Florine Smith, member of Mgm Tri-County Gospel Choir, will present the film “Rejoice & Shout” which takes viewers on a journey through 200 years of African-American Christian music, using performance footage, audio, photos and interviews to document the history and power of gospel music.

Please join us for dessert and discussion after the film and presentation.






SATURDAY JANUARY 14, 2012 AT 7:00 PM:  "YOU DON'T KNOW JACK"

This Emmy-winning documentary explores the life of Dr. Jack Kevorkian and his passionate championship of the right to physician-assisted dying in the United States.

Brent Goo, member of Compassion and Choices, a national organization that supports the movement for the right of the individual to chose to die with the support of a physician, will discuss the impact of the work of Dr. Kevorkian on the movement and explain some of their current efforts.

Join us for dessert and discussion following the film.

DECEMBER CHRISTMAS CLASSICS: FRIDAYS AT 6:00 PM



Thursday November 10th, 7:00 PM:  "Rivers and Tides" hosted by Greg & Lori Dusenberry

Greg and Lori Dusenberry will host the astonishing documentary, “Rivers and Tides”. Lori and Greg are the owners/innkeepers of The Inn at Tabbs Creek in Port Haywood, Virginia.  Based on their respect for the natural world and their personal experience as artists, Greg and Lori find this film to be an especially wonderful blend of art and nature—two of their greatest passions.

“Rivers and Tides” shadows renowned sculptor Andy Goldsworthy as he creates works of art with ice, driftwood, leaves, stone, dirt and snow in open fields, beaches, rivers, creeks and forests. With each new creation, he carefully studies the energetic flow and transitory nature of his work. The film won the Golden Gate Award Grand Prize for Best Documentary at the 2003 San Francisco International Film Festival.

Friday October 14th: "The Vanishing of the Bees"

 

Please join us for Dessert and discussion following the film.

SEPTEMBER 17TH:  "WAITING FOR SUPERMAN"

An award-winning documentary on our failing public school system.

Jen Little, Vice Chair of the Mathews County School Board, will present this documentary which examines the crisis of public education in the U.S. that has not improved despite decades of well-intentioned reforms and huge sums of money spent on the problem. Jen will bring the discussion to our local level, getting specific about the situation in our schools.

Please join us for dessert and discussion following the film.

THURSDAY AUGUST 11 AT 7:00 PM:

The Mathews Art Gallery will premiere a documentary chronicling their 34 year history.

 

FRIDAY JULY 8 AT 7:00 PM:  BASEBALL NOSTALGIA

Allison Burr-Miller is a PhD student in Communications at the University of Massachusetts who is currently living in Mathews while she writes her dissertation. Allison has loved baseball all her life which is why she chose it as her dissertation topic. Her research explores how places like retro-baseball parks create feelings of nostalgia for a bygone era in the United States. 

Allison will present the film "A League of Their Own", which focuses on the moment in history when women were called upon to play professional baseball during the Second World War because many male athletes were away at war.

Please join us for dessert and discussion after the film.

FRIDAY JUNE 24, 7:00 PM:  David "Stone" Sweet, our local authority on Native American artifacts and tool technologies, will present the film "Pocohontas- Her True Story". He will bring examples of his extensive collection of Indian artifacts to help provide a vivid picture of Indian life in our area.

You are encouraged to bring your own artifacts if you have questions for David or if you just want to share them. Dessert will be served.

Thursday May 12, 7:00 PM:  "The Economics of Happiness": A documentary about the worldwide movement for economic localization.  (Free and open to the public)

Tour de Chesapeake Screenings:

Saturday May 14 4:00 pm & 7:00 pm

(Suggested donation $5)

 

April 15th , 7:00 PM April Brings Recognition of Autism Awareness Month

Lisa Peschel McCann and Jennifer Clark Baucom, owners of Bayside Children’s Therapy Network, Inc. in Gloucester will host the HBO Film "Temple Grandin", the story of a brilliant young woman who becomes a famed animal behaviorist while coping with the stigma of autism. 

Lisa and Jennifer will lead a discussion based on their experience founding our region's first clinic to specialize in pediatric therapy.  Join us for a celebration of the history and possibilities of our most amazing children.

