• 12Jul

  Coming Thursday July 22 – Classic Film Night & Dinner with La Plancha del Mar

  Film Presentation 1 Comment

  Free Movie Night
  7:00 pm
  Marketplace 3rd Floor, St John

  CASABLANCA by Michael Curtiz (102 min) 1942

  They had a date with fate in Casablanca!

  This classic romantic melodrama, set in the Vichy controlled Moroccan city of Casablanca, is a masterful tale of two men vying for the same woman’s love. Rick, played by Humphrey Bogart, must choose between his love for Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) and doing the right thing by helping her and her Resistance leader husband escape from Casablanca.

  This story of political and romantic espionage is set against the backdrop of the wartime conflict between democracy and totalitarianism. The film, wrapped in a rich, smoky atmosphere and accompanied by  a superb musical score, is filled with suspense, unforgettable characters and memorable lines of dialogue.

  One of the most popular, magical and flawless films of all time – focused on the themes of lost love, honor and duty, self-sacrifice and romance within a chaotic world.

  PRE SHOW DINNER 5:30 to 7:00 PM

  Our friends at La Plancha del Mar will be serving a Moroccan-inspired Buffet Dinner in the 3rd floor courtyard before the show. The buffet will feature scrumptious braised beef and preserved lemon chicken, a variety of vegetarian items and a special dessert. Seating will be limited, so please make your reservation today!

  $30 pp OR $25 for Film Society Members. (Memberships sold at the door) CALL 777-7333

  Click the La Plancha del Mar logo (above) to visit their website and view their menu.

  Tags: Classic Film, Cruz Bay, Dinner, La Plancha del Mar, Marketplace, Morocco

• 01Jun

  June 1st 2010

  Film Presentation No Comments

  Free Movie Night
  7:00 pm 
Tuesday, June 1st
  Sputnik Bar, Coral Bay (340) 776-6644)

  PETE SEEGER: POWER OF SONG by Jim Brown (93 min) 2007

  “A vibrant musical film” – Roger Ebert

  In this documentary, Jim Brown documents the life of one of the greatest American singer/songwriters of the last century. Pete Seeger was the architect of the folk revival. Largely misunderstood and criticized for his strong beliefs, he was picketed, protested, blacklisted, and in spite of his enormous popularity, banned from commercial television for more than 17 years.

  Musicians including Bob Dylan, Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez, Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Springsteen, Natalie Maines, and Peter, Paul & Mary appear in this intimate portrait and discuss Seeger’s lasting influence on the fabric of American music.

  “As the latest tribute — Jim Brown’s loving documentary — makes clear, he’s still busy, still angry, still hopeful, still singing.” The New York Times

  Tags: Coral Bay, Documentary, Folk Music, Pete Seeger, Sputnik

• 11May

  May 11th 2010 – Meet the Filmmaker

  Film Presentation No Comments

  Free Movie Night
  7:00 pm Tuesday March 11th
  Sputnik Bar, Coral Bay 776-6644
  

  PLAY, JANKUNU PLAY by Oliver Greene (45) 2006

  “… a highly significant accomplishment for the Garifuna people, in their effort to preserve their culture and share their rich heritage with the world.”

  The Garifuna are people of West African, Arawak and Carib descent who live along the Caribbean coast of Central America from Belize to Nicaragua. One of their most popular rituals is wanaragua, commonly called Jankunu. Dancers wearing colorful regalia entertain by mimicking the military and social customs of the European colonizers of Belize… similar processions performed in the Bahamas, Bermuda, Jamaica, North Carolina, St Kitts-Nevis and Cape Coast, Ghana, reveal the extent to which this ritual is practiced.

