Film
Last fall a group of nine soldiers arrived in Menemsha to compete in the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby.
The common room of the Chilmark School rustled with popcorn bags and whispers on Friday afternoon as the entire school, kindergarten through fifth grades, prepared to become the audience for their own animated films. The projector screen lit up and animated puppets hula-hooped, built forts, played four square, shared snacks and engaged in lively dialogue about conflict, compromise and cooperation.
In honor of Memorial Day, Jonathan Auerbach will bring his second annual Brave Women, Brave Men benefit concert to the Vineyard beginning at 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 26, at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center in the Tisbury Market Place, 79 Beach Road in Vineyard Haven. Mr. Auerbach will peform original music along with vocalist Carole Charlin and percussionist Alejandro Carreno. Local veterans will also attend the concert.
Off a dirt road in West Tisbury, 18 people slept in a four-bedroom house. Five beds in one room, three in another. But it was not high summer. It was not even June. It was the Off Season.
Off Season is the name of an independent film that just finished shooting on the Island. The writer of the movie, Erik Lieblein, is familiar with the Vineyard’s quiet season. For most the cast and crew, though, it was their first experience with the empty beaches, quiet roads and closed restaurants of the Vineyard in early spring. For some it was their first visit to the Island during any season.
In a recent publication by UNICEF, the U.S. ranked number 24 overall out of the 29 countries for the Child Well-Being in Rich Countries survey. The bottom four places in UNICEF’s rankings are occupied by three of the poorest countries in the survey —
Latvia, Lithuania and Romania — and by one of the richest, the U.S.
A recently-formed environmental group called 350 Martha’s Vineyard will present a movie about climate change on Sunday, April 21. The 42-minute educational film Do the Math will be shown at 7 p.m. at Howes House in West Tisbury. Admission is free. The group has partnered with the international group 350.org. For information, call 508-560-6111.