Spring 2015 Season
Scroll down for complete listing
LAST DAYS IN VIETNAM
Monday, March 2
7:00pm, Theatre Three, Main Street Historic Port Jefferson Village
Guest Speaker: Commander Hugh Doyle, U.S. Navy (Ret.), Chief Engineer on the USS Kirk, spokesman in the film
FREE SCREENING!!!
In April of 1975, the North Vietnamese Army was closing in on Saigon as South Vietnamese resistance was crumbling. Approximately 5,000 Americans remained with roughly 24 hours to get out. Their South Vietnamese allies, co-workers, and friends faced certain imprisonment and possible death if they remained behind, yet there was no official evacuation plan in place. Still, with the clock ticking and the city under fire, 135,000 South Vietnamese managed to escape with help from a number of heroic Americans who took matters into their own hands, engaging in unsanctioned, often makeshift operations in a desperate effort to save as many people as possible. Produced and directed by Rory Kennedy, this screening is presented in collaboration with American Experience and PBS. Hotel accommodations will be provided by Danfords Hotel, in Port Jefferson, NY. Time: 98 min 
1971
Monday, March 9
7:00pm, Theatre Three, Main Street, Historic Port Jefferson Village
Guest Speaker: Johanna Hamilton, Director
In 1971, a group of eight citizens broke into a small FBI office in Media, PA and took documents that led to the discovery of a massive, illegal, domestic surveillance program known as COINTELPRO. The decision by the Washington Post to publish the documents was a defining moment for investigative journalism. The public learned about COINTELPRO, and the FBI’s programs targeting Martin Luther King, the Black Panthers and many others, only because of the stolen documents and the actions of The Citizens’ Commission to Investigate the FBI, as the burglars called themselves. They didn’t look for the spotlight. Their mission a success, they returned to their normal lives. Now, for the first time, the members of the Citizens’ Commission have decided to come forward and speak out about their actions. 1971 is their story. Told through a combination of exclusive interviews, rare primary documents from the break-in and investigation, national news coverage of the burglary and dramatic re-creations, the story of the Citizens’ Commission is an edge-of-your seat thriller with chilling echoes for today’s events. Winner of the Spotlight Award at the Cinema Eye Awards. Time: 79 minutes
THE GREAT INVISIBLE
Monday, March 16
7:00pm, Theatre Three, Main Street, Historic Port Jefferson Village
Guest Speaker: Keith Jones, Esq., appears in the film
On April 20, 2010, communities throughout the Gulf Coast were devastated by the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon, a state-of-the-art offshore oil rig operated by BP in the Gulf of Mexico. The blast killed 11 of the 126 rig crew members and injured many more, setting off a fireball that was seen as far as 35 miles away. After burning for two days, the Deepwater Horizon sank, causing the largest offshore oil spill in American history. The spill flowed unabated for almost three months, dumping hundreds of millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, shutting down the local fishing industry, polluting the fragile ecosystem, and raising serious questions about the safety of continued offshore drilling. Margaret Brown, director of THE GREAT INVISIBLE, traveled the Gulf Coast for four years, interviewing industry insiders, small-town fishermen, lawyers administrating BP’s faulty compensation fund and shell-shocked survivors of the initial blast. Together, their testimony adds up to a damning portrait of an industry whose lack of government oversight led to this great catastrophe. THE GREAT INVISIBLE is the winner of the SXSW Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary Feature, 2014. Time: 92 min
THE DECENT ONE
Monday, March 23
7:00pm, Theatre Three, Main Street Historic Port Jefferson Village
Guest Speaker: Vanessa Lapa, Director
THE DECENT ONE is an intimate portrait of Heinrich Himmler as seen through his diaries, love letters, and family photographs. We meet his parents, brothers, wife, lover and daughter. We watch as Himmler becomes one of the Nazi’s highest ranking officials, Gestapo Chief. How did his cruelty and evil develop? We are granted personal access to the mind, experiences, ideas and emotions that turned him into the “architect of the Holocaust.” Using actor’s voices, the dramatic script is based on selected pieces from original documents that were supposed to be confiscated by the United States Army and sent to America. Instead, those documents were lost and ultimately found on the Israeli market. The documentary that had to be made was about to begin. This award-winning film is directed, produced and written by Vanessa Lapa. We are thrilled to announce that Vanessa Lapa will fly from Israel to introduce her documentary and conduct the question-and-answer session at the film’s conclusion. Presented in collaboration with the North Shore Jewish Center. Time: 96 min.
