Critically Acclaimed Films this Summer proudly presented by the MV Film Society and The Oak Bluffs Business Association...(scroll down please)





CHOPS
Tuesday, August 19
at 8:00 p.m.

The Tabernacle
Trinity Park, Oak Bluffs


$8.00/$5.00 for Film Society members




Doors Open for admissions 30 min. prior to screening




Watch the trailer - click here



Each year the best high school jazz bands from across the United States compete at the prestigious Essentially Ellington Festival. Hosted by Jazz at Lincoln Center Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis, this high-profile event offers an impressive preview of emerging jazz talents. In this documentary, filmmaker Brice Broder turns his lens on one Florida band who might just have what it takes to hit all the right notes and take home top honors at the world renowned jazz festival.

Once relegated to the smoke-filled nightspots, jazz music is now recognized as one of America's greatest original creations. Today it thrives in unexpected places-like the Jacksonville, Florida high school jazz band that stars in Bruce Broder's refreshing and empowering documentary. The film follows T.J., Owen and other aspiring jazz musicians as they compete with elite bands from all over the country at the Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival in New York City. Whittled down from over 900 high schools, fifteen bands (including two stellar groups from Seattle) are invited to perform at Lincoln Center. Along the way, virtuosic teenagers from a myriad of backgrounds not only improve their skills on their chosen instruments, they also learn the elusive art of truly "swinging"-and become a tight-knit family in the process. As artistic director of the festival, jazz musician Wynton Marsalis teaches the teenagers about soulfulness and urges them to keep alive the legacy of Duke Ellington and other jazz luminaries. World-renowned bassist Ron Carter visits their Jacksonville high school to help prepare them for the upcoming competition in a uniquely heart-warming scene. Inspired by the entire community of jazz musicians, the students humbly recognize the honor of carrying on the legacy of the masters.

Reminiscent of MAD HOT BALLROOM, Chops will make audiences admire the dedication of these young people as they proudly watch the culmination of their hard work: a festival performance where the students realize that no matter how much one prepares, sometimes life, like jazz, calls for improvisation.

USA * 88 mins. * Documentary * Not-Rated

Under Our Skin

Thursday, August 14
at 3:00 p.m.

Egdartown Cinema






Panel with Filmmaker and others to follow at Whaling Church

Watch the trailer - click here


Producer-director-writer Andy Abrahams Wilson takes a creative, humanistic approach that makes the complex material dramatic and visually interesting.
--- Alissa Simon, Variety

"Wilson's careful study and expert storytelling provide a compelling, informative, and emotional experience of one of the most mysterious and important-but least discussed- diseases currently plaguing our country."
--- Aaron Dobbs, Tribeca Film Festival

"A very important and timely work, not to mention an extraordinarily cinematic piece."
--- Sky Sitney, Silverdocs AFI/Discovery Film Festival

In the early 1970's, a mysterious ailment was discovered among children living around the town of Lyme, CT. What was first diagnosed as isolated cases of juvenile arthritis, eventually became known as Lyme disease, an illness triggered by spiral-shaped bacteria, similar to the microorganisms that cause syphilis. Today, many of those untreated will suffer chronic debilitating illness. Some unknowingly will pass the disease on to their unborn children. Many will lose their livelihoods, and still others, their lives.

Yet Lyme disease is one of the most misunderstood and controversial illnesses of our time. Difficult to test accurately, tens of thousands of people go undiagnose- or misdiagnosed with such conditions as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, autism, MS and ALS. The Centers for Disease Control admits that more than 200,000 people may acquire Lyme disease each year, a number greater than AIDS, West Nile Virus, and Avian Flu combined. And yet, the medical establishment-with profound influence from the insurance industry-has stated that the disease is easily detectable and treatable, and that "chronic Lyme" is some other unrecognized syndrome or a completely psychosomatic disorder.

UNDER OUR SKIN is a powerful and often terrifying look not only at the science and politics of the disease, but also the personal stories of those whose lives have been affected and nearly destroyed. From a few brave doctors who risk their medical licenses, to patients who once led active lives but now can barely walk, the film uncovers a hidden world that will astound viewers. While exposing a broken health care and medical research system, the film also gives voice to those who believe that instead of a crisis, Lyme is simply a "disease du jour," over diagnosed and contributing to another crisis: the looming resistance of microbes and ineffectuality of antibiotics. As suspenseful and hair-raising as any Hollywood thriller, UNDER OUR SKIN is sure to get under yours.

2008 * 104 mins. * Documentary * Not-Rated

2008 Festival Dates - 11-14 September
Presenting over 50 films from 20+ countries

Presented by the Martha's Vineyard Film Society
Supported in part by a grant from the Martha's Vineyard Cultural Council, a local
agency of the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

 

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