2008 Films: Environmental Mix - Selections from the Home Festival.Water Loving Doggies – 4min.
Will Kier
There are places in this world and moments in time when PARADISE does exist ... join some furry friends down on the Yuba. (USA, 2007, 5min)Climate: A Crisis Averted – 4 min.
Free Range Studios
Looks back from the year 2056 and recounts how ordinary citizens in 2006 -- realizing that global warming was a scientific fact and not a climatic theory -- take action to demand clean energy and other planet-friendly options. Produced by Free Range Studios in Washington, DC and Berkeley, CA, the piece describes how a movement called RenewUS effected real change with an action plan, a 'call-to-arms' about global warming. (www.freerangestudios.com, USA)For The Price of a Cup of Coffee – 15min.
Hypatia Porter
Follow the life cycle of a paper cup and the environmental repercussions of a society reliant on convenience. Filmed in the San Francisco Bay Area with interviews from local activists and experts. Maybe you’’ll remember now to bring your own cup to the cafe! Best Documentary Epidemic Student Film Festival, Best Environmental Documentary, Cabbagetown Short Film Festival, Toronto. (USA, 2007, 15min) www.sfenvironment.orgFridays at the Farm – 19min.
Honorable Mention – Wild & Scenic Film Festival 2008
Richard Power Hoffman
Feeling disconnected from their food, a photographer/filmmaker and his family decide to join a community-supported organic farm. Moving from passive observer to active participant, the filmmaker photographs the natural processes of food cultivation. Featuring lush time-lapse and macrophotography sequences compiled from nearly 20,000 still images, this personal essay is a meditation on the miracles of life. Best Short, Green Film Festival, Seoul, Korea. Best Documentary, Sapporo Short Film Festival, Japan. (USA, 2006, 19min) www.coyopa.comOil and Water Project – 33min.
People’s Choice Award - Wild & Scenic Film Festival 2008
Seth Warren
Two kayakers embark on an endless summer-style 35,000 km road trip from Alaska to Argentina in a retro-outfitted Japanese fire truck without a single drop of petroleum. They converted their regular diesel engine to run on everything from pig lard to palm pulp and they traveled for 9 months in pursuit of the best whitewater in the Americas. The pair coordinated with schools, local governments, farmers, agricultural research centers and media to conduct demonstrations advocating for the use of alternative energy all along the way. Best Environmental Film, Taos MountainFilm, Everest Award Recipient for Advocacy. (USA, 2007, 34min) www.oilandwaterproject.orgINTERMISSION
Carpa Diem – 2min.
Sergio Cannella
Before sleeping, a child in her apartment is lovingly watching a fish in the aquarium. In the meantime her younger brother is being mindless of the open tap the water flowing out of the washbasin ... a waste that could turn into a tragedy. Many awards,including: Best Short, Vatavaran FF; Best Spot, Festival International Du Film Sur L’Énergie de Lausanne. (Italy, 2006, 2min) www.sergiocannella.itRibbon of Sand – 27min.
John Grabowska
The famed Outer Banks of North Carolina are a slim and moving line of sand in the open Atlantic. Many travelers think they know these islands—but south of Ocracoke Inlet there rises a luminous bar of sand sixty miles in extent, with no roads, no bridges, no hotels: the wild beaches of Cape Lookout, one of the few remaining natural barrier islands in the world. At once an exaltation and elegy, Ribbon of Sand profiles this seascape and the transitory islands doomed to disappear. The film features quotes by environmental pioneer Rachel Carson as interpreted by acclaimed actress Meryl Streep. IDA/Pare Lorentz Award Nominee, Jackson Hole Wildlife FF finalist. (USA, 2007, 27min) ww.pgs.org/ribbonofsand, www.nccoast.org, www.ncseagrant.orgFish and Cow – 17min.
Rick Smith
The Big Hole Valley lies in the southwest corner of Montana. High, cold, and remote, it is home to one of the last surviving populations of a unique and sensitive species of fish, the fluvial Arctic grayling. This film is a story about a group of dedicated ranchers and biologists finding common ground, not only to try and save this fish, but also to try and preserve the ecological health of the Big Hole Valley itself. Newcomer Finalist Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival (USA, 2007, 17min) www.bhrf.orgThe Ridge Boys – 14min.
Will Kier
A group of young locals fight valiantly to slow the construction of a dam that would destroy their river valley. When a homeland security task force closes in on their remote hideout, they must disappear into the vast wilderness or face incarceration. But when the leader of the group must double back to secure an important document incriminating their allies, the flight from Freeman’s Crossing begins. (USA, 2007, 14min) www.theridgeboys.com.The Good Fight – 20min.
Mark Fraser
Martin Litton at 90 is still hard to follow; he flies his plane, navigates mighty rivers, attends film festivals and advises Senators in Washington D.C. on how to manage our forests. The Good Fight chronicles an extraordinary man’s efforts in saving the Grand Canyon from being ruined with dams and his ongoing struggle to preserve the Giant Sequoias from the axe of the Forest Service. Martin has been an active force for preservation since 1934. (USA, 2006, 20min)