DOCUMENTARY SHORTS
SCREENING TIME & TICKETS:
52 min.
Followed by a discussion with director Michael Cestaro
This year's program features two films that explore hidden histories and their lasting effects. One examines the emotional aftershocks of the Vietnam War, through a famous Pulitzer-winning photograph and personal testimonies. The other takes place on our own little island, where a legacy of genetic deafness created an inclusive community and a precursor to early American Sign Language.
Tickets for this screening are general-admission and pay-what-you-can. The suggested ticket price is $20. If you can pay more, we greatly appreciate it!
THE FILMS
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SIGNS FROM THE MAINLAND
Dir. Michael Cestaro | Documentary | U.S.A. | 2024 | 18 min. | English and American Sign Language with English subtitles
Starting as far back as the early 1700s, genetic deafness took a foothold on Martha’s Vineyard, where as many as one in four residents were deaf and a majority of hearing residents also were able to communicate in what is considered one of the precursors to modern American Sign Language. This film explores the deeper meaning and lessons to be learned from this unique enclave where deaf and hearing individuals coexisted seamlessly. Through interviews with historians, community members, and experts, it reflects on the legacy of the Island’s deaf, the implications for the broader society, and its relevance to contemporary conversations about inclusivity and diversity. -
ON HEALING LAND, BIRDS PERCH
Dir. Naja Pham Lockwood | Documentary | 2025 | 34 min.
This short film tells the remarkable stories behind one of the most famous photos in history, while acting as a portal into the “varied carols,” to borrow a phrase from Walt Whitman, of trauma and the American journey. It is the first documentary, from a Vietnamese-born filmmaker, that explores the continuing aftershocks of the Vietnam War from the perspectives of both sides: North and South Vietnamese, including Vietnamese Americans alive today. The story is told through Eddie Adams’s Pulitzer-winning photo of General Loan shooting a Communist Vietcong fighter, Captain Lem, in the head two days after the launch of the 1968 Tet offensive. In original interviews, the daughter of the executioner, the children of the executed, and the son whose family was allegedly killed by the executed and his men, prior to his execution, share for the first time on camera the intense emotions this photo elicits even today, and the impact it has had on their lives. While these individuals hold widely differing views, the film poignantly shows that all have something in common: the lasting trauma from the war.