Martha's Vineyard Environmental Film Festival

The Martha's Vineyard Environmental Film Festival brings together films that are inspired by the festivals tagline, "Inspiration from Nature." The festival features inspiring documentaries that show the concern and beauty held on our planet.

Schedule:

12pm -- Vineyard Conservation Society Student Art Show and Reception

1pm -- HOLDING BACK THE TIDE

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Followed by a Q&A with the Director, Emily Packer

This impressionist hybrid documentary traces the oyster through its many life cycles in New York, once the world’s oyster capital. Now their specter haunts the city through queer characters embodying ancient myth, discovering the overlooked history and biology of the bivalve that built the city. As environmentalists restore them to the harbor, Holding Back The Tide looks to the oyster as a queer icon, entangled with nature, with much to teach about our continued survival.

4pm -- SEQUOIAS OF THE SEA + SEAWEED, A LOVE STORY

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Followed by a discussion with the filmmakers Natasha Benjamin and Ana Blanco via zoom

SEQUOIAS OF THE SEA tells the story of the environmental, cultural and economic destruction impacting a coastal town that has lost its coastal kelp forest. It’s a deep dive into the lives of fishermen, tribes, scientists, and a community working to restore a habitat devastated by a warming climate.

SEAWEED, A LOVE STORY follows Dr. Nicole Miller—founder of Explore Your Coast, diver, and seaweed advocate—as she undertakes an ambitious 70 km underwater survey of Wellington’s coastline. With over 800 hours spent on SCUBA, Nicole documents the beauty of local kelp forests while revealing the stark challenges they face due to overfishing, pollution, and climate change. Through photography, art, and immersive VR, the film highlights her mission to protect these vital underwater habitats—essential to life both beneath and above the waves.

7:30pm -- BEEN HERE STAY HERE

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Followed by a discussion with director David Usui

BEEN HERE STAY HERE, explores the quiet yet profound crisis unfolding on Tangier Island, where climate change isn’t an abstract concept but a daily reality threatening to erase an entire community. The film follows three generations living on the island: Ooker Eskridge, the resolute mayor, whose family has called this place home for six generations; Cameron Evans, a young man caught between the pull of tradition and the allure of opportunities beyond the island; and Jacob Parks, a seven-year-old boy learning the deep maritime history that may soon slip away from him.