The Popsicle Days of Summer...

The last couple of weeks we've welcomed large crowds to the Film Center to see OPPENHEIMER. If you love the historical aspects of that movie, you will be intrigued by A COMPASSIONATE SPY, a new documentary about Ted Hall, a colleague of Robert Oppenheimer at the Manhattan Project.

Join us for an Art show celebration — Gretchen Feldman pastels of Vineyard scenes will have a special opening on Sunday, August 27, 4:30 - 6:00 PM. 

Refreshments served. 

We are now on our summer schedule, open 7 nights a week with only one screening at 7:30PM. Although we are planning some occasional 4PM shows on Sundays, for those that like an early show, dinner option.

Scroll down for all of the details.

NEW THIS WEEK...

A COMPASSIONATE SPY — Directed by two-time Oscar® nominated filmmaker Steve James (HOOP DREAMS, LIFE ITSELF), A COMPASSIONATE SPY is a gripping real-life spy thriller about controversial Manhattan Project physicist Ted Hall, who infamously provided nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union, told through the perspective of his loving wife Joan, who protected his secret for decades.

THE LADY BIRD DIARIES redux. Q&A with director Dawn Porter — A groundbreaking documentary film that uses Lady Bird's audio diaries to tell the story of one of the most influential and least understood First Ladies in history, Lady Bird Johnson.  

THE POWER OF STONE redux. Followed by a Q&A with Co-directors Barbarella & David Fokos and subject Lew French. The Power of Stone offers a glimpse into the life of renowned stone artist, Lew French, during the time he was working to create the Rose Styron Garden for the Martha’s Vineyard Museum. At first, Lew French appears as unyielding as the granite he works with, but beneath this artist’s rigid exterior is a deeply spiritual soul.

SOLD OUT -- FINDING YOUR ROOTS with Henry Louis Gates Jr., Angela Davis, and Jeh Johnson in-person. Member Event. Renowned scholar Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. returns to the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center for a special screening of FINDING YOUR ROOTS. Gates will present an episode of the show featuring activist Angela Davis; and statesman Jeh Johnson, both of whom will then join Gates on stage for a discussion. 

CONTINUING THIS WEEK...

THEATER CAMP — Tony Award winner Ben Platt and Molly Gordon star in the new original comedy THEATER CAMP as Amos and Rebecca-Diane — lifelong best friends and drama instructors at a rundown camp in upstate New York. When clueless tech-bro Troy (Jimmy Tatro) arrives to run the property (into the ground), Amos, Rebecca-Diane and production manager Glenn (Noah Galvin) band together with the staff and students to stage a masterpiece, and keep their beloved summer camp afloat. Premiere at 2023 Sundance Film Festival where it won a Special Dramatic Jury Award for its Ensemble Cast.

OPPENHEIMER — biographical thriller written and directed by Christopher Nolan. Based on the 2005 biography "American Prometheus", the film chronicles the career of American theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer. The story predominantly focuses on Oppenheimer's early studies, his direction of the Manhattan Project during World War II, and his eventual fall from grace due to his 1954 security hearing. Cillian Murphy stars as the title character,  Emily Blunt as his wife Katherine "Kitty" Oppenheimer, Matt Damon as Leslie Groves, the director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory and Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss, a senior member of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. The ensemble supporting cast includes Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett, Casey 

Affleck, Rami Malek, and Kenneth Branagh.

COMING ATTRACTIONS...



The 18th Annual Martha’s Vineyard International Film Festival

will be held September 5-10, 2023 at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center.

FULL SCHEDULE CLICK HERE

Thank you for your your memberships, donations, and/or purchases of gift certificates. Your support has meant we've been able to keep our staff together and continue to deliver on our mission and programming year-round during these uncertain times. 

To find out about upcoming virtual events, scroll below and don't forget to follow us on Facebook & Twitter. 

We miss you, and we all look forward to welcoming you again to the Film Center for a movie or event in the coming weeks, months!

For the 18th year in a row, the Martha’s Vineyard International Film Festival, the island’s annual celebration of world cinema, will screen the 12 new films from around the globe at its state-of-the-art theater at the Tisbury Marketplace in Vineyard Haven, MA.

OPPENHEIMER

Aug 22nd @ 7:30 pm

Aug 24th @ 7:30 pm

Aug 28th @ 7:30 pm

Aug 31st @ 7:30 pm

A Christopher Nolan Film that must been felt with our film center sound system!

Biographical thriller written and directed by Christopher Nolan. Based on the 2005 biography "American Prometheus", the film chronicles the career of American theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer. The story predominantly focuses on Oppenheimer's early studies, his direction of the Manhattan Project during World War II, and his eventual fall from grace due to his 1954 security hearing. Cillian Murphy stars as the title character, Emily Blunt as his wife Katherine "Kitty" Oppenheimer, Matt Damon as Leslie Groves, the director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory and Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss, a senior member of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. The ensemble supporting cast includes Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett, Casey Affleck, Rami Malek, and Kenneth Branagh.

WATCH THE TRAILER

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

THEATER CAMP

Aug 23rd @ 7:30 pm - LAST SHOWING!

