Author: Andrea Leland

St John Film Society in partnership with Bajo El Sol Gallery  7:30 pm / Tuesday, May 7, 2019 SUGAR PATHWAYS 50-minute documentary film presented at the Bajo El Sol Gallery in Mongoose Junction, Cruz Bay. Filmmaker Johanna Bermúdez-Ruiz will be present for Q & A following the screening. Thank you to St John Inn for hosting our visiting filmmaker!!  SYNOPSIS: Sugar Pathways is a powerful and vibrant film that recounts the story of migration by Puerto Rican families from the small Caribbean island of Vieques to the US Virgin Islands. The severe economic conditions fueled by the “Great Depression” compelled hundreds to migrate. Twenty years later, a second migration of women, men, and children occurred. This was due to the U.S. Navy’s brutal expropriation, damage and destruction they inflicted on civilian lands, homes, and properties. This riveting film tells the story of Puerto Rican families’ survival of their journeys, their integration, and their contributions to the culture, economy and politics of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Sugar Pathways is narrated by actress Luna Lauren Vélez of the Emmy Award-winning Showtime series “Dexter.” FILMMAKER BIO: A graduate of Antioch College with a specialization in film studies, filmmaker Johanna Bermúdez-Ruiz has a passion for story-telling. Born in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, Johanna directed and produced the award-winning documentary, VIEQUES: AN ISLAND FORGING FUTURES, and recently completed the compelling and beautifully depicted feature-length documentary film, SUGAR PATHWAYS. Johanna was nominated Best Film Directed by a Woman of Color, and has won numerous awards including Maffa Film Festival Best Short Documentary, San Juan Cinema Fest Pitirre award for Best Short Documentary, and ImageNation Jury Special Mention Award.

St John Film Society in partnership with Bajo El Sol Gallery  7:30 pm / Tuesday, April 2, 2019 This film will be presented at the Bajo El Sol Gallery in Mongoose Junction, Cruz Bay. Bailey will be present for Q & A following the screening. Paradise Discovered: The Unbreakable Virgin Islanders A 60-minute documentary film by St Thomas journalist and  filmmaker Peter Bailey. & Two films from FILMMAKERS UNITE:  FILM SYNOPSIS:  On September 6, 2017, hurricane Irma struck the island of St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. The category 5 storm was the strongest ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean. Less than two weeks later hurricane Maria, another category 5 storm, struck the already destroyed island paradise. The tragedy marked the first time in modern history that two category 5 hurricanes hit the same place in less than two weeks. Paradise Discovered: The Unbreakable Virgin Islanders is based on Bailey’s New York Times Op Ed ‘Has America’s Forgotten the Virgin Islands’, which he wrote while building a make-shift roof and living without electricity for 90 days. Unbreakable brings to life what has been called the worst natural disaster in American history. “When nature and the rest of the world left us in darkness we gave each other light,” says Bailey.   Peter Bailey’s Bio: Peter Bailey is an award-winning author, journalist and founder of NiteCap Media, a cutting edge multi-media company known for producing the critically-acclaimed NiteCap conversation series in which Bailey engages in introspective discussions with A-list entertainers, business leaders and other newsmakers.  His first book “Magic City: Trials of a Native Son”, a memoir on the life of hip hop legend Trick Daddy with whom he co-authored the book was praised as being “one of the pop music gems of 2010” by the New York Times. Bailey also made a foray into acting, starring alongside Lynn Whitfield, John Diehl and Keith David in the civil war drama “The North Star” after an award-winning career as a staff writer for Time, Newsweek and The Miami Herald.” Peter Bailey, born on St Thomas, currently lives in Miami.  FILMMAKERS UNITE Short films to be screened before the feature film: THIS IS MY COUNTRY by Kris Samuelson and John Haptas ( 6:43 minute film ) Rising bigotry towards immigrants is spawning fear and anxiety that permeate the lives of children just trying to get through school in the country they call home.  

