OPENING-NIGHT PREMIERE

GREAT PONDS: Finding a Better Balance

Dir. Ollie Becker | Documentary | U.S.A. | 2023 | 40 min.

Followed by a discussion with director Ollie Becker, Vineyard Conservation Society executive director Samantha Look, Great Pond Foundation executive director Emily Reddington, and others. A reception with refreshments, including charcuterie and cheese by Nina Levin, will follow downstairs. Tickets for this MVFF ‘24 opening-night event are $125 each.

In the second episode of Circuit Films’ Great Ponds docuseries, Martha’s Vineyard’s coastal ponds continue to be adversely affected by the rising sea-level and temperatures of climate change, and an influx of nitrogen from septic systems and landscaping runoff. In response, the Great Pond Foundation, the Vineyard Conservation Society, the Martha’s Vineyard Shellfish Group, the Wampanoag Environmental Laboratory, and others make vital and cooperative efforts to revive the herring, shellfish, and eelgrass populations. While offering hope, this film urges the public to consider its nitrogen and carbon footprints, in relation to the ponds’ survival.