Film
Nineteen years ago, Eleanor Hubbard adopted a calico cat from the Edgartown animal shelter. Tonight, in New York city, that cat is about to get her closeup.
The cat’s name is Ulla, a Norwegian name. Her actual pedigree is unclear, perhaps French, based on her inclination towards the arts and painting. Over the years Ulla has become Ms. Hubbard’s muse and model in the studio.
The Martha’s Vineyard Film Society is opening its off-season this month with two documentaries and a feature comedy. All films are shown at the Katharine Cornell Theatre in Vineyard Haven and begin at 7:30 p.m.
For the eighth consecutive year, the Martha’s Vineyard Film Society is presenting the Manhattan Short Film Festival — where the audience gets to vote with the rest of the world on the selection of the winning film. Over two nights, tonight, Sept. 23, and Saturday, Sept. 24, both nights beginning at 7:30 p.m., the film society will screen the complete 120 minute program at the Katharine Cornell Theatre in Vineyard Haven.
Caveat emptor: If you watch this thoroughly engrossing film, you may very well recognize as-yet-undiagnosed symptoms of learning disabilities or other psychological variations in your own family.
It’s the most fun you could have all year, maybe the most fun in five years. What I discovered at this year’s Martha’s Vineyard International Film Festival was, you need a big breakfast on each of the four days and a powerful multivitamin to build your strength. Though stamina for this event has nothing to do with age: 82-year-old Doreen Kinsman is the all-time movie maximizer, able to view 12 to 14 screenings (out of 36-plus offered, three per time slot) per festival. I believe she also can leap tall buildings in a single bound.
Yesterday, the Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival opened up with a reception at Saltwater Gallery. Afterwards, the documentary Just Like Us by comedian Ahmed Ahmed was shown at that the Capawock Theatre in Vineyard Haven.
The festival continues throughout the weekend ending on Sunday evening with a closing night party at the Vineyard Haven Marina and the final film, The Trip, showing at the Capawock Theatre.