Roxbury library to screen ‘When Southbury Said No to the Nazis’

‘Home of the Brave: When Southbury Said No to the Nazis’ focuses on historic event in town’s history

“Everyone has a story to tell, no matter the subject matter . ... the key is finding the emotional or dynamic element that the viewer will identify with and then creatively communicating that to your audience.”

ROXBURY — For the final program to honor the opening of the Hodge Memorial Library in 1937, the Minor Memorial Library is presenting the film “Home of the Brave: When Southbury Said No to the Nazis”, a documentary about how the town of Southbury refused to allow the establishment of a Nazi training camp in town. The film will be followed by a discussion with Scott Sniffen, the film’s creator and director. The program will be held on Thursday, Oct. 26 at 7 p.m., at the Hodge Library, 4 North Street, Roxbury. Admission is free.

In 1937, the year the Hodge Library opened in neighboring Roxbury, the citizens of Southbury resoundingly rejected the Nazi undertaking well before the horrors of Hitler’s Third Reich were fully understood. This compelling film explores the how the community came together in its opposition to the creation of a training camp for the Bund.

Emmy nominated Scott Sniffen is the principal and chief creative at Sniffen Pictures. Leading his team of production professionals with over 25 years experience in the industry, Scott is a true filmmaker well versed in all state-of-the-art tools and techniques required for today’s communications. In fact, Sniffen Pictures was one of the first companies in the Northeast to bring High Definition technology to mainstream television and corporate production to the area.

Scott and Sniffen Pictures have garnered several awards over the year’s including an Emmy nomination for “Home of the Brave”, a Gold Cindy, three Gold Eagle CINE awards, a Gold Telly and a “The Chris” from the Columbus International Film & Video festival. Novem, a feature film, which Scott served as the DP won the “Audience Award at the Phoenix Film Festival and “Best Film” at the Bethel Film Festival.

Scott is an accomplished interviewer quickly identifying the consistent thread in a story and weaving it throughout a program to successfully deliver the message. Sniffen says, “Everyone has a story to tell, no matter the subject matter . ... the key is finding the emotional or dynamic element that the viewer will identify with and then creatively communicating that to your audience.”

The October lecture series celebrates the 80th anniversary of the opening of the Hodge Memorial Library and Museum in 1937. When the Hodge opened, America was still in the throes of the Great Depression and on the brink of participation in World War II. In this series of lectures we explore various aspects of life in the 1930s, from culture and fashion to politics.

The mission of the Minor Memorial Library is to promote and encourage and to serve the needs of the Roxbury Community by providing free access to ideas and information through a diversity of library materials, programs, services, and experiences.

The library is handicapped-accessible. Call the library at 860-350-2181 or visit the website at www.minormemoriallibrary.org for information and directions.

Scott Sniffen, Emmy Award Winning Filmmaker