Few people know where to find Sderot on a map, but on Wednesday evening the Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival will introduce Sderot to the Island community when presenting the documentary Rock in the Red Zone at the Chilmark Community Center.

“In 2007, nobody knew of Sderot,” film director Laura Bialis said. “For me it’s very much an untold story. For years the town has been under attack. It goes in waves.”

Ms. Bialis grew up in Santa Barbara, Calif. and earned her MFA from USC. She began filming documentaries in 1997 and learned of Sderot while filming parts of a previous movie in Israel. Located in the middle of the Palestinian-Israeli war zone near the Gaza Strip, Sderot suffered over 50 bombings per day from rockets in May of 2007.

Ms. Bialis’ Israeli friends sent her articles about Sderot from local news outlets. Coincidentally, the town possesses a deep musical culture. Ms. Bialis wanted to show the world how Sderot’s musicians live their daily lives without losing sight of their dreams or culture.

Ms. Bialis lived in Israel for eight years making the movie, beginning in 2007. After the film on Wednesday evening, she will be answer questions and discuss the making of her documentary.

The film starts at 8 p.m., immediately after Sara Greenberg’s short film B-2247: A Granddaughter’s Understanding.

Visit tmvff.org for tickets and more information.