Films
The 2012 Cinema Verde Film Festival will present eight days of award winning environmental films to festival goers February 24 – March 2, 2012. Films will include professional environmental feature films, documentaries, shorts and winners of national and international film competitions.
Several of these filmmakers would like to attend Cinema Verde – sponsorships to help bring them in are available – please contact Trish Riley, Director, 352-327-3560; Trish@CinemaVerde.org… Thank you!
A Sea Change
The first documentary about ocean acidification, A Sea Change follows the journey of retired history teacher Sven Huseby on his quest to discover what is happening to the world’s oceans. Recipient of the NOAA 2010 Environmental Hero Award and Grand Prize, and winner of Feature Documentary, FICA International Environmental Film Festival among other awards.
Bottled Life – The Truth about Nestlé’s Business with Water
An exploration of Nestle’s world dominance in the bottled water business, and its exploitations of groundwater and water rights. Swiss journalist Res Gehringer investigates this money making phenomena and reveals the schemes and strategies of the bottled water world.
Burning in the Sun (22m, USA):
A story of Daniel Dembele’s journey growing the budding idea of solar panels into a viable company, and of the business’ impact on Daniel’s first customers in the tiny village of Banko. Taking controversial stances on climate change, poverty, and African self-sufficiency, the film explores what it means to grow up as a man, and what it takes to prosper as a nation. An Official Selection of IFP’s Documentary Rough Cut Lab and Independent Film Week/Spotlight on Docs, and supported by LEF Foundation, Brooklyn Arts Council, and Experimental Television Center.
Carbon for Water
Carbon For Water begins with the hardships of the people of Kenya’s Western Province, where safe drinking water is scarce and the wood fuel used to boil water for purification is expensive. These two factors conspire to make waterborne illness a daily—and life-threatening—reality among the already poor population. Women and girls are especially vulnerable; they often miss school or work when fetching wood, and some even fall victim to sexual violence in the process.
Filmmakers Evan Abramson and Carmen Elsa Lopez introduce audiences to a unique solution to this age-old, and worsening, problem. An innovative company has financed the distribution and maintenance of 900,000 water filters in Western Province, funded entirely by carbon credits. These credits are awarded for actual reductions in use of wood fuel as well as the anticipated reduction in future fuel use. The filters help to slow deforestation, as household demand for wood drops. In this way—and in just five weeks—4.5 million people were given the means to purify their water, which in turn unlocks the potential to improve families’ income, education, and health.
Confessions of an Eco-Terrorist
Seen through the eyes of activist Peter Jay Brown, Confessions grants the viewer an intimate look at shipboard life amongst these self proclaimed animal saviors and sea rebels who shaped the green movement we know and love today. Peter and his associates’ exploits are as much comedy as cause. These extremists proudly fly the skull and cross-bones while performing extraordinary feats of daring on the high seas. Their fleet of ramming vessels inflicts damage to whalers, illegal drift-netters, and seal hunters that operate illegally world-wide. The hard nosed cast of characters exude bravery and whit, all while engaging in action packed conflict including sinkings, boardings, arrests, and plenty of rammings. Written by Mary Murphy
Death of An American Town (59m, USA):
Death of an American Town – Official Trailer from HPI on Vimeo.
What happens to people when their mining town is forced to shut down because of environmental concerns? What if they don’t want to leave? Do they still receive water, heat and ambulance service? Death of an American Town follows one man as he tries to answer these questions and reconnect with his roots before his hometown is closed forever.
Deep Green
While we did show an early version of this film last year, it has been reworked and this year director Matt Briggs would like to bring the new film to Cinema Verde personally.
“Based on six years of intensive research and devoted exclusively to solutions to man-made global warming, “Deep Green” cuts through the clutter to bring new clarity to an increasingly-urgent situation.
The film presents the best applications worldwide in energy efficiency, green building, de-carbonizing transportation, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy and smart grids, and forest restoration. Some profoundly personal and practical—like what one person can do to lower their carbon load in their own house, with their 0wn Lifestyle, on their own land. Others necessarily complex, such as Southern California Edison’s quest to find the best batteries to electrify transportation.
