FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

5 PM
MARTHA’S VINEYARD PLAYHOUSE
49 min.

Followed by a discussion with director Cece King

This short-film program pairs two candid portraits of place-based communities shaped by labor, environment, and shared values. When Dishwashers Were Kings captures Telluride’s disappearing ski bum culture, while Si La Isla Quiere (Island Willing) explores life on Chile’s remote Robinson Crusoe Island.

5 PM
GRANGE HALL
1 hr. 30 min.

Followed by a discussion with directors Gabriela Osio Vanden and Jack Weisman; Samantha Look, executive director of the Vineyard Conservation Society, will moderate

In Churchill, Manitoba, also known as the “polar bear capital of the world,” a migrating bear becomes more than a nuisance, forcing us to question who owns the wild. This immersive documentary, guided by an Inuit narrator, won a grand-jury prize at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

7–8 PM

Baozi (Steamed Buns) - $23

Mushroom or chicken, with pickled vegetables, served with a spicy peanut and cabbage salad

7:30 PM
MARTHA’S VINEYARD PLAYHOUSE
1 hr. 56 min.

Followed by a discussion with film subject Maria Bamford and co-director Neil Berkeley

Blurring the line between performance and personal struggle, this intimate documentary follows the brilliantly funny comedian, actor, and bestselling author as she transforms her experiences with mental illness into fearless, boundary-pushing comedy.

8 PM
GRANGE HALL
1 hr. 46 min.

Followed by a discussion with directors Miriam Louise Arens and Mitchell Arens; Brian Ditchfield, executive director of Circuit Arts, will moderate

Shot entirely on Martha’s Vineyard, this emotionally resonant sci-fi drama follows a grieving woman who attempts to save her husband from becoming trapped in a digital world.

10 AM
MARTHA’S VINEYARD PLAYHOUSE
1 hr. 31 min.

Followed by a discussion with director Sasha Waters; Fan Ogilvie, a Vineyard-based poet who is publishing her fifth book, will moderate

Grounded in her own words, this intimate documentary looks at the life and legacy of the bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet whose deep attention to nature continues to offer comfort to millions and has reshaped how people connect to poetry.

10 AM
GRANGE HALL
1 hr. 34 min.

Followed by a discussion with director Sharon Liese; Bill Eville, editor of the Vineyard Gazette, will moderate

When police raid the offices of a century-old, independent weekly newspaper in Kansas, it sets off a fierce debate over press freedom and constitutional rights. This Sundance award-nominated documentary reveals how a small-town newsroom can become a battleground for democracy itself.

12–1 PM

Detroit-Style Pizza - $23

Your choice of cheese or pepperoni, served with a chopped radicchio salad

1 PM
GRANGE HALL
1 hr. 31 min.

Followed by discussions with director Alysa Nahmias and film subjects who are members of the Girl Scouts of America; filmmaker Dawn Porter will moderate

In this joyful, heartwarming, and genuinely sweet documentary, girlhood and ambition collide as four young girls strive to be crowned the top-selling “Cookie Queen” during Girl Scout Cookie season.

1 PM
MARTHA’S VINEYARD PLAYHOUSE
47 min.

Followed by a discussion with directors Trina Baker and Cole Whitaker

This short-film program brings together four stories that explore ambition, memory, resilience, and connection. From a young athlete facing a defining moment, to a refugee’s life recalled through animation, to an artist confronting unexpected limitations, and a father rediscovering his sense of purpose, these films reflect the quiet courage found in everyday struggles.

2:45 PM
MARTHA’S VINEYARD PLAYHOUSE
1 hr. 35 min.

A recent winner of a Sundance special jury award for civil resistance, this urgent documentary chronicles how one Scottish neighborhood came together to prevent two of its residents from being deported.

4 PM
GRANGE HALL
1 hr. 30 min.

Followed by a discussion with film subject, activist, and Dream Defenders co-founder Phillip Agnew, activist and Barrios Unidos founder Nane Alejandrez, and director and producer Susanne Rostock; author, activist, and educator Mathea Morais will moderate

This intimate documentary follows singer, actor, and activist Harry Belafonte in the final twelve years of his life, as he mentors a new generation of civil-rights defenders while continuing his lifelong fight for justice.

5 PM
MARTHA’S VINEYARD PLAYHOUSE
1 hr. 57 min.

In this sharp yet tender comedy, two inseparable college seniors see their lifelong bond tested when they both fall for the same older woman, drawing her into a complicated web of love, rivalry, and reinvention.

6:15–7:30 PM

Chicken or Tofu Katsu - $26

Served with cucumber salad, steamed rice, and chili crisp

7:30 PM
GRANGE HALL
1 hr. 40 min.

In director Steven Soderbergh’s latest razor-sharp comedy-drama, the estranged children of a once‑renowned artist hire a struggling forger to complete their father’s unfinished paintings, in hopes of profiting from his legacy.

7:45 PM
MARTHA’S VINEYARD PLAYHOUSE
1 hr. 52 min.

Followed by a discussion with director and producer Dawn Porter and film subjects Alfred Chestnut, Ransom Watkins, and Andrew Stewart; educator and community activist Dhakir Warren will moderate

A 1983 Baltimore school murder led to three teens' wrongful imprisonment for 36 years. In this compelling new documentary, author Ta-Nehisi Coates investigates how this case affected the accused, witnesses, and their community.