  Meet the Filmmaker! Free Cultural Music Workshop with Oliver Greene  5:00 – 6:30 PM

  Filmmaker Oliver Greene will present a free workshop before the film and will also participate in audience discussion afterwards. Greene is an Associate Professor at the School of Music, Georgia State University. He holds a Ph.D. in musicology (emphasis, ethnomusicology) from Florida State University and masters and bachelors degrees from Southern Methodist University and the College Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati, respectively. He has published articles in the Black Music Research Journal, Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music, the Garland Encyclopedia of World Music and in the book The Garifuna: A Nation Across Borders.

  Be sure to come meet Oliver Greene and hear of his experiences in creating this informative and colorful film.

  
  

  Tags: Coral Bay, Documentary, Garifuna, Oliver Greene, Sputnik

• 22Apr

  April 22nd – St John Film Kicks Off Reef Fest 2010

  Film Presentation No Comments
  

  Leatherback Sea Turtle

  Free Movie Night
  7:00 pm Thursday April 22nd
  Marketplace 3rd Floor, St John

  THE LEATHERBACKS OF ST CROIX

  a work in progress by Steve Simonsen

  St John photographer and filmmaker Steve Simonsen presents his documentary about the conservation of Leatherback sea turtles at Sandy Point Wildlife Refuge on St Croix. Working alongside members of the Fish and Wildlife Service and The West Indies Marine Animal Research and Conservation Service, Steve hopes the film will help raise awareness of the endangered creatures to help protect, recover and sustain the threatened and endangered marine animals of the West Indies.

  Come hear Steve tell of his experiences in making this beautiful and moving film.

  

  Steve Simonsen

  Come hear Steve tell of his experiences in making this beautiful and moving film.

  Steve Simonsen is widely known for his breathtaking underwater images. He is the creator of the award winning coffee table book “Living Art, St. John” and a regular contributor to Caribbean Travel & Life, Scuba Diving and Sport Diver magazines among others.  Steve and his wife Janet base their stock photography business, “Marine Scenes”, year round on St John.  Steve also teaches photography and video production classes to high school students. He is passionate about passing on knowledge to the next generation while pursuing his own lifelong desire to make films.

  Click on Steve’s image to visit his website.

  Click on Steve’s image to visit his website.

  
  

  Also Screening:

  

  Nassau Grouper (Click for info)

  SEAS OF CHANGE: Spawning Aggregations in the Virgin Islands

  by Tim Kelly and Perry Pickert (28 min) 2006

  “In the Virgin Islands, the bond between man and sea is timeless.”

  Once huge schools of spawning fish provided a seemingly endless bounty, but today spawning schools are disappearing and fishing grounds are being closed. Fishermen are struggling to preserve their livelihoods, and scientists from the University of the Virgin Islands are racing to understand how these huge schools of spawning fish can restore and maintain fish populations across the Caribbean.

  “No fish, no fishery, but how can a fisherman resist a gathering of fish so dense that a good catch is guaranteed?”

  In the Virgin Islands, a few years back, not many did. The result: Nassau grouper disappeared. Other species were headed for the same fate, until the government, scientists, and fishermen together decided a little TLC would be a good idea.

  LINK: Interview with “Seas of Change” filmmaker

  
  

  Also Featuring:

  

  Indo-Pacific Lionfish

  AN UPDATE ON THE INVASIVE LIONFISH

  Presented by Karl Pytlik and Jessica Hornbeck

  Click on the image for more information from NOAA.

  Tags: Cruz Bay, Documentary, Earth Day, Perry Pickert, Reef Fest, Steve Simonsen, The Marketplace, Tim Kelly

• 18Mar

  March 18th 2010

  Film Presentation No Comments

  Free Movie Night
  7:00 pm Thursday March 18th
  Marketplace 3rd Floor, St John

  THE AGRONOMIST by Jonathan Demme (90 min) 2003

  The life of tireless Haitian human rights acitivist Jean Dominique:

  This fascinating profile of inspired, and inspiring, Haitian independent radio broadcaster Jean Dominique is informative about the history of Haiti’s political strife and includes news film clips and interviews with family members and colleagues. Despite increasing threats and violence, Dominique maintained his radio station as a haven of truth and free speech.