We hear compelling insights from dozens of prominent thinkers, entrepreneurs, scientists, engineers and government officials on de-carbonizing energy and restoring the natural environment. Included are legendary authors Lester Brown and Michael Pollan; renowned scientists Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute and Dr. David Suzuki; powerful voices in China like Barbara Finamore, Huang Ming, and Zhang Wei; and green energy pioneers in seven countries across Europe.
Proyecto Selva Rica: El Perro del Hortelano (Dog in the Manger?)
Selva Rica follows the story of a young Bora-Huitoto painter, Brus, as he discovers a unique path to helping his community resist the encroaching Petrol Company that threatens the future of their ancestral lands as well as their culture in the Madre de Dios rainforest of Peru. His work has just premiered at the most prestigious gallery in Lima showcasing psychedelic Amazonian jungle art from “indigenous artists”. But Brus is not interested in ascending the ranks of haute culture. Instead he has reached an ideological impasse about his own culture. The oil company is going to drill in his village, and throughout their ancestral lands. He seeks support at a local NGO and finds himself entangled in the subversive work of an American researcher, Angie. Ultimately, Brus navigates his way through the surreal world of “development” pioneers, well-to-do volunteers, and corporate strategists discovering his own way of bringing strength to his community.
End of Growth (6.5m, USA):
A short animation based on Richard Heinberg’s book with the same title. It insists that humanity has reached a fundamental turning point in its economic history, and that the expansionary trajectory of industrial civilization is colliding with non-negotiable natural limits.
Fish Meat: Choose Your Farm Wisely
The age of fish meat is here. Our hunger for seafood grows and grows…but the seas are running out of fish. More than half of the fish the world eats comes from fish farms. But what exactly is farmed fish? Where does it come from, and how is it made? Two friends, a fish scientist and engineer, take a sailing voyage through the cradle of western civilization to pull back the cover on modern fish farming. Along the way they discover the tragedy of Bluefin Tuna and the joy of carp.
Islands of Life (63m, Bahamas):
More than 50 years ago the islands of the Bahamas were being sold to wealthy individuals, coral reefs were dying, and the islands’ flamingos were nearly extinct. Pressure from citizens helped create an organization to preserve the nation’s natural marine and terrestrial wonders. As a result, there are now 1 million acres of protected land and sea parks, helping fish, turtles, parrots, iguanas, flamingos, and other species to flourish.
Jesus Was a Commie
Matthew Modine’s “Jesus Was a Commie” Trailer from I Think I Thought on Vimeo.
Actor Matthew Modine’s screenplay paints a world as plain and simple as a parable from his film’s title character. “Jesus Was a Commie” is an avant-garde conversation about the world and some of the prominent issues of modern society.
EXPOSED Koch Industries and Cancer Risk
Is a Koch Industries factory getting away with murder? While the brothers wage war against safety precautions, every day their factory is dumping millions of gallons of wastewater into streams that flow near a small rural town in Arkansas.
Mad City Chickens:
Christine Heinrichs, author of How to Raise Poultry and How to Raise Chickens, is available to attend from California to talk with our audience about raising chickens at home in urban environments.
Mann V Ford
MANN v. FORD follows the Ramapough Indians and their legal team, led by feisty and charming female attorney Vicki Gilliam of The Cochran Firm as they take on Ford and the EPA, battling to secure a healthy future for their children.
Mercury Undercover
Mercury Undercover” unveils the dirty truth about the dangers of mercury and how those people in power would love to “protect” you from the real truth. This compelling docu-film brings light to a problem that affects more than you ever imagined. “Mercury Undercover” exposes the cause and effect of the well-hidden evidence of mercury contamination as seen through the eyes of doctors, scientists, environmental experts and mercury-poisoned survivors. This film exposes the nature of people and the terrible things that some do just for the sake of money. It is a gripping tale that will make you think twice before you eat your next catch-of-the-day or plan your next visit to the dentist’s office.
On Coal River
On Coal River takes viewers to the Coal River Valley of West Virginia — a community surrounded by lush mountains and a looming toxic threat. The film follows four longtime residents as they confront their local school board, the state government, and a notorious coal company — Massey Energy — for putting their families and community’s health at risk.
Miss South Pacific (39m, USA):
Beauty and the Sea: A short documentary about the 2009-2010 Miss South Pacific Pageant in Suva, Fiji that tackles climate change, rising sea levels, and a beauty pageant. Contestants from all the major Pacific Island Nations implore audiences to reduce global carbon emission lest their island homes will be lost to rising seas.
