FREE ADMISSION -- 7 PM brief reception beforehand
Doors Open for admissions 30 min. prior to screening
Opening Night: Living Local kicks off with a special MV Film Center screening of “Sustainable Vineyard”, an episodic independent documentary series by Liz Witham and Ken Wentworth. Special reception at 7 PM — Wine & Bits, Community gathering afterwards.
Award-Winning documentary filmmakers Liz Witham and Ken Wentworth of Film-Truth Productions are excited to announce the premiere of their three latest short documentaries from their “Sustainable Vineyard” Documentary Series, with a post screening Q&A with some the island’s most visionary environmentalists. The films, each 10-15 minutes in length, will be followed by a Q&A with environmentalists featured in each episode. This promises to be a stimulating night of great films and conversation, and an unparalleled opportunity to learn more about sustainability efforts on the Vineyard by some of the leading experts in their fields. Ben Taylor will make a special wild life inspired musical appearance. The screening will be followed by a wine and cheese reception sponsored by Fall for the Arts.”Sustainable Vineyard” is an independent documentary series that highlights islanders working towards creating a sustainable community and environment. The series looks for interesting stories that help foster a human nature connection.Description of episodes:
WHERE DID THE BATS GO? – The Northern Long Eared Bat (NLEB), once the most populous bat in the northeast, has lost 95% of its population in the last decade.
The species was recently listed as threatened nationwide and endangered in the state of Massachusetts. Martha’s Vineyard is one of two places where NLEB maternity colonies have been documented in 2015 in all of the Northeast. Sustainable Vineyard follows wildlife biologists Luanne Johnson and Liz Baldwin of BiodiversityWorks as they track and study this endangered bat, mentor the next generation of guardians and educate the public about the importance of biodiversity.GROWING HABITAT STEWARDS – Children today are spending more time in front of screens than 
ever before, and subsequently are spending less time in nature. In this film, biologist Kendra Buresch sets out to change that by fostering students’ connection with nature through the “Habitat Patch” program she has developed for Island schools. We follow Kendra as she teaches Chilmark School students about habitat fragmentation and involves them in a habitat restoration project of a critically endangered Sand Plain Grasslands ecosystem. Through this interaction with Martha’s Vineyard’s ecology, Island children are given the opportunity to use nature as a classroom. The hope is that the students will become nature stewards who learn to respect all life within the island’s ecology.FORWARD TO NATURE – Kevin Brennan takes growing locally to a new level with his innovative 
Island Orchard Project. By carefully observing natural systems, he has designed a food-producing system that utilizes local soil types, keyline drainage, multi canopy forestry and livestock grazing to cut the use of fossil fuels, fertilizers and watering. His idea is to work with what already thrives in our biosphere while bringing the community together through connecting to nature. Sustainable Vineyard catches up with Kevin as he puts his plan into action.The above documentaries were made possible by grants from the Martha’s Vineyard Vision Fellowship as well as the Pathways Projects Institue and the Massachusetts Cultural Council
WHERE DID THE BATS GO? – The Northern Long Eared Bat (NLEB), once the most populous bat in the northeast, has lost 95% of its population in the last decade.
The species was recently listed as threatened nationwide and endangered in the state of Massachusetts. Martha’s Vineyard is one of two places where NLEB maternity colonies have been documented in 2015 in all of the Northeast. Sustainable Vineyard follows wildlife biologists Luanne Johnson and Liz Baldwin of BiodiversityWorks as they track and study this endangered bat, mentor the next generation of guardians and educate the public about the importance of biodiversity.GROWING HABITAT STEWARDS – Children today are spending more time in front of screens than ever before, and subsequently are spending less time in nature. In this film, biologist Kendra Buresch sets out to change that by fostering students’ connection with nature through the “Habitat Patch” program she has developed for Island schools. We follow Kendra as she teaches Chilmark School students about habitat fragmentation and involves them in a habitat restoration project of a critically endangered Sand Plain Grasslands ecosystem. Through this interaction with Martha’s Vineyard’s ecology, Island children are given the opportunity to use nature as a classroom. The hope is that the students will become nature stewards who learn to respect all life within the island’s ecology.FORWARD TO NATURE – Kevin Brennan takes growing locally to a new level with his innovative Island Orchard Project. By carefully observing natural systems, he has designed a food-producing system that utilizes local soil types, keyline drainage, multi canopy forestry and livestock grazing to cut the use of fossil fuels, fertilizers and watering. His idea is to work with what already thrives in our biosphere while bringing the community together through connecting to nature. Sustainable Vineyard catches up with Kevin as he puts his plan into action.The above documentaries were made possible by grants from the Martha’s Vineyard Vision Fellowship as well as the Pathways Projects Institue and the Massachusetts Cultural CouncilConfirmed speakers for post-screening Q&A:
Elizabeth Baldwin, Assistant Director/Wildlife Biologist, BiodiversityWorks; Kendra Buresch, Director/Biologist, Habitat Patch; Luanne Johnson, Director/Wildlife Biologist, BiodiversityWorks; Jamie O’Gorman, Island Orchard Project; John Ripley Stanwood, Owner, Top Soil Permaculture; Ken Wentworth and Liz Witham, Filmmakers, Film-Truth Productions
