ONLINE: Jet Line: Voicemails from the Flight Path

×

Expand

jetlinefilm.com

A poster for the anonymous hotline depicted in the short film "Jet Line," on the F-35 deployment in Burlington, Vermont.

Truax Field in Madison is currently slated to receive a squadron of F-35s in 2023. Burlington, Vermont, already has them (Isthmus reporter Dylan Brogan visited Burlington in 2019). What has life been like for residents living in the flight path? Documentary filmmakers Patrick McCormack and Duane Peterson III feature the voices of Burlington residents in the new short Jet Line, and will talk about the film following a free virtual screening; register here.

media release: VIRTUAL FILM SCREENING & DISCUSSION of Jet Line (2021)

More than a year after the first F-35 fighter jets landed at Burlington International Airport, voices from the flight path remain unheard. 

Two Burlington-area filmmakers have created a space for the community to share their experience of living under the F-35 flight path in a new short film. Jet Line premieres virtually on April 15, 2021 at 7 pm EST, followed by a live audience Q&A with the filmmakers. This will be a free event open to the public. 

The 12-minute film is described as “a poetic portrait of a community plagued by war machines, documenting untenable conditions in a small city once voted one of the best places to live in America.” Because of COVID restrictions, filmmakers Patrick McCormack and Duane Peterson III used a voicemail hotline to record more than 100 area neighbors anonymously. They paired this outpouring of emotion with tranquil scenes of residential areas, creating a stark and provocative juxtaposition. 

“We wanted to explore how the quality of life in our city has been affected by one of the US military’s most controversial weapons systems,” the filmmakers write in their Directors’ Statement. “The response was overwhelming, in part because nearly all attempts by concerned citizens to lodge formal complaints have been met with silence.” 

Community efforts to organize and protest the placement of the F-35s have been ineffective. More recently, the cities of Burlington, South Burlington and Winooski have been trying to mitigate the effect of the jet noise on thousands of homes near the airport.

The production of Jet Line was supported by Save Our Skies VT and the Peace and Justice Center of Vermont. Reservations for the free screening and discussion can be made through EventBrite.