PEFF 2016

 

Free admission to all screenings. Unless otherwise noted, film showings will be held at the Princeton Public Library, 65 Witherspoon Street, Princeton, New Jersey.

Saturday April 2
Tuesday April 5
Wednesday April 6
Thursday April 7
Friday April 8
Saturday April 9
Sunday April 10


SATURDAY, APRIL 2


10 a.m.

One Simple Question

Teresa Carey (producer, writer, cast), Ben Eriksen Carey (cast, editor, graphic artist), & Derek Alan Rowe (director, primary editor, motion graphics)
2014 | 85 min.

One young couple who seek adventure shed the comforts of land and begin a life at sea aboard a small sailboat, their goal is to sail north until they find an iceberg. Travel with Ben and Teresa on a quest that brings them lessons in the joy of a deliberate life, a greater understanding of nature and a new path in the pursuit of happiness. As they roam the north Atlantic without a solid destination they realize how demanding yet fulfilling life can be when they decide to sail against the winds and break the conventional waves of life.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Derek Alan Rowe via video conference.

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1 p.m.

Seed: The Untold Story

Produced and directed by Taggart Siegel and Jon Betz; executive producer Marisa Tomei, Marc Turtletaub, & Phil Fairclough
2016 | 93 minutes

Seed
Photo courtesy of Collective Eye Films.

We’re in the midst of a crisis of genetic diversity: we’ve lost over 94% of our vegetable seed varieties, leaving our food supply dangerously vulnerable to blight and famine. Chemical seed corporations only worsen this tenuous situation, blocking the genetic differentiation that keeps our crops healthy by patenting them. The film follows an inspiring ensemble of farmers, scientists, and seed savers working tirelessly to combine ancient stewardship with emerging science – and the larger history of human agriculture – with equal parts whimsy and rage.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Taggart Siegel and Will Bonsall, who appears in the film.

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4 p.m.

Meru

Directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi & Jimmy Chin
2015 | 87 min.

Meru
Courtesy of Music Box Films. Photo by Jimmy Chin.

In the high-stakes pursuit of big-wall climbing, the Shark’s Fin on Mount Meru may be the ultimate prize. Sitting 21,000 feet above the sacred Ganges River in Northern India, the mountain’s perversely stacked obstacles make it both a nightmare and an irresistible calling for some of the world’s toughest climbers.

In October 2008, renowned alpinists Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin and Renan Ozturk arrived in India to tackle Meru. Their planned seven-day trip quickly devolved into a 20-day odyssey in sub-zero temperatures with depleting food rations. Within 100 meters of the elusive summit, their journey – like all previous attempts – fell short of the goal.

Heartbroken and defeated, the trio returned to their everyday lives, where the siren song of Meru continued to beckon. By September 2011, Anker had convinced his team to reunite and undertake the Shark’s Fin once more, under even more extraordinary circumstances.

“Meru” is the story of that journey, an expedition through nature’s harshest elements and one’s complicated inner demons, and ultimately on to impossible new heights.

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7 p.m.

An American Ascent

Produced and directed by Andrew Adkins & George Potter
2014 | 69 min.

“An American Ascent” is a feature documentary about the first African-American expedition to tackle North America’s highest peak, Denali.

In only a few decades the United States will become a majority-minority nation, as people of color will outnumber the white majority for the first time ever. Yet, a staggering number of these people do not consider the outdoors as a place for them. In June 2013, nine African-Americans set out to build a legacy and become role models for inner city kids and people of color all over America to encourage them to get outside. They did so by taking on the grueling, 20,237 foot peak of the continent’s biggest mountain.

After the screening please join The Nature Conservancy for light refreshments and a short talk about their Leaders in Environmental Action for the Future (LEAF) program, which provides paid summer conservation internships for urban high school students. LEAF gives diverse youth from urban areas a hands-on look at conservation career possibilities, while building self-confidence, work skills and friendships. Several LEAF graduates will be on hand to talk about their experiences and answer questions.

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TUESDAY, APRIL 5


 

4 p.m.

City of Trees

Directed by Brandon Kramer and produced by Lance Kramer
2015 | 76 minutes

A deeply personal story about the fight for good jobs and safe parks in our nation’s capital. With unemployment exceeding 25 percent in D.C.’s Ward 8 during the Great Recession, nonprofit Washington Parks & People receives a $2.7 million stimulus grant to put long-term unemployed residents back to work through a new green job training program.

Steve Coleman, a grassroots environmental activist who directs the organization, is tasked with using the grant to hire 150 unemployed residents from Southeast D.C. to plant several thousand trees in the city’s most blighted urban parks. For Charles Holcomb, the paycheck offers a chance to give his newborn daughter the life he never had. For Michael Samuels, the job training is a first step forward after a drug conviction marred his employment record. For James Magruder, the program offers a chance to prove that his neighborhood roots position him as an unsung leader. What sounds like a simple goal — putting people back to work by planting trees in a blighted neighborhood — becomes complicated by a community’s entrenched distrust of outsiders and a fast-approaching deadline before the grant money runs out. “City of Trees” thrusts viewers into the inspiring but messy world of job training and the paradoxes changemakers face in urban communities every day.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with filmmakers Brandon Kramer and Lance Kramer.

