• 01Jun

    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

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  • 11May

    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.


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  • 22Apr

    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.

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  • 18Mar

    The_agronomist_smallFree 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


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  • 02Mar

    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)


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  • 21Jan


    young_at_heart_2

    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.

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  • 05Jan

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    NESHOBA

    a documentary by Micki Dickoff & Tony Pagano (90 min) 2008

    Click on the image to the left for a full synopsis.

    “…the story of a Mississippi town still divided about the meaning of justice, 40 years after the murders of three civil rights workers.”

    In the summer of 1964, three young men went to Philadelphia, a small town in the heart of Neshoba County, to register black voters and investigate a church burning.  When their bodies were found 44 days later buried beneath an earthen dam, many people rationalized the men came looking for trouble and got what they deserved. While the killers continued to live and prosper, most townspeople remained silent, as if the murders never happened.

    Finally, in January of 2005, the State of Mississippi indicted the alleged mastermind of the murders, Edgar Ray Killen, an 80-year-old Baptist preacher and notorious racist. The filmmakers gained unprecedented access to Killen. For the first time ever, they capture the outspoken views of a Klan member charged with a civil rights murder and take viewers on a journey into the mindset of a man who, to this day, feels the murders of two Jews and an African-American were justified as self-defense of a way of life.

    Meet the Filmmaker!

    Virgin Islands resident and filmmaker Tony Pagano will be present to introduce his film and participate in discussion with the audience afterwards.

    Don’t miss the opportunity to meet this filmmaker whose career spans 32 years in the commercial and network broadcast industry. Mr Pagano spent 17 years at the ABC News Magazine 20/20, first as an editor, then location audio, and finally as their leading Director of Photography. Tony currently owns and operates his independent production company, Pagano Productions.

    NESHOBA, Pagano’s feature directorial debut, was awarded numerous prizes in 2008, among them BEST DOCUMENTARY at its premier at the Boston Film Festival and BEST POLITICAL DOCUMENTARY at the New York International Film Festival. Link to full list of awards.

    “a disturbing peek at how little some people have changed, as well as an inspiring portrait of others’ determination to see crime punished at last…riveting.”  Dennis Harvey, VARIETY November 2008.  Link to full VARIETY review.


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  • 17Dec

    Black Candle Web Image

    THE BLACK CANDLE: A Kwanzaa Celebration by M.K. Asante, Jr. (71 min) 2008

    2009 Winner, Best Documentary, Africa World Documentary Film Festival

    “More than a film about a holiday, this is the celebration of a people.” ~ Maya Angelou

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

    The Black Candle uses Kwanzaa as a vehicle to explore and celebrate the African-American experience. Narrated by world renowned poet Maya Angelou and directed by award-winning author and filmmaker M.K. Asante, Jr., The Black Candle is about the struggle and triumph of the African-American family, community, and culture.

    The first feature film on Kwanzaa, The Black Candle traces the holiday’s growth out of the Black Power Movement in the 1960s to its present-day reality as a global, pan-African holiday embraced by millions of celebrants.


    Kwanzaa

    “A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture.”

    Kwanzaa is celebrated annually from December 26th to January 1st.

    Click the image at left for more information about this important holiday.


    ALSO FEATURING: Master Drummer Eddie Bruce!

    Don’t miss the Live Drumming demonstration at 6:30 PM. Bring a drum and join in the fun before the movie!


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  • 10Nov

    unforeseen

    THE UNFORESEEN

    a documentary by Laura Dunn, produced by Robert Redford and Terrence Malick (88 min) 2007

    Winner Independent Spirit Award 2008

    “The best film at the 2007 Sundance Film festival, hands down…” Roger Koehler, Variety

    The tragedy of overdevelopment is made painfully clear in this film that traces the ambition of a Texas developer and the threats his project imposes on the local environment. When the development threatens the local treasure Barton Springs, a fragile limestone aquifer and spring-fed swimming hole, the community organizes to fight back. Contains clips from interviews with Robert Redford, Willie Nelson, Wendell Berry and Texas governor Ann Richards.

    “The kind of transformative viewing experience that has made the current period a golden age for nonfiction film.”


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  • 04Nov

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    A Special Screening at Cinnamon Bay Amphitheater, St John

    PROUDLY WE SERVED: Virgin Islands Veterans of WWII

    Produced for the American Legion in the U.S. Virgin Islands by Joan Keenan (56 min.) 2009

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

    Veterans from the Virgin Islands faced unique challenges as they left a small, predominantly African Caribbean-American community to join the segregated armed forces of the United States. The surviving group of veterans provided a rich source of historical and social perspectives.

    The result of over 30 interviews, this important documentary provides insight into the lives and experiences of these veterans: their motivation for serving in the armed forces, their experiences with racism, their contributions and the effects of their service on their lives.

    Shot on location in St. Croix, St. Thomas, St. John and Maryland.


    ALSO FEATURING:

    Long Shot AnnabergTHE ROCK/TRANSFER a short by Janet Cook-Rutnik and Bill Stelzer (8:03 min) 2009

    “For amidst these crumbling walls echo a multitude of voices, and each has its own tale to tell.”

    Part of the “Facing Locality” exhibition at the Caribbean Museum of Art, The Rock Transfer is about the weight of history collective and personal as well as an attempt to reconnect the past with the present through a symbolic gesture in which an object that signifies the past is moved from one historical place (Annaberg Sugar Factory on St. John) to another (Caribbean Museum Center for the Arts in Frederiksted, St. Croix).

    The Rock/Transfer was included in the 4th International Video Festival of Jakarta, at the Galeri Nasional Indonesia, that opened this fall in Jakarta, Indonesia.


    SPECIAL GUESTS:

    wwplogo1

    WELCOME VETERANS!

    Please join us for this special screening as we honor Veterans from the VI and beyond. Distinguished guests will include members of Team River Runner, veterans of the Wounded Warriors Project, as they are hosted by our local American Legion Post 131.

    Click on the image at left to find out more about this heroic mission!


    YouTube video – Team River Runner, St. John kayak trip: Link.

    Wounded Warriors St. John dive trip article: Link


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