One Big Home
Environments & Ecologies
•
1h 27m
Directed by Thomas Bena • Documentary • 2017 • 88 minutes
Gentrification comes in many forms. On the tiny island of Martha's Vineyard, where presidents and celebrities vacation, trophy homes threaten to destroy the island's unique character.
Twelve years in the making, ONE BIG HOME follows one carpenter's journey to understand the trend toward giant houses. When he feels complicit in wrecking the place he calls home, Thomas Bena takes off his tool belt and picks up a camera. Bumping up against angry homeowners and builders who look the other way, he works with his community and attempts to pass a new bylaw to limit house size.
“A passionate and self-discerning film. It was like a novel that you’d written and put all of your life into. That gave it such weight...I loved it. It made me cry.” —D.A. Pennebaker, director, Don't Look Back, The War Room