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September 1 - 7, 2005 Edition
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Film: About fathers and children September 1, 2005 The Chilmark Independent Film Festival ended its summer season last weekend with a two-day event that combined film and discussion on the theme of father-child relationships. Sponsored by Chilmark filmmaker Thomas Bena’s Sea the World Productions, “Fathers and Their Children” featured films by Vineyard summer visitor Jason Badalament and discussion by best-selling writer and therapist Terry Real, who has a summer home in Aquinnah. Author of “I Don’t Want to Talk About It,” Real led a discussion after screening of “All Men Are Sons: Exploring the Legacy of Fatherhood,” in Saturday night’s keynote event. The film, which has been aired nationally on PBS, follows five men as they explore the legacy their fathers have provided them. “All Men Are Sons” co-directors Badalament, whose mother Diane Jensen has a home in Aquinnah, and Chad Grochowski participated in the discussion, along with several of the film’s principals. “It was an amazing treat that several of the men who were in the film could come,” says Real. “I was very moved by the impact making the film had on their lives and on sorting out their relationships with their fathers.” Real has been called the most innovative voice in thinking about and treating men and their relationships in the world today. Other Vineyard participants in “Fathers and Their Children” included psychiatrist Charles Silberstein who led the discussion after a screening of “Hardwood,” a short film by Hubert Davis, the son of former Harlem Globetrotter Mel Davis. The film examines Mel Davis’s effect on his son Hubert and other members of his family. Badalament, who lectures internationally about gender issues, led father/son and father/daughter workshops Saturday afternoon. Justen Ahren of Tisbury and frequent Vineyard visitor Gerry Storrow of Somerville read their poetry Saturday morning before the screening of “Hardwood.” Short films by San Francisco filmmaker Jay Rosenblatt shown Friday night included “I Used to Be a Filmmaker,” a charming personal meditation on the demands of helping care for a new baby. The film consists of a series of blackouts captioned with film production terms. Organizer Thomas Bena arranged the two-day event after reading Real’s book about men and depression last winter. “It changed my life,” he said. “It turned my world upside down.” “I think for many boys their relationship with their father becomes the driving force in their lives,” Charles Silberstein said. “I hope that the event will be done again.”

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