Planeat
The story of three mens’ life-long search for a diet, which is good for our health, good for the environment and good for the future of the planet. The film features the ground-breaking work of Dr. T. Colin Campbell in China exploring the link between diet and disease, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn’s use of diet to treat heart disease patients, and Professor Gidon Eshel’s investigations into how our food choices contribute to global warming, land use and oceanic deadzones.
Precarious
An independent art film, Precarious is a haunting evocation of the aftermath of the explosion at Chernobyl, 25 years on. Accompanied by testimony from a group of unseen veterans of the disaster, Precarious bears witness to both the folly and resilience of humans and to nature’s fragility.
Pricele$$
Priceless looks at the consequences of big-money campaign donations and a Capitol overrun by lobbyists. This non-partisan film includes a look at two national policies – agriculture and energy – shaped by a variety of interests including industry groups, political parties, lobbyists, citizen groups, candidates and officeholders.
Scarred Lands and Wounded Lives
In all its stages, from the production of weapons through combat to cleanup and restoration, war is comprised of elements that pollute land, air, and water, destroy biodiversity and entire ecosystems, and drain our limited natural resources. Yet the environmental damage occasioned even by preparation for war, not to mention war itself, is routinely underestimated, underreported, and even ignored. This outstanding, timely, new film explores the crucial need for public scrutiny of the ecological impact of war and reminds us of the importance of accountability and sustainability not in spite of global conflict, but because of it.
Scientists Under Attack (88m, Germany):
Directed by Bertram Verhaag, this is a documentary thriller about how Agro-Chemical multinational corporations victimize international scientists to prevent them from publishing their scary findings.
Silent Snow
A documentary project that follows a young Greenlandic woman (Pipaluk Knudsen-Ostermann) on her journey all around the world to find the local causes of the contamination that is quietly poisoning her people. In three different continents she meets the people behind the sources of pollution and discovers the heartbreaking dilemmas that lie at the heart of it.
The Pipe
The Pipe is a thrilling documentary, portraying the story of a community tragically divided, and how they deal with an oil pipe that could bring economic prosperity or destruction of a way of life shared for generations. In a remote corner of the west of Ireland sits Broadhaven Bay. It is the perfect picture postcard, where the high cliffs of Erris Head and the Stags of Broadhaven stand sentry at the mouth of the bay against the mighty Atlantic, as if protecting the delicate golden sands of Glengad beach and the tiny village of Rossport which nestles behind the dunes. However this peaceful tranquility belies the turmoil that lies beneath, and the unique nature of the coastline which has sustained generations of farmers and fishermen, has also delivered to Shell Oil the perfect landfall for the Corrib Gas Pipeline. In the most dramatic clash of cultures in modern Ireland, the rights of farmers over their fields, and of fishermen to their fishing grounds, has come in direct conflict with one of the worlds most powerful oil companies. When the citizens look to their state for protection, they find that the state has put Shell’s right to lay a pipeline ahead of their own rights.
Vanishing of the Bees (90m, USA):
Colony Collpase Disorder has brought the beekeeping industry to crisis. This film follows commercial beekeepers David Hackenberg and Dave Mendes as they strive to keep theit bees healthy and fulfill polination contracts across the U.S.
Vegucated
Part sociological experiment and part adventure comedy, Vegucated is a guerrilla-style documentary that follows three meat- and cheese-loving New Yorkers from different backgrounds who, for six weeks, adopt a vegan diet and a whole new way of thinking about food.
#Whilewewatch
A once in a lifetime filming experience, #Whilwewatch is Director Kevin Breslin’s passionate, raw and sensitive inside story about some very great people during Occupy Wall Street protests, which came out of nowhere and created a media revolution.
YERT- Your Environmental Road Trip (113m, USA):
Shot on the road, the film covers a wide variety of environmental issues with a distinctively fun and solutions-oriented approach YERT explores smart grids, renewable wind energy, Earthships, and sustainability as a movement, and has received the Audience Award at the 2011 Yale Environmental Film Festival.
To see the International College Competition and National High School Competition FILMS click here
For festival information: contact@cinemaverde.org
or 352-327-3560.
To see last years films, 2011, click here.