Since opening the Film Center in September of 2012, the Film Society annually has shown over 200 feature and short films to more than 30,000 patrons. The Martha’s Vineyard International Film Festival just completed its 18th year. Additionally, the Film Society produces five other festivals throughout the year, including SPECTRUM Film Festival (LGBTQ+S) in early May, Nature as Inspiration Environmental Festival in late May, FILMUSIC Festival in late June, its Documentary Week in early August, and WOMEN IN FILM in mid October.
In 2015 the Film Society partnered with the Martha’s Vineyard Theater Foundation to embark upon a difficult but necessary project for not only the Film Society members, but for the Island community as a whole. The Capawock Theatre in Vineyard Haven (opened in 1913) and at The Strand Theater in Oak Bluffs (opened in 1915) had fallen into disrepair. The Capawock could only be used sparingly and the Strand had been shut down completely for several years. In early 2015 Mark Snider and the Martha’s Vineyard Theater Foundation came to the Martha’s Vineyard Film Society with a proposal: They had negotiated a 20-year lease for the Capawock and Strand Theaters and extensive renovations were in the works. Their proposal: Would we be willing to operate the theaters once they opened? The Film Society proudly accepted the proposal and determined the re-opening dates. The Capawock opened on May 29th, 2015 and The Strand Theater on June 20th. Carly Simon and family performed to a packed house at the Capawock Opening Ceremony and a large crowd welcomed the Strand back to working order during a screening of JAWS! (filmed right here on Martha’s Vineyard) on the film’s 40th anniversary. Unfortunately as a result of COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, we had to give up our leases to the Capawock and Strand theaters that year. They are currently closed for the most part.
Today, the Film Center is still going storing, open every week of the year, and reserved for “Art House” style film programming, community events, and live performances.