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7 p.m. at Princeton Garden Theatre, 160 Nassau Street, Princeton, NJ

How to Let Go of the World (And Love All The Things Climate Can’t Change)

Produced and directed by Josh Fox
2016 | 125 min.

In “How to Let Go of the World (And Love All Things Climate Can’t Change”), Oscar-nominated director Josh Fox (“Gasland”) continues in his deeply personal style, investigating climate change – the greatest threat our world has ever known. Traveling to 12 countries on 6 continents, the film acknowledges that it may be too late to stop some of the worst consequences and asks, what is it that climate change can’t destroy? What is so deep within us that no calamity can take it away?

There is no charge to attend; free tickets will be available starting at 6 p.m. on the night of the screening at the Garden Theatre box office.

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6


 

Noon

Khalima

Produced and directed by Akmaral Janat
2015 | 11 min.

“Khalima” is a short film depicting the lives of impoverished women in Western Mongolia who specialize in the art of traditional Kazakh crafts as a source of their income.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Akmaral Janat via video conference.

Website

 

1 p.m.

Our Daily Dose

Produced and directed by Jeremy Seifert
2015 | 20 min.

“Our Daily Dose” highlights the most recent science regarding the safety of ingesting fluoride, and establishes the case that we must rethink the very old practice of adding fluoride to our tap water.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Jeremy Seifert via video conference.

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4 p.m.

Sonic Sea

Produced and directed by Michelle Dougherty & Daniel Hinerfeld
2015 | 60 min.

Oceans are a sonic symphony. Sound is essential to the survival and prosperity of marine life. But man-made ocean noise is threatening this fragile world.

“Sonic Sea” is about protecting life in our waters from the destructive effects of oceanic noise pollution.

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7 p.m.

Spotlight on Water: Managing Our Most Precious Resource

Speakers: Hon. James J. Florio, Founding Partner, Florio, Perrucci, Steinhardt & Fader, LLC, former governor, State of New Jersey; Chris Sturm, Managing Director, Policy and Water, New Jersey Future; Jonathan C. Kaledin, Executive Vice President/General Counsel, Natural Systems Utilities.

Flint, Michigan’s ongoing crisis has raised concerns about something we in Princeton take for granted: clean water.

Jim Florio, former Governor of New Jersey, will introduce the topic by offering his perspective as a former U.S. Congressman and Governor when he successfully championed an array of landmark environmental protections. The speakers will address key issues about the health of our water systems from global to local, including whether the federal framework that governs drinking water and wastewater discharges is robust and current, and why we still have water pollution and contaminated drinking water in 21st-century America. They will describe the state of New Jersey’s drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure, what are people doing to ensure its reliability, and identify local water managers and their roles.

 

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THURSDAY, APRIL 7


 

10 a.m.

After Coal

By Patricia Beaver (Producer) and Tom Hansell (Producer, Director)
2016 | 57 min.

“After Coal” profiles inspiring individuals who are building a new future in the coalfields of eastern Kentucky and South Wales. This hour long documentary invites viewers to the front lines of the transition away from fossil fuels. Viewers meet ex-miners using theater to rebuild community infrastructure, women who moved from supporting striking miners to creating their own future, and young people striving to stay in their home communities.

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Noon

Treaty Talks

Directed by Xander Demetrios and Adam Wicks Arshack
2015 | 27 min.

On a three month expedition, the crew of Voyages of Rediscovery, paddled dugout canoes 1243 miles upriver from the sea to the source of the Columbia River. The five canoes, carved and paddled by native and non-native youth, symbolically represented Columbia River salmon. The journey honored those salmon who can no longer reach their ancestral spawning grounds of the Upper Columbia River. With looming changes in the Columbia River Treaty, we explore the possibility of fish passage and vitality of a functioning ecosystem. This documentary highlights the positive efforts of Columbia River citizens who are working to restore historic salmon runs above the Grand Coulee Dam.

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3 p.m.

Silencing the Thunder

Produced and directed by Eddie Roqueta
2014 | 27 min.

When temperatures drop in Montana, wild bison migrate to lower elevations outside the boundaries of Yellowstone National Park. But once outside, they run the risk of being killed because some carry a chronic disease called brucellosis that ranchers fear could spread to cattle. “Silencing the Thunder” presents the obstacles ranchers face, as well as the side of those trying to protect one of America’s most iconic animals.

Website

 

4 p.m.

Sustainability Bowl

Kids in grades 3-6 are invited to compete in teams in this “Jeopardy” style game to win the PEFF Sustainability Bowl! Questions will be in categories and relate to energy, recycling, water, wildlife and more. Show what you know, and learn something too! Anyone interested in participating on a team is encouraged to register in advance or may sign up at the event and will be included as space is available. Participants please arrive by 3:45 p.m. to sign in. Younger children, teens, and adults are encouraged to attend and root on the teams.

 

 

5 p.m.

Last Rush for the Wild West

Produced and directed by Jennifer Ekstrom
2014 | 46 min.

