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The MV Film Society presents a long weekend of feature films and musical performances that celebrate the convergence of music, culture, and film.  

JUNE 27-30, 2024

PROGRAM AND TICKETS FOR 2024 will be announced in May

See Below for the 2023 Festival Lineup 

OPENING NIGHT

6:00pm reception with live music

Eric Johnson Duo Playing Jazz Standards and Brazilian classics

Sponsored by ISLAND TIME

GRATEFUL DEAD MEET-UP at the MOVIES 2023

Thursday, June 22nd @ 7:00pm

WATCH TRAILER HERE

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The Grateful Dead return to cinemas worldwide for the 2023 MeetUp At The Movies.

A year after Brent Mydland’s passing, the Grateful Dead returned to the summer stadium circuit, playing Chicago’s Soldier Field for the first time, with two keyboard players filling the seat Brent left vacant. 

Bruce Hornsby and Vince Welnick’s presence and musical contributions reinvigorated and revitalized the Grateful Dead, and the inspiration of the Dead’s playing was palpable. On a Saturday night in front of 60,000 fans, the Dead played what is often considered one of the greatest shows of the BruceVince era, up there with the second Giants Stadium show from a few days earlier. The Soldier field show was filled with favorites, including “Shakedown Street,”“BrownEyed Women,” “Playing In The Band,” “Terrapin Station,” and “Dark Star.” From the original sixcamera video feed that appeared on the stadium’s big screens and the pristine soundboard audio, Chicago 6/22/91 is an incredible performance starttofinish.


GORDON LIGHTFOOT: IF YOU COULD READ MY MIND

Friday, June 23rd @ 4:00pm

WATCH TRAILER HERE

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Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind is an exploration of the career, music, and influence of legendary Canadian musical icon Gordon Lightfoot. With unprecedented access to the artist, the documentary follows Lightfoot’s evolution from Christian choirboy to troubled troubadour to international star and beloved Canadian icon.

“If You Could Read My Mind” celebrates how Gordon Lightfoot turned his own wreckage into something sublime.” – Variety

“A thoroughly engaging retrospective of a hard-working, hard-living performer who survived to tell the tale.”  – Los Angeles Times

CITY OF A MILLION DREAMS

Friday, June 23rd @ 7:30pm

WATCH TRAILER HERE

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After the screening there will be a talk from director Jason Berry

Famous the world over, jazz funerals have origins shrouded in mystery. Filmed over twenty-two years, City of a Million Dreams explores race relations at a tearing time in American society. Burial traditions train a lens on the unique and resilient culture of New Orleans. City of a Million Dreams draws from the 2018 book of the same title by Jason Berry.

Deb Cotton, an African American and observant Jew, leaves “hard-hearted Hollywood” for New Orleans, and becomes a chronicler of the parading clubs spawned by 19th century burial societies. Her zeal for the city grows as she becomes a blogger for Gambit Weekly, adopting the handle “Big Red Cotton.” As Deb explores her adopted culture, Dr. Michael White, a prolific clarinetist and New Orleans native, plays “the widow’s wail” on his clarinet, a cry of lamentation in the funeral marches. White’s transcendent music also includes joyous peals for the soul’s cutting-loose, which happens when the band leaves the cemetery, followed by dancers in what New Orleanians call “the second line.” Risen in the ranks of brass bands, White, too, is on a journey of self-discovery, seeking clues about his ancestor who played at the dawn of jazz. White says of jazz funerals: “For someone dealing with American racism and trying to figure out your place in this life…you can be transformed into another world that really sets you free.”

Jason Berry achieved prominence for his reporting on the Catholic Church crisis in Lead Us Not Into Temptation(1992), a book used in many newsrooms. He has been widely interviewed in the national media, with many appearances on Nightline, Oprah, ABC and CNN. USA Today called Berry “the rare investigative reporter whose scholarship, compassion and ability to write with the poetic power of Robert Penn Warren are in perfect balance.”

Vows of Silence: The Abuse of Power in the Papacy of John Paul II, written with Gerald Renner (2004) has Spanish, Australian and Italian editions. The film won Best TV Documentary Award at 2008 Docs D.F. — Mexico City International Festival of Documentary Film.

Jason Berry produces documentaries and writes on culture and politics for many publications. Up From the Cradle of Jazz. a history of New Orleans music, reissued in fall 2009 has new sections on the cultural impact of Hurricane Katrina. His play, Earl Long in Purgatory, won a 2002 Big Easy award for Best Original Work in Theatre.

