Film
Military sexual assault seeps through the bonds of brotherhood and creeps into the bedtime sleep of victims, months and years after the fact. The Department of Defense estimates that 19,000 soldiers are raped or sexually assaulted annually, with less than 14 per cent coming forward to report it.
If while doing a bit of research on Othello, one checked in with Wikipedia, the following would be taken as fact: the first big screen adaptation of Mr. Shakespeare’s play that starred an African American man took place in 1995 with Laurence Fishburne in the lead role.
Martha’s Vineyard, however, proves once again to be ahead of the times.
A new documentary about Israel forgoes the divisive political debate to focus on the daily lives of its inhabitants. Released in March of 2012, Israel Inside: How a Small Nation Makes a Big Difference features interviews with entrepreneurs, academics and politicians including Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, Sir Martin Gilbert, Prof. Alan Dershowitz, Prof. Jacob Frankel, Tamar Jehuda-Cohen and Shai Agassi.
Ethel Skakel Kennedy declined interviews for more than 35 years. But when her eleventh child, Rory Kennedy, asked her to be the protagonist in a full-length documentary for HBO, she agreed.
“If you asked her, I think she would tell you it was because I asked her to do it,” Rory said. Ms. Kennedy is an experienced documentary film-maker but she was also hesitant about making the movie.
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 underway.
An advanced screening of the films was arranged. In a world with few certainties, the kid critic is the critic to trust. This week’s reviewers are Ella and Lathrop Keene.
Kitten’s First Full Moon (Dir. Gary McGivney / U.S.A. / 2011 / 9 min.)
People in Oak Bluffs late this week won’t be thinking about the next number 13 bus leaving for Edgartown — they’ll be thinking about the legendary Freedom Rides that bused through the Deep South and hostile racism during the Civil Rights movement.
On Thursday and Friday, The Cottagers Inc. of Martha’s Vineyard sponsor the eighth annual African American Cultural Festival, an event packed with free educational programs and culture. The festival takes place in Hartford Park off Massassoit avenue and at Cottagers Corner on Pequot avenue..