St John School of the Arts / 7:30 pm / Tuesday, March 12, 2019 St John Film Society presents OUT OF MY HEAD Full length documentary followed by Q & A with filmmaker Jacki Ochs  Plus the following two short films:  THIS IS MY COUNTRY by Kris Samuelson and John Haptas ( 6-minute)  STATE OF THE UNION by Alan Berliner ( 3-minutes) “When I say a headache I don’t mean just a headache, I mean something that would totally brutalize you.” Joan Didion OUT OF MY HEAD Synopsis: A filmmaker, seeking treatment for her daughter’s migraine attacks, discovers a confounding neurological disease and learns why a devastating condition, afflicting nearly a billion people worldwide, remains so deeply misunderstood. There are few things more frightening than having a child who is sick, who you don’t know how to help and whose illness you don’t understand. That’s what Susanna Styron experienced when her daughter Emma’s spells of blindness and vomiting began at the age of fourteen. Emma’s eventual migraine diagnosis, rather than putting an end to the mystery and confusion, was just the beginning, as mother and daughter embarked on a years-long journey to discover the truth about living with migraine. Follow this and other stories through thoughtful interviews and animation as experts try to come up with answers for those suffering with headaches. https://outofmyheadfilm.com. Filmmaker Jacki Ochs JACKI OCHS is a Producer/Director of documentary film. Her work includes Vietnam: The Secret Agent , Letters Not About Love and Jazz Summit. Among the awards she has received are New York Film Festival premiere, Sundance Special Jury Prize, SXSW Best Feature Documentary, American Film Festival Best New Director. Jacki executive produced Keith Beauchamp’s Emmy nominated Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till, and Kristi Zea’s Everybody Knows…Elizabeth Murray. She is a two time MacDowell Colony and Guggenheim Fellow and Executive Director of Human Arts Association. FILMMAKERS UNITE Short films to be screened before the feature film: THIS IS MY COUNTRY by Kris Samuelson and John Haptas ( 6:43 minute film ) Rising bigotry towards immigrants is spawning fear and anxiety that permeate the lives of children just trying to get through school in the country they call home. STATE OF THE UNION by Alan Berliner

St John Film Society & The St John Arts Week Presents a very special evening of films: 7:30 pm / St John School of the Arts Please join us for: SHARKWATER EXTINCTION  An 88-minute documentary by filmmaker Rob Stewart & Plus the following two short films from FILMMAKERS UNITE : The Starting Line(6:42 minutes) by Pacho Velez & Nicole Salazar SHARKWATER EXTINCTION: (2018) is a thrilling, action adventure journey that follows filmmaker Rob Stewart as he exposes the billion dollar illegal shark fin industry and the political corruption behind it. From West Africa, Spain, Panama, Costa Rica and France, to California, Stewart’s  film dives into the often violent underworld of the pirate fishing trade. . Shark finning is still rampant, shark fin soup is still being consumed, and endangered sharks are now also being used to make products for human consumption. Stewart’s mission is to save the sharks and oceans before it’s too late. But exposing illegal activities isn’t easy; protecting sharks has earned him some powerful enemies. 100 – 150 million sharks are killed every year, but only about half of them are reported, including endangered species. Shark populations have dropped more than 90% in the last 40 years. Without the oceans’ main predator, marine ecosystems are being destroyed beyond repair. Stewart dedicated his life to shark conservation, saying: “Conservation is the preservation of human life. And, that, above all else is worth fighting for.” He taught the world to love the oceans and their creatures and not fear sharks through his iconic images of hugging and free diving with sharks and mantas. Tragically, Rob died in a dive accident in January 2017 while filming Sharkwater: Extinction in the Florida Keys. FILMMAKER ROB STEWART: Rob Stewart is an acclaimed filmmaker and internationally renowned activist. In SHARKWATER EXTINCTION, his third film, Stewart continues his heroic fight to save our oceans battling the billion-dollar pirate fishing trade and illegal shark fin industry. Shot in vivid 6K, Stewart travels across four continents and back to California in his ongoing mission to protect sharks. Stewart’s previous films, SHARKWATER and REVOLUTION won multiple international awards and have been viewed by more than 125 million people. Read more about the film and learn much more about sharks on the website: https://www.sharkwater.com/ FILMMAKERS UNITE Filmmakers Unite (FU) is a compilation of one-to-nine minute shorts by documentary, narrative and experimental filmmakers cutting across race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, and religion – to present a collective response to the current threats to our democracy. THE STARTING LINE: by Pacho Velez and Nicole Salazar The Starting Line / La Línea captures the rhythms of a day at the Tijuana border crossing. But it’s not just any day. As people go through their routines, they listen to the local news report on Donald Trump’s inauguration.    

We have some exciting films coming from February – May 2019. This year we will feature the following films:  SHARK EXTINCTION: a  feature length documentary film about shark conservation by Rob Stewart.  OUT OF MY HEAD: A feature documentary about migraine headaches. We all know someone who suffers and this film will shed some light on the malady. SUGAR PATHWAYS: A documentary by Johanna Bermudez-Ruiz, a filmmaker from St Croix. 17th ANIMATION SHOW OF SHOWS: 11 short animated films by filmmakers from all over the world . FILMMAKERS UNITE: a series of very short films reflecting on our current political climate. Several of these films will be presented before our main attraction.