  For the film Demme interviewed Jean Dominique and his wife Michele Montas, both in Haiti and during periods of their exile in New York.

  “…Jean Dominique embodies the fragile, perpetual hope that Haiti, so long tormented by foreign meddlers and domestic dictators, might someday nurture a just and decent political order…a lively immediacy unusual in documentaries of its kind.”                                                                   The New York Times

  
  

  Tags: Cruz Bay, Documentary, Free Speech, Haiti, Human Rights, Independent Radio, Jean Dominique, The Marketplace

• 02Mar

  March 2nd 2010 – A Great Night With Visiting Filmmaker Laurel Chiten!

  Film Presentation No Comments

  

  A Special Thanks to Our Audience, Sputnik and Laurel Chiten…

  St John Film would like to thank Laurel Chiten for sharing her film, Touched, with our audience on Tuesday night at Sputnik. We enjoyed a nice roti dinner together before the show and an interesting question and answer period afterward.

  We’d also like to thank Ms. Chiten for sharing a preview of her work in progress: From Within, Without, a film about homeopathy. For those who expressed interest in seeing this film once finalized, please stay tuned for updates! For more information about Laurel Chiten and her works, visit her website:  www.blinddogfilms.com.

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  Free Movie Night

  7:00 pm 
Tuesday, March 2nd
  Sputnik Bar, Coral Bay (340) 776-6644

  TOUCHED by Laurel Chiten (65 min) 2002

  “a documentary about people who think they’ve had contact with aliens, and the Harvard psychiatrist who believes them.“

  A few years ago, Harvard psychiatrist John Mack, a leading researcher in the alien encounter phenomenon … wanted me to consider making a movie about encounters with these alien life forms. I told him no. I knew next to nothing about alien abduction, had no interest and thought it was all rather foolish. Then, he invited me to meet some of the people who claim to have had these experiences … I had stumbled into a world filled by people who had been touched by something … and had their lives blown apart because of it.

  “The debate as to whether these stories are true or not could go on forever. Instead, I became more interested in the people — those who have had their lives both torn apart and transformed by this experience.”

  Meet the Filmmaker!

  Don’t miss the opportunity to meet Laurel Chiten who will be present to introduce and discuss this intriguing film. Ms Chiten has been an independent filmmaker for over twenty years. TOUCHED won Best Documentary at its Canadian premiere at the Female Eye Film Festival (FeFF) in Toronto on November 22, 2003. TOUCHED also won Best Documentary of 2003 in the “Abductee or Contactee” category at a long-running UFO convention. To read more about Ms Chiten and her films, click this LINK.

  Join us for Dinner with the Filmmaker before the show! 5:30 PM

  ~ By Reservation Only ~

  JuJu’s delicious Roti’s: Chicken, Conch or Veggie + Dessert & Drinks!

  $20 pp / $15 for Film Society Members (Memberships sold at the door)

  
  

  Tags: Alien Abduction, Alien Encounters, Coral Bay, Documentary, Laurel Chiten, Sputnik, Visiting Filmmaker

• 18Feb

  February 18th 2010 – Meet the Filmmaker

  Film Presentation No Comments

  

  Rivers of Corn

  Free Movie Night
  7:00 pm Thursday February 18th
  Marketplace 3rd Floor, St John

  SARAYAKU: Rivers of Corn

  a documentary by Marta Noemí Bautis (63 min) 2009

  Click the image at left to view the film’s website.

  In the year 2002 the people of Sarayaku successfully resisted the invasion of an international oil company. Sarayaku: Rivers of Corn is a journey to this Kichua 
community in the south of the Ecuadorian Amazonia, five years 
after the frustrated invasion.

  This documentary recreates the story through the memory of several women that participated in the events of 2002, and contrasts daily life scenes with those of the struggle 
of the people of Sarayaku to defend their ancestral lands.

  Meet the Filmmaker!