Mr. Berry produced a 2008 documentary, Vows of Silence, based on the book, which examines the Vatican’s system of justice in the sex abuse crisis and had airdates in Spain, Italy and Ireland. He was co-producer of the 2014 Frontline film Secrets of the Vatican by producer-director Anthony Thomas. Jason Berry lives in New Orleans.

Starting at 7pm and again after the screening and talk, author, journalist and filmmaker Jason Berry will be available to sign his companion book, City of a Million Dreams: A History of New Orleans at Year 300 (2018), which will be offered for purchase by Edgartown Books.  In the book, which serves as the basis for the film, Berry spotlights the tension between a culture of spectacle, rooted in African burial dances, and a city of laws anchored in white supremacy.  As culture and law grind against each other, the book’s narrative advances a line of real life characters worthy of an epic novel.

CONCERT FOR GEORGE

Saturday, June 24th @ 4:00pm

WATCH TRAILER HERE

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On November 29, 2002, one year after the passing of George Harrison, Olivia Harrison and longtime friend Eric Clapton organized a performance tribute in his honor. Held at London’s Royal Albert Hall, the momentous evening featured George’s songs, and music he loved, performed by a lineup that included Clapton, Joe Brown, Dhani Harrison, Jools Holland, Jeff Lynne, Paul McCartney, Monty Python, Tom Petty, Billy Preston, Ravi and Anoushka Shankar, Ringo Starr and many more.

REMASTERED in 2022 for the 20th Anniversary

“The sweet, solemn music of George Harrison… has rarely sounded more majestic than in the sweeping performances of the enlarged star-studded band that gathered in London at Royal Albert Hall on Nov. 29” – The New York Times

“The event’s warmth sweeps the audience along.” **** Guardian

“The fondness that everyone in Eric Clapton’s all-star band has for the former Fab shines throughout a tribute that retains the sincerity and simplicity of Harrison’s music.” **** Empire

“It’s hard to think of a more fitting tribute to a man who, despite being in the world’s biggest band, spent so much of that time in the shadows of his fellow players. George’s songs take centre-stage here, lovingly arranged by musical director Eric Clapton to accommodate as many famous friends as possible.” **** Record Collect


WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS?

Saturday, June 24th @ 7:30pm

WATCH TRAILER HERE

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Blood, Sweat & Tears, known for hits such as “Spinning Wheel”, “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy”, and “And When I Die”, headlined the legendary Woodstock Festival and won multiple Grammy Awards, most notably 1970’s win for Album Of The Year, besting The Beatles’ “Abbey Road” and “Johnny Cash at San Quinten.” This is the incredible never-before-told story about a top rock band that was unknowingly embroiled in a political rat’s nest involving the U.S. State Department, the Nixon White House and a controversial concert tour of Yugoslavia, Romania and Poland, countries that were behind what was then known as the Iron Curtain. As a result, they found themselves in the crossfire of a polarized America, as divided then as it is now.

“The documentary raises some interesting if ultimately unanswerable questions as it compellingly inhabits its very specific place in time.” – Los Angeles Times

“It’s a long overdue vindication for the band.” – Chicago Reader


LOVE TO LOVE YOU, DONNA SUMMER

Sunday, June 25th @ 4:00pm

WATCH TRAILER HERE

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Love to Love You, Donna Summer is an in-depth look at the iconic artist as her voice and artistry takes her from the avant-garde music scene in Germany, to the glitter and bright lights of dance clubs in New York. A deeply personal portrait of Summer on and off stage, the film features a wealth of photographs and never-before-seen home video footage – often shot by Summer herself. Through a rich window into the surprising range of her artistry, from songwriting to painting, Love to Love You, Donna Summer explores the highs and lows of a life lived on the global stage.

“ILLUMINATING” – Variety

“COMPLEX & TALENTED” – Deadline

“AN UNFLINCHING, FASCINATING, AND
WONDERFULLY NUANCED PORTRAIT” – POV


ERIC CLAPTON: ACROSS 24 NIGHTS

Sunday, June 25th @ 7:30pm

WATCH TRAILER HERE

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In 1990 and in 1991 Eric Clapton played 24 nights at the Royal Albert Hall performing with different line-ups and sets featuring Blues, Rock, and a full Orchestra. The performances have become legendary to Eric Clapton fans. Over thirty years later this film, edited from the original footage and completely remastered in Dolby Surround Sound, captures for the first time the definitive performances across all the sets over both years. The film features 17 hits from across his repertoires showing Clapton at his most exhilarating, collaborating with top musicians.

“…a top-notch concert film” – Reel Film Reviews


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