Thanks to the town of Oak Bluffs and the Martha’s Vineyard YMCA, the Chilmark-based Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival is making plans for the holidays. The film festival staff says they are hopeful that they will be able to do some seasonal programming in December, including a video presentation of the Minnesingers and the MVRHS drama department’s production of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” as well as a filmed collection of Rise Dance’s holiday shows. More films will be announced on the festival’s website.
The MVFF continues to emphasize its educational orientation. With the coronavirus spiking on the Island, however, the Chilmark-based festival will hold off on its in-person work with schools and libraries. Instead, it will provide a variety of virtual activities. MVFF education coordinator Jenna Robichau will offer a number of free virtual classes. Among them are activities that parents can do with their children ages 4 and up. Links to short movies, including new ones and many Cinema Circus favorites, as well as instructions for related activities, will be posted on Mondays on the MVFF website and on the MVFF Labs Facebook page. Sign-ups are also available for the MVFF lab newsletter.
For children ages 7 years and up, Robichau will provide weekly videos and virtual worksheets. The goal is to help students learn the elements of storytelling by developing their own characters and plots. Students will create their own stories and share them virtually in audio recordings.
The in-person program for high school students is on hold because of the surge in coronavirus. The festival hopes to offer programs for high school students in the spring. Other past programs, including the Newscast Project, the Curiosity Project, and the Green Screen and Animation workshops may resume when in-person programming becomes available again, hopefully in the spring.
For more information, contact Jenna Robichau at jenna@tmvff.org.