  Filmmaker Marta Noemí Bautis will be present to introduce her film and participate in discussion with the audience afterwards. She was born in Argentina and has traveled throughout Latin America as a photojournalist. She is an award winning documentary filmmaker whose videos have been screened at numerous national and international festivals. Ms Bautis is a faculty member at the School of Contemporary Arts, Ramapo College of New Jersey and founder of Tiempo Azul Productions.

  Don’t miss the opportunity to meet Ms Bautis and hear her personal experiences in creating this important film.

  
  

  SPECIAL PRIX FIXE DINNER with Filmmaker Marta Bautis! 5:30 PM

  
  

  Our friends at La Plancha del Mar will be serving a lovely three course meal, including appetizer, dessert and wine tasting!  Seating will be limited, so please make your reservation today!

  $35 pp OR $25 for Film Society Members.                                     (Memberships sold at the door) CALL 777-7333

  Click the La Plancha del Mar logo (above) to visit their website and view their menu.

  
  

  Tags: Cruz Bay, Ecuador Documentary, Kichua, Marta Bautis, Oil, The Marketplace

• 02Feb

  February 2nd 2010

  Film Presentation No Comments

  
  

  IN THE TIME OF THE BUTTERFLIES by Mariano Barroso (95 min) 2001

  Based on the novel of the same name, by Julia Álvarez

  Click the image at left for more information about the film.

  “Women had their place. Hers was in the revolution.”

  In the Time of the Butterflies is inspired by the true story of the three Mirabal sisters who, in 1960, were murdered for their part in an underground plot to overthrow the government of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo. Starring Salma Hayek as Minerva Mirabal, this is a tale of courage and sisterhood set in the Dominican Republic during the rise of the Trujillo dictatorship.

  “We cannot allow our children to grow up in this corrupt and tyrannical regime, we must fight against it, and I am willing to give up everything, including my life if necessary.” ~ Patria Mirabal

  “It is a source of happiness to do whatever can be done for our country that suffers so many anguishes.” ~ Minerva Mirabal

  
  

  

  LAS MARIPOSAS (The Butterflies)

  Patria Mercedes, Maria Teresa and Minerva Argentina Mirabal

  Click on the image at left for more information.

  
  

  
  

  Tags: Baseball, Coral Bay, Dominican Republic, Drama, Sports, Sputnik

• 21Jan

  January 21st 2010

  Film Presentation No Comments

  
  

  YOUNG@HEART

  a heartwarming documentary by Stephen Walker & Sally George (107 min) 2007

  !!! ROCK AND ROLL WILL NEVER DIE !!!

  Click the image at left to visit the film’s website.

  Prepare to be entertained by the inspiring individuals of Young@Heart Chorus, a New England senior citizens chorus that has delighted audiences worldwide with their covers of songs by everyone from The Clash to Coldplay. As the film begins the retirees, led by their demanding musical director, are rehearsing their new show, struggling with Sonic Youth’s dissonant rock anthem “Schizophrenia” and giving new meaning to James Brown’s “I Feel Good”. What ultimately emerges is a funny and unexpectedly moving testament to friendship, creative inspiration, and defying expectations.

  Watch Young@Heart Trailer

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  “…offers an encouraging vision of old age in which the depression commonly associated with decrepitude is held at bay by music making, camaraderie and a sense of humor.” New York Times

  Click the image at left for more on info on the Young@Heart Chorus.

  Tags: Chorus, Cruz Bay, Documentary, Music, Senior Citizens, The Marketplace

• 06Jan

  Tony Pagano Screening – A Great Success!

  Film Presentation No Comments

  Thanks to all the film lovers of St John and St Thomas, we had a fantastic turnout of around 120 people!

  It was great to have filmmaker Tony Pagano present. The discussion afterwards added a lot to the experience, and the thoughtful questions from the audience sparked interesting stories about the making of the film.

  A special thanks to the Virgin Islands Council for the Arts for helping underwrite this event.

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