From the latest summer blockbusters to independent documentaries, the Martha’s Vineyard Film Society has a packed schedule of coming attractions for the summer.
“The whole summer is filled,” said Richard Paradise, founder and executive director of the Martha’s Vineyard Film Society. “Every week there’s one or two special events . . . on top of all the national releases that we’re showing.”
He continued: “We’ll probably show close to 100 unique films, both commercial films and art films, spreading it among the three theatres.”
The Film Society’s three theatres include the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center, the Capawock Theatre in Vineyard Haven and the Strand Theatre in Oak Bluffs.
“All the big summer commercial releases will be coming at the two commercial theatres, the two downtown historic movie theatres, which we love operating. They’re beautiful and unique and they have a lot of history and nostalgia,” Mr. Paradise said.
The Capawock and the Strand were renovated in 2015.
One addition this summer is weekly screenings of Jaws. The showings occur on Fridays at 3 p.m. at the Capawock.
At the Film Center, one event of note is Doc Week. From July 31 to August 4, the center will show one documentary per night. Each screening will be followed by a conversation featuring a special guest involved with the film.
Mr. Paradise stressed the value of documentaries in providing a closer look at important subjects. He cited City of Ghosts, a film directed by seasonal Vineyard resident Matthew Heineman, that focuses on citizen journalists in Syria, as an example.
“This is people on the street in Syria watching the devastation of their community, the devastation of their people,” Mr. Paradise said.
Mr. Heineman will participate in a discussion via Skype after the August 2 screening.
The society will provide unique programming for children too. During Doc Week there will be a special event to teach children about storytelling through puppetry. And from August 7 to 11, the Film Center will offer a summer video camp for kids in collaboration with MVTV and Featherstone Center for the Arts.
Other special events include two screenings of historic movies of Martha’s Vineyard, which will occur on July 26 and August 16. Tom Dunlop and John Wilson will provide discussion throughout.
A few programs focused on race relations will occur this season. On July 11, the Film Center will screen I Am Not Your Negro about the writer James Baldwin. A discussion led by Jessica B. Harris, author of My Soul Looks Back: A Memoir, will follow.
Passage at St. Augustine, a documentary about the activism of black students in St. Augustine, Florida in 1964 will screen on August 15. A panel discussion with journalist Charlayne Hunter-Gault, filmmaker Clennon King, St. Augustine activist Mimi Jones, and Julia Burgess, daughter of the late Esther Burgess, who also participated in the movement in St. Augustine, will follow.
On August 21, John Sims will present the Afro-Dixie Remixes.
“He takes the song Dixie, the so-called anthem of the south and the Confederacy, and he kind of remasters it, having different people sing it, perform it, say it,” Mr. Paradise said. “And it’s about, sort of as he calls it, a national listening session.”
Mr. Paradise expects that the summer season will include close to one thousand performances.
“It just goes on and on, and every week brings different unique events to the venues,” he said.
For a full listing of events, visit mvfilmsociety.com.
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