For many, life on Martha’s Vineyard revolves around the beaches. But those seeking a little more stimulation than the sand under their feet should look no further than the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center’s Summer Institute. Every year the Summer Institute presents a variety of films and speakers and this year’s series begins this weekend.

On Sunday night the documentary Hava Nagila opens up the film series. The movie explores the history of the quintessential bar mitzvah song and takes a deeper look at Jewish cultural identity as a whole.

Each week the folks at Cinema Circus show a series of short films on Wednesday evening at the Chilmark Community center. The films begin at 6 p.m. but the circus — complete with jugglers, face painters, stilt walkers, food and music — gets under way.

Each week the folks at Cinema Circus show a series of short films on Wednesday evening at the Chilmark Community Center. The films begin at 6 p.m. but the circus — complete with jugglers, face painters, stilt walkers, food and music — gets under way at 5 p.m.

The short films are programmed each week around a central theme, introduced in the first film by Professor Projector. This week’s theme is sound tracks.

Each week the folks at Cinema Circus show a series of short films on Wednesday evenings at the Chilmark Community center. The films begin at 6 p.m. but at 5 p.m. the circus ­— complete with jugglers, face painters, stilt walkers, food and music — gets under way.

Tiger Eyes, written by Judy Blume, is the story of a teenage girl, Davey, who moves to New Mexico with her mother and younger brother after her father is killed at the family’s convenience store in New Jersey. While there she meets a Native American boy named Wolf whose father is suffering from cancer. Ultimately, Davey learns to cope with the death of her own father.

On Saturday, June 8, the Martha’s Vineyard Film Society (MVFS) and Heaven in Ocean Productions will host a pair of film screenings at The Film Center in Vineyard Haven in honor of World Oceans Day. The event will show the films Planet Ocean, a documentary addressing damage to the marine ecosystem, and Hot Tuna, which explores the Atlantic Ocean’s endangered bluefin tuna.

The screenings are part of a series called Across Sound Connections, which pairs an informative ocean film with a speaker to educate audiences about the ocean and the issues marine ecosystems face.