June 22, 2007, 05:22 AM
GREAT BARRINGTON — A somber crowd filled almost every seat in the Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington last night to pay their respects to Daniel Pearl, the former Berkshire Eagle, North Adams Transcript and Wall Street Journal reporter who was kidnapped and ruthlessly murdered by terrorists in Karachi, Pakistan, in 2002.

Berkshire International Film Festival and the Daniel Pearl Scholarship Committee fought long and hard to stage last night's advanced screening of "A Mighty Heart," the harrowing tale of Pearl's inexhaustible pursuit of journalistic truth at the expense of his life.

"It's a little strange that my friend has become a martyr for the freedom of the press," said Daniel Bellow, one of Pearl's former colleagues at the Berkshire Eagle who was asked by the film festival committee to introduce the film. "I am here to tell you that everything you heard about Dan Pearl is true. He was a sweet-hearted guy, a terrific reporter. ... Unfailingly kind and generous," Bellow recounted before the screening.

This Hollywood thriller, starring Angelina Jolie and Dan Futterman, retells Mariane Pearl's memoir of her husband, "Danny," detailing how faith in his vocation as an international journalist and unflagging love for his pregnant wife enabled him to meet his death — a gruesome, propagandistic beheading by a militant Pakistani terrorist group — with dignity and heroic fortitude.

Hoosac Valley High School graduate Brian Mastroianni was honored as the scholarship's 2007 recipient. "He is an outstanding young man and will become a heck of a journalist if he keeps his role model in mind," said Bellow, also one of the scholarship committee judges.

Living in a place where this journalist began his career, many local residents in the audience felt honored to see the film before its national release today.

"I came to see it because it is an important film and Angelina Jolie has a lot of spiritual clout," said Valerie Locher of Housatonic. "I think truth will be told, and we don't get a lot of truth. ... I feel really privileged to be here."

A humble poster-board memorial to Pearl, perched on a small wooden easel toward the back of the Triplex's entryway, added to the screening's special feel. On it were pasted pictures of Pearl and several articles he wrote during his time working in the Berkshires — between 1988 and 1990. "Danny's presence in the Berkshires resonates with people, and they want to support the scholarship fund in his memory," said John Valente, general manager of the Triplex.

But not only locals were in attendance last night. Lynn Sibley, of Pittsburgh, had been anticipating the film's release for quite some time. "When I heard that Daniel Pearl worked here it seemed like a perfect place to see it," she said.

When the film ended and an eerie silence dissipated, John Orloff, the film's screenplay writer, was introduced to the audience.

"I would like to say that we flew him in at great expense, but it just fell into our laps," said Valente, the Triplex general manager. Orloff, who also wrote the HBO miniseries, "Band of Brothers," recently moved to Columbia County, N.Y., and contacted the film festival to ask how he could help with the screening.

During the question and answer session with Orloff, one audience member asked why the film did not show U.S.-Pakistani political relationships of the time in greater depth. "The film is a little purposefully opaque about it," Orloff replied. "This film is a microcosm. ... We tried to stay specific to exactly what we knew, what Mariane knew and when they knew it."

Although Orloff did not travel to Pakistan, he did spend 10 days with Pearl's wife in New York before picking up a pen to begin his writing.

Tickets to the screening sold out on Tuesday, and the net profits from ticket sales will go toward the Daniel Pearl Scholarship Committee, founded in 2003 by the Berkshire Eagle and North Adams Transcript. Each year, the committee grants one $1,000 dollar scholarship to a Berkshire County high school senior planning to attend college as a journalism or music major. The Triplex donated time and screening space to the film festival.

________________________________________ Jessica Bachman can be reached at jbachman@berkshireeagle.com.