Presenter of the Martha's Vineyard
International Film Festival
6-9 Sept. 2012
Watch
Festival Video
Summer Movies on
Tuesdays at the historic Union Chapel in Oak Bluffs
Civil War
Film Series
with MV Museum
at
KCT
Remember, any amount helps: $50, $100, $1000 or more.
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Us!
Become a member.
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A Film?
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Critically
Acclaimed Films this Winter on
Martha's Vineyard...(please scroll
down for movie listings)
We have a rare opportunity to create a state-of-the-art film center that will serve as the permanent home of the Film Society, its International Film Festival, and also provide other uses for our community. But before we break ground we must have in hand the funds sufficient to create a modern digital theatre within the building architect/builder Sam Dunn is planning at the Tisbury Marketplace.
We need to raise $300,000 in our Capital Campaign in order to proceed with the project.
Please review our proposal, peruse the drawings, and ask us any questions you might have about the project and our plans to establish the non-profit film center. A Pledge Card can be downloaded below as a PDF. But if you can't contain yourself, by all means call me now and make your pledge (774-392-2972) or email me at rich@mvfilmsociety.com.
Remember, any amount helps: $50, $100, $1000 or more. We also have naming rights and a special "Founders Circle" contribution level with lots of special benefits. All levels are tax deduction charitable contributions.
I know our film-loving community can make this happen--if we all pull together.
Thanks in advance for your help and support over the years.
See you at the movies!
Richard Paradise, Executive Director
P.S. All donations should be mailed to MV Film Society, P.O. Box 4423, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568 or call for details on how to make a donation using a credit card.
Download our Development Proposal or Call Richard at 508-696-9369 for more information.
20 Reasons to Support the MV Film Center
Download our Pledge Form
Download Naming Rights and other ways you can put your mark on the Film Center
MV Times Article - Click for Link
CHICO & RITA
From Oscar winning director Fernando Trueba and legendary illustrator Javier Mariscal
Featuring the music of Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Theloniuos Monk, and many more...
"A dazzling and delightful work of modernist animation, a classic movie romance and a hip-swinging, finger-popping tale of musical revolution..."
- Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com
"Sexy, sweet and laced with a sadness at once specific to its place and time and accessible to anyone with a breakable heart, "Chico & Rita" is an animated valentine to Cuba and its music."
- A.O. Scott, New York Times
"It's so passionate about the Latin and big-band music of the '40s, '50s and '60s that it'll make anyone who grew up listening to those vibrant rhythms feel like a kid again."
- Bob Mondello, NPR
"A visually hypnotic, musically electric film."
- Stephen Farber, Hollywood Reporter
Oscar Nominated For Best Animation Feature
Cuba, 1948. Chico is a young piano player with big dreams. Rita is a beautiful singer with an extraordinary voice. Music and desire unite them as they chase their dreams and each other from Havana to New York to Paris, Hollywood and Las Vegas. With an original soundtrack by legendary Cuban pianist and five-time Grammy-winning composer Bebo Valdés, Chico & Rita captures a defining moment in the evolution of history and jazz, and features the music of (and animated cameos by) Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Cole Porter, Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Herman, Tito Puente, Chano Pozo, and others.
PASSIONE
Filmmaker: acclaimed actor-director John Turturro
It's a happy ramble through the storied streets with Turturro as our guide,
not pretending to be an expert; it's more like having a good friend take you to this place he really loves.
-- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Close to the sublime, especially if you have a thing for sensuous Italians of either gender unleashing ballads of soaring romantic masochism.
--Ty Burr, Boston Globe
Passione is a surprise and a delight from beginning to end.
-- Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
When acclaimed actor-director John Turturro was invited to make a film about Neapolitan music he was intrigued, as an Italian-American who grew up with many of the swooning ballads that had been popularized. When he revisited the place and met the artists living there carrying on the tradition, he was completely blown away. The city had so much to say, there was nothing to do but sit back and listen. Preconceived ideas evaporated and what was meant to be a straight-ahead documentary transformed into a wild fantasia, an adventure into the vibrations of history. In the film’s 23 songs, you can hear the cultures of many invaders, the Greeks, Arabs, French, Spanish, Normans, and Americans.
GERHARD RICHTER PAINTING
Filmmaker: Corinna Belz
“Fascinating, even exciting…Mr. Richter communicates a pleasure in work, even at its most laborious.”
