On Saturday, Jan. 28, filmmakers Liz Witham and Ken Wentworth, along with the programmers at PathwaysArts, offer Island residents an opportunity to hear from voices — human and otherwise — not often heard from in mainstream society.
During an evening titled Perspectives Unseen, Ms. Witham and Mr. Wentworth will be sharing clips and shorts from their 20 years of filmmaking as Film Truth Productions. Discussions will follow each segment.
The evening’s first half focuses on homelessness, mental illness, indigenous rights, incarceration, ancestral knowledge and environmental issues. Some of the footage is from noteworthy events such as the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris or from interviews with recognizable names such as Ram Dass and seed activist Vandana Shiva. Other interviews are with, as Mr. Wentworth described to the Gazette, “just humans living their lives and willing to share intimate moments.”
“We’ve done all of these interviews with people...that the typical person wouldn’t have an opportunity to connect with,” Ms. Witham said. “This is a chance to bring those people into this forum. We’re giving them a platform to share their experiences. They’re very wise.”
The filmmakers said they are showing not just completed clips but also interview footage that didn’t make it into finished films.
The evening’s second half showcases Follow the Journey of the North Atlantic Right Whales, a documentary they have been working on since 2019. The couple followed right whales for about a year before a pandemic interruption. The film is now near completion.
Sharing the whale footage locally is important to both filmmakers.
“Even though we’re on an Island, we don’t have a robust marine ecology education plan here,” Ms. Witham observed. “So, we’ve interviewed people from the Center for Coastal Studies, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and the New England Aquarium, among others. That’s going to be interesting for people. It’s good for people to have a deeper connection to the ocean.”
“There are many Wampanoag stories about the right whales coming to Menemsha and Aquinnah,” Mr. Wentworth added.
Though the sections of the evening program might seem different from each other, the filmmakers feel the intent is the same.
“We’ve always tried to give voice to the least heard,” Mr. Wentworth said. “That’s also true for the right whale. We’re trying to give voice to nature.”
Doors for Perspectives Unseen open at 6:30 p.m. at PathwaysArts’ Chilmark Tavern space. The films begin at 7 p.m.
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