Special Public Screening of Thomas Bena’s “One Big Home”

Date: Thursday, July 27, 2017
Special Public Screening of Thomas Bena’s “One Big Home”

One Big Home

A film by Thomas Bena

Bena didn’t start out as a filmmaker. Ten years ago he was making a good living as a carpenter building high-end vacation homes on Martha’s Vineyard. But as the size and number of these giant “trophy homes” continued to increase, Bena, along with many other local residents, began to realize that the proliferation of these giant homes was threatening the island’s unique character, ecosystem, and traditional way of life. So Bena traded his tool belt for a camera in an attempt to understand the motivation behind these giant “trophy homes”, as well as the community’s varying reactions to them.

Ten years in the making, Bena’s film offers a captivating and thought-provoking collage of interviews with homeowners, builders, architects, town officials, and long-time island residents, interspersed with beautiful cinematography and provocative images of the island’s change over time. As an independent documentary, the film has enjoyed great success in screenings across the country and internationally.