Starring Ben Platt and Molly Gordon

Tony Award winner Ben Platt and Molly Gordon star in the new original comedy Theater Camp as Amos and Rebecca-Diane — lifelong best friends and drama instructors at a rundown camp in upstate New York. When clueless tech-bro Troy (Jimmy Tatro) arrives to run the property (into the ground), Amos, Rebecca-Diane and production manager Glenn (Noah Galvin) band together with the staff and students to stage a masterpiece, and keep their beloved summer camp afloat.

2023 Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize

WATCH THE TRAILER

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

FINDING YOUR ROOTS

with Henry Louis Gates Jr., Angela Davis, and Jeh Johnson

Aug 25th @ 7:30 pm - SOLD OUT

FINDING YOUR ROOTS Season Nine highlights the genealogical backgrounds and ancestral stories of prominent guests that helped to define who they are today.

Renowned scholar Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. returns to the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center for a special screening of FINDING YOUR ROOTS. Gates will present an episode of the show featuring activist Angela Davis; and statesman Jeh Johnson, both of whom will then join Gates on stage for a discussion. Gates uses genealogical detective work and cutting-edge DNA analysis to guide guests through the branches of their family trees. Uncovering buried secrets and inspiring stories of long- forgotten ancestors.

WATCH THE TRAILER

A COMPASSIONATE SPY

Aug 26th @ 7:30 pm

Aug 29th @ 7:30 pm

The incredible story of Manhattan Project scientist Ted Hall, who shared classified nuclear secrets with Russia.

Directed by two-time Oscar® nominated filmmaker Steve James (HOOP DREAMS, LIFE ITSELF), A COMPASSIONATE SPY is a gripping real-life spy thriller about controversial Manhattan Project physicist Ted Hall, who infamously provided nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union, told through the perspective of his loving wife Joan, who protected his secret for decades. Recruited in 1944 as an 18-year-old Harvard undergraduate to help Robert Oppenheimer and his team create a bomb, Hall was the youngest physicist on the Manhattan Project, and didn’t share his colleagues’ elation after the successful detonation of the world’s first atomic bomb. Concerned that a U.S. post-war monopoly on such a powerful weapon could lead to nuclear catastrophe, Hall began passing key information about the bomb’s construction to the Soviet Union. After the war, he met, fell in love with, and married Joan, a fellow student with whom he shared a passion for classical music and socialist causes — and the explosive secret of his espionage. The pair raised a family while living under a cloud of suspicion and years of FBI surveillance and intimidation. A COMPASSIONATE SPY reveals the twists and turns of this real-life spy story, its profound impact on nuclear history, and the couple’s remarkable love and life together during more than 50 years of marriage.

WATCH THE TRAILER

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

Art Show: Gretchen V. Feldman

With special opening celebration on Sunday August 27 at 4:30pm-6pm

Refreshments Served. Please join Sam and Dene Feldman

​

We just hung the new show at the MV Film Center featuring the work of Gretchen Feldman. Gretchen, a former textile conservator, was born in 1934 in Philadelphia, PA. She lived and worked on Martha’s Vineyard, MA, from 1985 until her death from lung cancer in 2008. Her work was strongly influenced by the seasonal moods of The Vineyard, as well as the changes in her garden and the landscape surrounding her studio. A lifelong fascination with the rich textures and colors of textiles, particularly quilts, can be seen in her brilliantly hued semi-abstract works on paper. These paintings, with her signature balance of shape, form and powerful color, combine layers of transparent and iridescent watercolor with thickly applied, opaque layers of crayon, colored pencil and pastel. Her work has been shown extensively in the United States.

THE LADY BIRD DIARIES

August 27th @7:30 PM

Q&A with Director Dawn Porter

A groundbreaking documentary film that uses Lady Bird's audio diaries to tell the story of one of the most influential and least understood First Ladies in history, Lady Bird Johnson. 

WATCH THE TRAILER

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

THE POWER OF STONE

August 30th @7:30 PM

Q&A with Directors David and Barbarella Fokus and Subject Lew French

The Power of Stone offers a glimpse into the life of renowned stone artist, Lew French, during the time he was working to create the Rose Styron Garden for the Martha’s Vineyard Museum. At first, Lew French appears as unyielding as the granite he works with, but beneath this artist’s rigid exterior is a deeply spiritual soul. Though he wakes up at 4am to meditate every day, Lew struggles to quiet his mind. In stone, Lew finds that which he longs for: stillness. As one friend put it, “Don’t be tricked by the idea that he’s a stone mason. He’s sort of a philosopher, artist, spiritual guide who’s working with stone.” This behind-the-scenes look at Lew’s process of creating his first public work— the Rose Styron Garden—takes viewers from a granite quarry in New Hampshire where Lew shares insights into his stone selection to Brazil, where Lew has spent 20 years creating the most singular expression of himself in the remote mountains of the Atlantic Rainforest.

WATCH THE TRAILER

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

Bicyclers Wanted!

The Tisbury Marketplace has a new 12 bike rack located opposite MV Film Center and Catboat Coffee. Come ride over for a film or meal.

Please be respectful and kind to everyone regardless of their mask-wearing preference.

Save the Date

MV International Film Festival

September 5-10, 2023