MEET THE PATELS
Monday, April 6
7:00pm, Charles B. Wang Center, SUNY, Stony Brook
Speaker: Janet Eckholm, Producer
MEET THE PATELS is a laugh-out-loud, real-life romantic comedy about Ravi Patel, an almost-30-year-old Indian-American who enters a love triangle between the woman of his dreams … and his parents. Filmed by Ravi’s sister in what started as a family vacation video, this hilarious and heartbreaking film reveals how love is a family affair. Fresh out of a breakup with his American girlfriend and freaked out that he’s almost 30 and single, Ravi Patel goes on a family vacation to India with his head and heart spinning. Ravi is desperate to find love and is willing to do whatever it takes. Directed by siblings Ravi Patel and Geeta Patel, this spirited and uplifting documentary comes to you from Producer Janet Eckholm (AMERICAN SPLENDOR) and Academy Award Winning Executive Producer Geralyn Dreyfous (BORN INTO BROTHELS/THE SQUARE) and PBS. With clever use of unique animation and a soulful soundtrack that will have audiences dancing in their seats, Geeta and Ravi, along with their quirky parents, keep audiences entertained and glued to the screen. MEET THE PATELS is a film everyone can relate to regardless of gender, age, or cultural background — after all we have all been there. Presented in collaboration with the Charles B. Wang Center. Time 92 min
ALIVE INSIDE
Monday, April 13
7:00pm, Theatre Three Historic Port Jefferson Village
Guest Speaker: Michael Rossato-Bennett, Director
ALIVE INSIDE is a joyous cinematic exploration of music’s capacity to reawaken our souls and uncover the deepest parts of our humanity. Filmmaker Michael Rossato-Bennett chronicles the astonishing experiences of individuals around the country who have been revitalized through the simple experience of listening to music. His camera reveals the uniquely human connection we find in music and how its healing power can triumph where prescription medication falls short. This stirring documentary follows social worker Dan Cohen, founder of the nonprofit organization Music & Memory, as he fights to combat memory loss and restore a deep sense of self to those suffering from it. The film received the Audience Award at the Provincetown International Film Festival, Best Documentary at the Sedona International Film Festival and the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival. Time 78 min
KEEP ON KEEPIN’ ON
Monday, April 20
7:00pm, Theatre Three Historic Port Jefferson Village
Guest Speaker: Justin Kauflin, Appears in Film
*Due to the inclement weather we will be skypeing with our speaker Justin Kauflin tonight.
Shot over the course of five years by first-time filmmaker Al Hicks, KEEP ON KEEPIN’ ON depicts the remarkable story of 93 year-old jazz legend Clark Terry. Clark Terry was the first African-American staff musician on the Tonight Show, a mentor to Miles Davis, and one of the few performers to have played in both Count Basie’s and Duke Ellington’s bands. KEEP ON KEEPIN’ ON highlights Terry’s friendship with Justin Kauflin, a 23 year-old, preternaturally-gifted, blind piano prodigy, who suffers from debilitating stage fright. This is the entertaining, uplifting, emotional story of their relationship and how, together, they help each other face the toughest challenges of their lives. Winner of the Best New Documentary Director at the 2014 Tribeca film Festival and Audience Choice at the Cinema Eye Awards. Hotel accommodations will be provided by Danfords Hotel, in Port Jefferson, NY. Time: 84 min
