Thomas Bena Previews the MV Film Festival 2008 |
As the Island looks forward to the opening of the 2008 Martha's Vineyard Film Festival scheduled for March 14-18 at its traditional Chilmark Community Center venue, founder Thomas Bena previews his objectives, welcomes 2008's guest director and introduces the Martha's Vineyard Children's Film Festival, which will make its debut concurrent with MVFF.
In your introduction to the 2007 Festival you talk about taking the Festival to the next level, does this remain a goal and can you explain what you currently see the next level as being?
"Eight years ago when a group of islanders and I created the first film festival on the island, our goal was to create an outlet for stories that weren’t mentioned in mainstream media. We rented out the old Ag Hall and invited our community to share a meal, a movie, and join a conversation.
The Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival is a hybrid of sorts—part town meeting, part art-house cinema. We screen bold, powerful stories that encourage people to look at themselves and their community. We’re interested in immersion, not diversion and we want to explore the idea of truth in all of it’s varied forms.
While our goal and our format (except for the added couches) remains the same, “taking it to the next level” simply means playing a bigger role in our community.
We hope to work with the island schools, bringing thoughtful films into the classroom. We also have a dream of one day creating a cultural center/café that would allow islanders to drop in for a warm meal, a film, a talk, hear music, enjoy a book, or simply have coffee and a conversation on a couch.
Our office doors are open and we invite our friends and neighbors to brainstorm with us as we evolve. After all, the MVFF is funded by islanders. It is truly the island’s festival!"
You mention in your 2007 introduction that many of the films you viewed at a festival in Amsterdam focused on the politics and the attendant atrocities taking place world-wide. Was this again the case this year or has another theme emerged?
"At the festival we attended in Amsterdam that year the majority of the films we previewed “focused on the politics and the attendant atrocities taking place world-wide.” We decided not to screen those films at MVFF.
As a programmer, I have a choice about what I bring to the island. I am not interested in mirroring The New York Times or any of the news channels, which seem to blast our senses with tragedies, people behaving badly and general pain and suffering. I think we all have enough of this. And, while there is so much wrong with the world, there is also so much RIGHT with it.
So, I want to show films that demonstrate this rightness – inspiring people, unique perspectives and innovative solutions, stories that make us laugh, cry and everything in between."
Your mission statement for the MVIFF cites ‘discussion and debate’ as being an ongoing goal. Why is this so important?
"With so many sources of information at our disposal, it is increasingly difficult to determine what is accurate and what isn’t. In my experience, the best way to find out what is real is by talking to people. So, it’s simple. I just want to create another space where this can happen."
Will this year’s festival host a guest director and can you tell us something about this?
Brad Westcott is this year’s Guest Director. I met Brad when he was working for Magnolia Distribution and saw that he was a real find -- clear, honest, kind, hardworking and smart. So I let him know that if he ever wanted a job, he had one at MVFF." He brings valuable experience and insight from the other side of the table and has already been a huge help as we plan this year’s festival."
Julien Wise called last year’s Festival “leaner and sharper.” How do you think the 2008 Festival will be characterized?
" We’re still making programming decisions so it’s too soon to say. One thing for sure: every year we continue to raise the bar."
Is there anything you’d like to add or tell us about the 2008 Festival?
"I’m excited to be working with the Chilmark Library to produce our First Annual Martha’s Vineyard Children’s Film Festival (MVCFF). We’ll screen a couple of films on Saturday and on Sunday so that while parents are enjoying films at the Chilmark Community Center, their kids will be able to enjoy them at the library—and they can meet during intermissions for snacks!"
For read more about the Festival click here.
Festival schedule
Download 2008 film bill.
