Category: 2018 films

2018 films

Tuesday, April 10: The Island and the Whales

 7:30 pm/ St. John School of the Arts   St John Film Society presents: THE ISLAND AND THE WHALE A feature length documentary by Mike Day “Beautifully photographed and perfectly edited, The Islands and the Whales is a powerful, if challenging, documentary that needs to be seen.” ( Warning: this film does contain graphic footage and animals are harmed during the film)  “An exploration of the current threats to the lifestyle of the people living in the Faroe Islands.” In their remote home in the North Atlantic the Faroe Islanders have always eaten what nature could provide, proud to put local food on the table. The land yields little, so they have always relied on harvesting their seas.  Hunting whales and seabirds kept them alive for generations, and gave them the way of life they love; a life they would pass on to their children. But today they face a grave threat to this tradition. It is not the controversy surrounding whaling that threatens the Faroese way of life; the danger is coming from the whales themselves. The Faroese are among the first to feel the affects of our ever more polluted oceans. They have discovered that their beloved whales are toxic, contaminated by the outside world. What once secured their survival now endangers their children and the Faroe Islanders must make a choice between health and tradition.   Winner of DOC NYC Grand Jury Prize and the Hot Docs Emerging International Filmmaker Award  “….Whereas films like The Cove,  and The Ivory Game present animal cruelty in the efforts of shedding a light on its barbarianism, Mike Day has an altogether different story to tell. Set on the Nordic Faroe Islands (smack in the middle of Denmark, Iceland, and the UK), Day’s film looks at how these people have had to adapt their sustainable fishing and hunting practices  to an increasingly globalized world that doesn’t see their way of life as in line with modern norms. “ Read more reviews here: THE GUARDIAN & THE GUARDIAN

2018 films

Tuesday, March 6, 2018: “TOUCH THE LIGHT”( Tocando La Luz)

 7:30 pm/ St. John School of the Arts  /  $5 donation St John Film Society presents: Touch the Light 72-minute documentary Producer / Director:  TOMMIE SMITH The St. John Film Society will be featuring a one-time screening of “Touch the Light”(Tocando La Luz) at the St. John School of The Arts in Cruz Bay beginning at 7:30pm. SYNOPSIS: This 72-minute documentary weaves three stories-all set in the blind community of Havana, Cuba-into a tale of personal independence. As Lis, Mily and Margarita each face family problems and heartbreak, their dependence on others turns out to be a double edged sword. From the music hall of Havana to a cinemas club for the blind, their stories reveal both the pain and joys of fighting for yourself. In Havana, Cuba an up-and-coming singer searches for confidence, a young woman in love longs for motherhood and a veteran of the Revolution comes to terms with the death of her husband. Three women, united by blindness and a desire for independence, guide us through Cuba’s current economic and social landscape while pursuing their dreams and breaking through personal and societal limitations. DIRECTOR: Jennifer Redfearn is an Academy Award nominated documentary director, whose immersive style of filmmaking examines how political, environmental and cultural forces impact on individual lives. She directed and produced the 2011 Academy Award nominated film, Sun Come Up, about a small island community losing their homeland to rising seas. Sun Come Up screened on HBO after a successful theatrical run in thirty U.S. cities. Her recent film, Tocando La Luz (Touch the Light), tells the story of three blind Cuban women and their fight for independence. It premiered at the Full Frame Documentary Festival where it won the Charles E. Guggenheim Award. DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT: We were drawn to Cuba because of its rich culture, complex political history and fierce independence as a small island nation. As the country stands on the brink of unknowable change, most Americans see little of the daily life behind ubiquitous images of Fidel Castro and crumbling buildings. We traveled to Havana looking for an unexpected story that offered a new way of understanding Cuban culture. Our hope is that this film gives audiences a picture of life in Cuba that is irreducible, as well as warm, illuminating and deeply human. Official website for the film: https://redantelopefilms.com/project/tocando-la-luz/ SJFS is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, Virgin Island Council on the Arts and St John Community Foundation. For more information, contact the St John Film Society stjviff@gmail.com or visit www.stjohnfilm.com The irrepressible Fraser proves that the groove in traditional music transcends toe-tapping fun – it can be a source of personal and political liberation.

2018 films

Tuesday, Feb 20, 2018: THE GROOVE IS NOT TRIVIAL

 7:30 pm/ St. John School of the Arts  /  $5 donation St John Film Society and  St John Arts Festival presents: The Groove Is Not Trivial 62-minute documentary Producer / Director:  TOMMIE SMITH The Groove is Not Trivial follows master fiddler Alasdair Fraser’s personal journey in search of self expression, a quest that has led him to dig deep into his Scottish musical roots. There he finds a universal pulse —a  groove — that runs through his virtuosic performances with cellist Natalie Haas and his dynamic teaching at his wildly popular, freewheeling fiddle camps in California, Scotland, and Spain. At his gatherings around the world for musicians of all ages and abilities, ‘the groove’ is a through-line from the past that sparks hopeful possibilities for the future. Fraser is at the epicenter of a movement in which people are finding their own voices and a deep sense of community through the shared love and joy of music. A subversive empowerment is happening as people reclaim cultural roots in jeopardy of being lost. The irrepressible Fraser proves that the groove in traditional music transcends toe-tapping fun – it can be a source of personal and political liberation. “A GOOD TUNE IS HARD TO KEEP DOWN…” –Alasdair Fraser FILMMAKER TOMMIE SMITH Tommie Dell Smith was Associate Producer on the production of Broken Rainbow, which an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. Her own award-winning documentaries include Breaking Silence: The Story of the Sisters at DeSales Heights. She also is producer of a series of Oral History projects. She has been a member/owner of New Day Films since 1994, where she has served on the Executive Committee several times.