger. The film chronicles the destruction of Cannonsville, N.Y., as residents were forced to leave their homes to make way for a reservoir supplying New York City. The documentary addresses enduring issues such as environmental justice, eminent domain, property rights and the rural-urban divide.
“Indian Summer” was restored in 2022 through the efforts of filmmaker Charles Cadkin, who followed up with “The Fall of Cannonsville” in 2023, which captures the community’s final days through the voices of its residents. After the screening, Cadkin will join the audience for a Q&A session.
The series continues on Thursday, July 17, at 6 p.m., with “Under Quabbin,” a documentary that explores the Quabbin Reservoir, created in the 1930s to supply Boston and its suburbs with drinking water. Now the largest body of freshwater in Massachusetts, the creation of Quabbin destroyed four towns. The film follows underwater archaeologists, police divers and others as they search for remnants of the submerged communities. “Under Quabbin” was produced in 2001 and is made available courtesy of New England Public Media.
The final screening takes place Thursday, July 24, at 6 p.m., with “Lake of Betrayal: The Story of Kinzua Dam,” a 2017 documentary by filmmakers Paul Lamont, Scott Sackett, and Caleb Abrams. Unlike Cannonsville and Quabbin, the Kinzua Reservoir was constructed not for drinking water, but for flood control to benefit the city of Pittsburgh. Located on the New York–Pennsylvania border, the project flooded Seneca ancestral lands that had been protected by a U.S. treaty since 1794. The Seneca Nation’s activism and resistance failed to prevent the dam’s construction but spurred a more significant movement to preserve and expand its sovereignty, which continues to this day.
All films in the series are free and open to the public. The museum’s summer hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., through July 31. Admission is free. For more information on the film series and other events, visit the Yager Museum Facebook page, the museum website, or contact Museum Coordinator Doug Kendall at [email protected] or 607-431-4480.