Dessert will be served following the film.

March 10th, 7:00 PM Rita McClenny from the Virginia Film Office

The Mathews Film Society is pleased to welcome Rita McClenny to Mathews to talk about the economic impact filmmaking can have on a local community.  Winner of the much-coveted and prestigious 2010 Theresa Pollak Award for Excellence in the Arts for her outstanding work in the area of Films, Rita has been with the Virginia Film Office since 1991.  She is a board member of the Virginia Film Festival, the Virginia Production Alliance, Maymount Foundation and the Virginia Center for Media and Culture and is also a member of numerous other organizations involved in promoting the entertainment industry in Virginia. Rita is a native Virginian who has worked tirelessly to bring major film projects such as the Emmy Award-winning HBO mini-series John Adams to our state.

Please join us for dessert and discussion following Rita's talk.

SPECIAL EVENT IN CELEBRATION OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH: February 18, 7:00 pm

Mathews' own Bluesman Franklin "Jay" Jarvis will screen "Crossroads", a film that delves deep into the blues, and then he will take us on a personal tour of the roots of this music.  Jay is well-known to musicians both local and national.  His career spans more than a half century of singing, playing, teaching and preaching the blues.  His passion is to keep alive the old music that began as the "code songs" of slavery days and to pay tribute to the originators and the masters of the blues. 

Please join us for dessert and discussion after the film and presentation.




JANUARY 22, 7:00 PM: AN EVENING EXPLORING HITCHCOCK

Milton Andrews, a longtime film buff and Hitchcock fan, will screen "Shadow of a Doubt", Hitchcock's own favorite film made in 1943.  Milton says he intends to ramble on a bit about Hitchcock's body of work, some of the innovative techniques that he used, his personality, and where he probably fits within the film industry.  Please join us after the film for dessert and discussion.







4 CHRISTMAS CLASSICS FOR DECEMBER!

Thursday November 18th 7:00 PM Annie Wortham will Lead a Discussion on "Dersu Uzala"

"Dersu Uzala" explores the theme of a native of the forests who is fully integrated into his environment, leading a style of life that will inevitably be destroyed by the advance of civilization. It is also about the growth of respect and deep friendship between two men of profoundly different backgrounds, and about the difficulty of coping with the loss of strength and ability that comes with old age. Winner of the Grand Prix at the Moscow Film Festival and the 1975 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.   

Mathews resident Annie Wortham (owner of Annie Rooney’s Antiques) has a great love of the outdoors and even lived in a Plains Indian tepee when she was young.  Annie also has a great love of film and claims that she watches a film every day of the year and has attended many film festivals.  Come find out why this is one of Annie’s favorite films and join us afterward for dessert and discussion.

SPECIAL EVENT FOR HALLOWEEN: Saturday October 30th 7:00 PM  

Dr. Linda Baughman, Chair of the Communications Department at Christopher Newport University, will discuss how women are represented in modern horror/slasher films.  She is particularly interested in the role of the "final girl", the hero who must fight the villain in the end.  Dr. Baughman will share clips from some of the most famous slasher films but she will not screen a full-length film. Her presentation will be appropriate for ages 13 and up.

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 17, 7:00 PM "Voices of Hope and Recovery"

Award-winning Virginia Filmmaker and Mathews resident ROBERT GRIFFITH will screen his most recent work, Voices of Hope and Recovery, a film about the struggles and victories of five Virginians who have overcome the grip of mental illness to live life on their own terms. Created by Robert Griffith, along with an original score by acclaimed Virginia singer/songwriter Steve Bassett, this 50-minute documentary illustrates the power of hope and the possibility of recovery from serious mental illness.

 

Please join us after the documentary for discussion and refreshments.  Robert Griffith will be available to answer your questions.

FARM TO FEAST

Friday August 6, 7:00 pm

Brian and Julia of the Mathews Farmer’s Market will host the movie “Food, Inc.”, a chilling portrayal of the corporate food industry that is sure to leave you questioning where your food comes from.  Life-long farmers, Brian and Julia are passionate about growing good, healthy food using only natural and sustainable farm practices. 

 

Please join us after the film for discussion and an array of delectable foods prepared by some of our local chefs using local produce.