The Martha's Vineyard Film Festival (MVFF) is an annual film festival founded in 2001 and held in

West Tisbury, Massachusetts West Tisbury is a New England town, town located on Martha's Vineyard in Dukes County, Massachusetts, Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,555 at the 2020 census. Along with Chilmark, Massachusetts, Chilmark and Aquin ...

, on the island of

Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, lying just south of Cape Cod. It is known for being a popular, affluent summer colony, and includes the smaller peninsula Chappaquiddick Isla ...

. The festival takes place in March. The MVFF also produces a summer film series in July and August, and special events at other times of the year. Annually, the festival screens more than 35 films.

Winter Festival

The MVFF's main event is its winter festival in March, a long weekend of film screenings and discussions historically held at the Chilmark Community Center. In 2022, the MVFF relocated to the

Grange Hall The National Grange, also known as The Grange and officially named The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, is a social organization in the United States that encourages families to band together to promote the economic and pol ...

in West Tisbury. In addition to screenings and discussions with guest filmmakers and film subjects, the winter festival includes food prepared by Vineyard chefs, art installations, and performances by local musicians.

Summer Film Series

The MVFF's Summer Film Series (SFS) began in 2004. Originally it took place at the Chilmark Community Center every Wednesday night in July and August (and sometimes the last Wednesday in June). Each SFS evening started with Cinema Circus revelry and a film for kids. During intermission, there was live music and a meal prepared by Vineyard chefs. The evening concluded with the feature presentation and discussion, usually attended by guest filmmakers or film subjects. In July and August of 2022, the Summer Film Series continued at the Grange Hall's second floor theater, screening films nightly Wednesday through Saturday.

Cinema Circus

Cinema Circus was established in 2009 under the direction of Lindsey Scott, later the MVFF's Director of Children's Programs. In addition to live-action and animated films for children, Cinema Circus events include performances by musicians,

clowns A clown is a person who performs physical comedy and arts in an Improvisational theatre#Comedy, open-ended fashion, typically while wearing distinct cosmetics, makeup or costume, costuming and reversing social norm, folkway-norms. The art of ...

acrobats Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most often performed in acro d ...

jugglers Juggling is a physical skill, performed by a juggler, involving the object manipulation, manipulation of objects for recreation, entertainment, art or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling. Juggling can be the manipula ...

, hula hoopers, unicyclists, stilt walkers, and

puppeteers A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object called a puppet to create the illusion that the puppet is alive. The puppet is often shaped like a human, animal, or legendary creature. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from the ...

, along with face painting, costumes, and snacks and meals.

''Family. Film. Feast.''

The ''Family. Film. Feast.'' was a family-oriented winter series that began in 2009 and took place at the Chilmark Community Center. ''Family. Film. Feast.'' has included collaboration with other organizations on Martha's Vineyard. IMP, the Vineyard's kid and teen comedy improv troupe, performed at a ''Family. Film. Feast.'' event in December 2010. The following month, the MVFF teamed up with Slow Food Martha's Vineyard to present a documentary film preceded by a family-friendly short films program and a “slow food” dinner prepared by Vineyard chefs Cathy Walthers, Jan Buhrman, and Robert Lionette.

Special Events

The MVFF occasionally screens films “down-island” at Vineyard Haven's historic Capawock Theatre or Edgartown Cinema. These screenings have either been encore presentations or in advance of the winter festival or summer film series. Special screenings have included the documentaries ''

Inside Job An inside job is a crime committed by a person in a position of trust, or with the help of someone either employed by the victim or entrusted with access to the victim's affairs or premises. Inside Job may also refer to: Books * ''Inside J ...

'' (prior to its 2011 Best Documentary Oscar-awarding), '' Pete Seeger: The Power of Song'', ''Southern Comfort'', ''The Present'', and '' Surfwise'', as well as the narrative feature films ''Ballast'' and ''Beginners''. In addition to post-screening and panel discussions with featured filmmakers, the MVFF has hosted talks by other members of the film world. Screenwriter

Naomi Foner Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal ( Achs; born March 4, 1946) is an American screenwriter and director. She is the mother of actors Maggie and Jake Gyllenhaal. Early life and education Foner was born in Brooklyn, New York City, the daughter of doctors Ru ...

was the featured speaker on the last night of the 2007 Summer Film Series. Cinematographer Michael Chapman spoke before screenings of two of his films, and film critic

A.O. Scott Anthony Oliver Scott (born July 10, 1966) is an American journalist and cultural critic, known for his film and literary criticism. After starting his career at ''The New York Review of Books'', ''Variety'', and ''Slate'', he began writing film ...

of ''The New York Times'' was a guest programmer and speaker during the 2008 Summer Film Series. The MVFF's tenth annual winter film festival in 2010 featured a talk by ''New Yorker'' film critic

David Denby David Denby (born 1943) is an American journalist. He served as a film critic for ''The New Yorker'' until December 2014. Early life and education Denby grew up in New York City. He received a B.A. from Columbia University in 1965 and a master ...

Greater Community Involvement

The MVFF offers a filmmaking class for students. MVFF Managing Director Brian Ditchfield began teaching the class at the Martha's Vineyard Public Charter School in the winter of 2010.

2011 Festival Highlights

The eleventh annual MVFF winter festivalRobards, Brooks (March 16, 2011)
“Film: Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival’s 11th Annual Event”.
''The Martha’s Vineyard Times''. opened with ''Charlotte'', a special sneak preview of Jeffrey Kusama-Hinte's new documentary about the Vineyard's Gannon & Benjamin Marine Railway. The director and cinematographer, Brian Dowley, and two of the film's subjects, Ross Gannon and Pam Benjamin, spoke after the screening. Other attending filmmakers and film subjects included Yoav Potash (''Crime After Crime''), Marilyn Sewell (''Raw Faith''), Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman, and Nev Schulman (''Catfish''), Laura Israel ('' Windfall''), Sam Feuer (''

The First Grader ''The First Grader'' is a 2011 Biographical film, biographical drama film directed by Justin Chadwick. It stars Naomie Harris, Oliver Litondo, and Tony Kgoroge. The film is inspired by the true story of Kimani Maruge, a Kenyan farmer who enrolled ...

''), Anne Makepeace, Tobias Vanderhoop, and Wenonah Madison (''We Still Live Here''), and Peter Richardson (''How to Die in Oregon'').

References

External links

*{{Official website , http://tmvff.org/ Film festivals in Massachusetts Martha's Vineyard 2001 establishments in Massachusetts Film festivals established in 2001