— Rachel Saltz, The New York Times
Gerhard Richter Painting artfully and convincingly immerses us into the world
of one of the greatest, painting.
--Aaron Hillis, Village Voice
The works in question express a delicate balance between spontaneity and rigid formal control -- seeing Richter at work is a bit like watching a great trapeze artist.
--Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader
One of the world’s greatest living painters, the German artist Gerhard Richter has spent over half a century experimenting with a tremendous range of techniques and ideas, addressing historical crises and mass media representation alongside explorations of chance procedures. Infamously media-shy, he agreed to appear on camera for the first time in 15 years for a 2007 short by filmmaker Corinna Belz called Gerhard Richter’s Window.
Her follow-up, Gerhard Richter Painting, is exactly that: a thrilling document of Richter’s creative process, juxtaposed with intimate conversations (with his critics, his collaborators, and his American gallerist Marian Goodman) and rare archive material. From our fly-on-the-wall perspective, we watch the 79-year-old create a series of large-scale abstract canvasses, using fat brushes and a massive squeegee to apply (and then scrape off) layer after layer of brightly colored paint. This mesmerizing footage, of a highly charged process of creation and destruction, turns Belz’s portrait of an artist into a work of art itself.
JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI
Filmmaker: David Gelb
"MOUTHWATERING"
- Leslie Felperin, VARIETY
Jiro Dreams of Sushi isn't just a film for foodies, or Japanophiles. It's a meditation on work, on finding one's path in life, and then walking it with singular purpose.
--Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
Director David Gelb pulls back the curtain on the kitchen rituals of sushi, inviting us to experience the savory-smooth sensation of ''umami,'' roughly translated as ''Ahhh!''
--Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
A Prefect 100% Score on Rotten Tomatoes!
JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI is the story of 85 year-old Jiro Ono, considered by many to be the world's greatest sushi chef. He is the proprietor of Sukiyabashi Jiro, a 10-seat, sushi-only restaurant inauspiciously located in a Tokyo subway station. Despite its humble appearances, it is the first restaurant of its kind to be awarded a prestigious 3 star Michelin review, and sushi lovers from around the globe make repeated pilgrimage, calling months in advance and shelling out top dollar for a coveted seat at Jiro's sushi bar.
For most of his life, Jiro has been mastering the art of making sushi, but even at his age he sees himself still striving for perfection, working from sunrise to well beyond sunset to taste every piece of fish; meticulously train his employees; and carefully mold and finesse the impeccable presentation of each sushi creation. At the heart of this story is Jiro's relationship with his eldest son Yoshikazu, the worthy heir to Jiro's legacy, who is unable to live up to his full potential in his father's shadow.
The feature film debut of director David Gelb, JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI is a thoughtful and elegant meditation on work, family, and the art of perfection, chronicling Jiro's life as both an unparalleled success in the culinary world, and a loving yet complicated father.
ONE DAY ON EARTH
In collaboration with Vineyard Conservation Society - our new series of films on the environment called "GREEN ON SCREEN", in part funded by the MV Permanent Endowment.
"Filmmakers’ First Opus Stars Everyone on Earth"
- The New York Times
"'One Day on Earth': A Video Portrait of Every Country in the World"
- The Atlantic
"How Thousands of Volunteer Filmmakers Captured “One Day On Earth"
- Mashable
On November 11th, 11.11.11, across the planet, documentary filmmakers, students, and other inspired citizens will record the human experience over a 24-hour period and contribute their voice to the second annual global day of media creation called One Day on Earth. Together, we will create a shared archive and a film.
Founded in 2008, ONE DAY ON EARTH's first media creation event occurred on 10.10.10. The collaboration was the first ever simultaneous filming event occurring in every country of the world. It created a unique geo-tagged video archive as well as a feature film.
Together, we are showcasing the amazing diversity, conflict, tragedy, and triumph that occurs in one day. We invite you to join our international community of thousands of filmmakers, hundreds of schools, and dozens of non-profits, and contribute to this unique global mosaic. ONE DAY ON EARTH is a community that not only watches, but participates.
Kyle Ruddick - Founder/Director and Brandon Litman - Co-Founder/Executive Producer
PINA - a film for Pina Bausch by Wim Wenders
Filmmaker: Wim Wenders
"A thrilling piece of cinema. Five stars."
-- Times
"Pina gives us the supreme pleasure of watching fascinating bodies of widely varying ages in motion, whether leaping, falling, catching, diving, grieving, or exulting."
