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A Big-House Fight on Film

Thu, 10/06/2022 - 09:53

Build.In.Kind/East Hampton and the Wainscott Heritage Project will host a screening of “One Big Home,” a 2016 documentary by Thomas Bena, at LTV Studios in Wainscott on Saturday at 4 p.m.

Mr. Bena was a carpenter on Martha’s Vineyard who became alarmed by the impact of ever-larger houses being built there. Over a period of 12 years, he traded his toolbelt for a camera, took aim at the trend toward trophy houses, and worked with his community to pass a law to limit house size.

“The film is a testament to how the active engagement of citizens can achieve constructive change,” Jaine Mehring, who founded Build.In.Kind/East Hampton to slow development activity in the town, said.

The Wainscott Heritage Project was formed in 2021 by citizens resolved to preserve the history and cultural character of the hamlet. Esperanza Leon, a co-founder of the project, said “One Big Home” can “reassure any community threatened by a loss of character and sense of place that it is possible to slow or even halt that process and restore some balance.”

Mr. Bena will be on hand for a discussion after the screening.

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