The drama of political defiance
The even pace of “It Was Just an Accident,” an Iranian film playing at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center starting on Nov. 14, keeps us on tenterhooks through to the end.
The underlying moral dilemma...
Infectious determination
You don’t have to know anything about jazz to grasp the importance of Keith Jarrett’s legendary musical talent. The enormously gifted free-improvisational jazz pianist, and what would become one of his most famous concerts,...
‘Eight billion people are my brothers and sisters’
The very presence of the Dalai Lama can bring a sense of inner calm — a welcome feeling in today’s world. Directors Barbara Miller and Philip Delaquis have given us an intimate audience with...
A film that feels like a Broadway play
A drunk, deranged, and disheveled man careens down a rain-soaked alleyway in the opening shot of Richard Linklater’s captivating new film, “Blue Moon,” playing at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center starting Friday, Oct. 24....
A woman’s lens
Although women comprise more than half of the country’s population, in 2024, they accounted for 16 percent of directors and 27 percent of producers working on the 250 top-grossing films, according to the 2024...
A changing Africa through a child’s eyes
There isn’t a wrong note in Embeth Davidtz’s “Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight” screening at the M.V. Film Center starting Oct. 10. The compelling, gritty film is based on Alexandra Fuller’s memoir...
A fond farewell to the Crawleys and friends
“Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale” literally opens with a grand finale, and ends with a greatly moving one as well. And everything in between the two is a treat for “Downton Abbey” fans. The...
‘Eleanor the Great’ packs a punch
“Eleanor the Great,” directed by Scarlett Johansson, is a poignantly funny film with a great deal of punch. Playing at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center starting on Sept. 26, it touches on themes of...
You be the judge
“One World. One Week. One Festival” is the motto of the 28th annual Manhattan Short Film Festival. The festival screens the top 10 short film finalists during a single week. More than 100,000 audience...
A love letter to education
If we’re lucky, we’ve been blessed with at least one memorable teacher who left an indelible impact on us, perhaps changing how we thought, or what we thought about. Director Elliot Kirschner, a New...
Librarians on the frontline
Kim A. Snyder’s “The Librarians,” screening at the Grange Hall on August 1, is part of the Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival’s 25th anniversary Summer Celebration Series.
The powerful, deeply chilling documentary exposes the complexities surrounding...
‘Lost Nation’: The quest for justice
Jay Craven’s “Lost Nation” braids together two complex stories about the quest for justice during the American Revolution. Craven is a frequent visitor to the Vineyard and will hold a Q-an-A after the screening...
Martha’s Vineyard Documentary Week
MV Film Society founder and executive director Richard Paradise couldn’t be more pleased about the 11th year of Documentary Week programming, running from July 28 through August 1.
“The MV Doc Week has always been...
A sense of urgency
There are many moments in Oscar-winning director Errol Morris’s 2024 chilling documentary, “Separated,” that will stir you deeply. Imagine being a child, terrifyingly arrested after a grueling journey from south of the border, torn...
Starts with a bang
Wes Anderson’s quirky new film, “The Phoenician Scheme,” showing at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center starting July 12, starts with a bang — a big one. The protagonist, loathsome international business tycoon Zsa-zsa Korda...
‘Bad Shabbos’: What’s the worst that could happen?
In the 1960s and 1970s, a memorable television commercial aired with the tagline, “You don’t have to be Jewish to love Levy’s real Jewish Rye.” The ad featured people from various ethnic and cultural...
Filmusic Festival at M.V. Film Center
For all who enjoy the rhythm of the beat, June 26 through 29 is filled with enticing screenings for this year’s Filmusic Festival at the M.V. Film Center. Feature films, a musical performance, and...
World premiere of National Geographic ‘Jaws’ documentary
“‘Jaws’ is not a Hollywood movie, ‘Jaws’ is a Martha's Vineyard movie.”
That's how Steven Spielberg delivered the opening message to “‘Jaws’ @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story,’ a new National Geographic documentary that had...
The filming of ‘Forever’
Judy Blume fans of a certain age likely recall where they were when they read her groundbreaking coming-of-age novel “Forever …,” first published in 1975. (I was in my childhood bedroom on Lambert’s Cove...