- Melissa Anderson, Village Voice
"What the filmmaker has created is an inspired simulacrum - a jewel-box that contains more of Bausch's kinetic soul than film has any right to."
-Ty Burr, Boston Globe
"For anyone with an interest in dance, "Pina" is a must-see. For anyone not interested in contemporary dance, "Pina" is a should-see. It could change your mind."
Nominee, Best Documentary, 2012 Academy Awards
Pina
is a feature-length dance film with the ensemble of the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, featuring the unique and inspiring art of the great German choreographer, who died in the summer of 2009. Pina is a film for Pina Bausch by Wim Wenders.
He takes the audience on a sensual, visually stunning journey of discovery into a new dimension: straight onto the stage with the legendary Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch ensemble, he follows the dancers out of the theatre into the city and the surrounding areas of Wuppertal - the place, which for 35 years was the home and centre for Pina Bausch's creativity.
All of Bausch's best-known pieces are present: her interpretation of Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring", in which feral single-sex gangs stomp on a layer of brown earth, or her "Café Müller", where female dancers staggering about with closed eyes have faith that male partners will remove chairs from their path. Wenders sets several dances – and purists may baulk at this – in spectacular outdoor locations; for me the experience was nothing but uplifting."
DECLARATION OF WAR
Filmmaker: Valérie Donzelli
Starring: Jérémie Elkaïm, Valérie Donzelli
"For all its quirks and tangents, "Declaration of War" feels entirely alive. This story of two people who
transform fear into action is inspiring."
- Stephen Holden, New York Times
"An unexpectedly upbeat autobiographical drama made with French New Wave pizzazz about a young boy with brain cancer and the parents who pull together to fight for him."
- Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly
"True to its title, "Declaration of War" is a visceral, forthright visit to the front lines of battle, where superhuman courage is called for as life-or-death skirmishes turn into a long slog of survival"
- Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
2012 Academy Awards Nominee, Best Foreign Language
The opening night film at last year's Critics Week at the Cannes Film Festival, this exuberant and deeply moving film follows a new couple, Romeo (Jérémie Elkaïm) and Juliette (Valérie Donzelli), who must face the ultimate test when they discover their newborn child is very ill. Gathering their friends and family together, they confront this ordeal together as a form of warfare. Donzelli infuses the story with unexpected verve using a host of cinematic techniques, music and heartbreaking performances that results in a film about a contemporary couple who surprises even themselves with their ability to fight not only for the life of their child but for each other. Drawing on the real life experiences of Donzelli and co-star/co-writer Elkaïm and what they went through when their own son fell ill, the film will bring tears to your eyes and dazzle you with its contagious vitality.
A critical and box office hit at home, DECLARATION OF WAR was France's official entry for Best Foreign Language Film for the 2012 Academy Awards®. DECLARATION OF WAR, Donzelli’s second feature, firmly establishes her as one of France’s greatest new talents.
Join - and reap the benefits!
Join as a new member at any one of this month's incredible shows, and you'll get in FREE that night.
Already a member or need to renew? Make an extra donation, or raise your membership level, and you too get in FREE! Or Bring a Friend that Joins - and You get in Free also.
The Martha's Vineyard Film Society is the Island's only year-round venue providing the best in independent cinema. But this all-volunteer non-profit group needs its members to keep going. (You might not know: a large portion of all ticket sales revenue goes to the off-Island film distributors. BUT membership dues stay on the Island!)
Join at the box office door, and you'll receive:
-one or two free admissions that night (depending on level);
-member discount prices at year-round film screenings and the
MV International Film Festival September 6-9, 2012;
-the satisfaction of knowing that because of you, one of the Vineyard's foremost cultural institutions will remain fiscally healthy.
Thanks for your continued community support!
September 6-9, 2012
Thanks to all of our dedicated volunteers and sponsors, the 2011 International Film Festival broke our previous record, over 3500 admissions sold for films and events over four days, and 12% increase in box office (and that's without any changes in pricing for the last three years). Next step, making the MV Film Center at the Tisbury Marketplace a reality for our 2012 festival.
Presented by the Martha's Vineyard
Film Society
Supported in part by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Martha's Vineyard
Cultural Council, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Permanent Endowment of MV, the MV Savings Bank Foundation, and "You", our film-going public.
For additional information about the Martha's Vineyard
Film Society or upcoming films, please contact Richard Paradise at 508-696-9369
or e-mail to rich@mvfilmsociety.com
