During the 2023 and 2024 floods, Vermonters saw how their neighbors came together to support each other through difficult times. Every Day: Big and Small uses the floods as a backdrop to remind us that actually every day across Vermont folks lift each other up, cross cultural divides, create places where people can learn, grow and share a sense of belonging with each other.

This new documentary film by Vermont producer and director, Bess O’Brien, focuses on a series of short stories and vignettes about people making a positive impact every day by doing small things that can make a big difference in people’s lives.

Highlights include a teen center that helps kids find a sense of place, a farm that focuses on black solidarity and joy, an elder woman who shares her home with an immigrant, a feisty dance class for folks dealing with Parkinson disease, a group of passionate girls building their own plane, a celebratory drag show at the Elks club in Rutland, a writers group for folks in substance abuse recovery, a military museum run by a 13 year old kid in his backyard, a space where foster parents can get free clothes and support, a generation of young teenage women making a difference in farming, a men’s group that focuses on compassionate communication, a horse farm for folks dealing with PTSD, and of course a good time at the Barnet mud bog, fiddle playing in Hardwick and more!

This is a film about the importance of community. Every Day: Big and Small is about how Vermonters create small miracles, show up for each other, stand up to adversity and create positive change. The film is about how folks prevail, and can rise above the often fragmented society we live in to make a better place for us to live.

Tickets can be purchased using the links below until 5:00 PM on the day of the screening. They can be purchased at the door as long as tickets remain.

Bess O’Brien is the director and producer of award-winning documentaries including  Just Getting By which is focused on Vermonters struggling with food and housing insecurity; The Hungry Heart, about prescription drug abuse in Vermont;  All of Me, about body image and eating disorders; and Ask Us Who We Are, about foster care in Vermont. She is also the director/producer of the highly acclaimed feature film Shout it Out based on the lives of Vermont teens and the original Voices Project live musical. Bess O’Brien co-founded Kingdom County Productions with her husband Jay Craven in 1990.