“Last Rush for the Wild West” exposes how impending tar sands and oil shale mining would destroy massive, pristine landscapes in Utah and put the already imperiled Colorado River watershed at risk. It would jeopardize drinking water quality and quantity for thirty-six million people downstream. It would increase air pollution in Salt Lake City, where air quality is already the worst in the Nation. It would accelerate climate change. The risks to humanity are staggering. Yet, the State of Utah approved America’s precedent-setting commercial tar sands mine at PR Spring despite catastrophic impacts to human health caused by tar sands mining in Alberta, Canada.

This film asserts the risks are not worth it, while refuting claims that tar sands and oil shale mining would create better economic conditions and lead our nation toward energy independence. American taxpayers are subsidizing the foreign corporation pursuing the project, with 85 million dollars, mostly public funds, already spent to construct the road to the site. And there is no indication this product would be used in the United States.

“Last Rush for the Wild West” highlights a resolute contingent of local Utah citizens, and wise indigenous leaders from tar sands impacted communities Canada, as they encourage American taxpayers and voters to stand up with them and reject this impending disaster.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Jennifer Ekstrom.

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5:30 p.m. at Princeton Garden Theatre, 160 Nassau Street, Princeton, NJ

Boy and the World

Directed by Al Abreu
2013 | 85 min.

Cuca’s cozy rural life is shattered when his father leaves for the city, prompting him to embark on a quest to reunite his family. The young boy’s journey unfolds like a tapestry, the animation taking on greater complexity as his small world expands. Entering civilization, industrial landscapes are inhabited by animal-machines, with barrios of decoupage streets and shop windows, and flashing neon advertisements that illuminate the night. The story depicts a clash between village and city, hand crafted and mechanized, rich and poor – and throughout the tumult, the heart and soul of the people beats on as a song. The film’s music is on equal footing with the stunning visuals, a soundscape of pan-flute, samba, and Brazilian hip-hop mixing with the whirling carnival colors and exploding fireworks. Musical / No Dialogue.

Co-sponsored by the library, the Davis International Center at Princeton University, the International Employees Group at Princeton University, and the Princeton Garden Theatre.

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7 p.m.

Saving Jamaica Bay

Produced by Daniel Hendrick and directed by David Sigal
2016 | 76 min.

“Saving Jamaica Bay” tells the story of how one community—led by a family with roots in the area stretching back more than 100 years—fought the government and overcame Hurricane Sandy to clean up and restore the largest open space in New York City, which had become a dumping ground for garbage, sewage, sludge and bullet-riddled mobsters. Narrated by actress Susan Sarandon, the film includes interviews with the community activists who led the fight, and state and city officials. The film also symbolizes efforts to preserve nature, combat climate change and invest in neglected national parks.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Daniel Hendrick.and Tim Dillingham, Executive Director, American Littoral Society.

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FRIDAY, APRIL 8


 

10 a.m.

KOMBIT: The Cooperative

Produced by Charlie Sadoff and directed by Gabriel London
2015 | 45 min.

Once known as the richest agricultural country in the Caribbean, Haiti has been wracked by instability and natural disasters. Decades of decline have taken their toll on Haiti’s people, and today the country is 98% deforested with little of its once prosperous agricultural industry enduring. When Timberland commits to creating a sustainable intervention in Haiti that will lead to 5 million trees in 5 years, they work to find partners that understand the harsh realities of aid work but share the vision to build something sustainable.

Over the course of 5 years, we follow Timberland’s support of a nascent partnership between a Haitian agronomist and a former NGO leader that commit to empowering communities of farmers to plant millions of trees while improving their crop yields. As the end of Timberland’s financial support approaches, SFA’s leaders race to develop new markets and opportunities for Haitian farmers that will endure and ensure a sustainable, greener future.

This screening is sponsored by Timberland.

Website

 

Noon

The Magic of Marquand Park

Directed by Dominique Godefroy
2016 | 40 min.

In 1953, the Marquand family gave 17 acres of their estate to the Princeton municipality. Studies commissioned at that time stated that the land should be set aside for passive recreation and as an arboretum.

As it exists today, Marquand Park retains many of the original designs. There are over 170 specimen trees in the Park, a large wooded area, a playground, picnic tables and a softball diamond– all for the enjoyment of its neighbors, Princeton and Mercer County and beyond. One can simply sit on a bench and quietly observe the nature of the Park, including the many flowering trees, a variety of birds, and, not least of all, children playing in the sand area. One can walk in the woods along the outer perimeter of the Park and experience what the Japanese call “forest bathing,” which has nothing to do with water, but rather is a spiritual refreshment. An Apache elder once said “I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in tune once more.

The screening will be followed by a Q & A with filmmaker Dominique Godefroy and members of the Marquand Park Foundation. Coffee and tea, courtesy of the Library, and sandwiches, courtesy of the Marquand Park Foundation will be served.

 

2 p.m.

Seeds of Time

Produced and directed by Sandy McLeod
2013 | 77 min.

“Seeds of Time” follows agriculture pioneer Cary Fowler’s global journey to save the eroding foundation of our food supply in a new era of climate change.

A perfect storm is brewing as agriculture pioneer Cary Fowler races against time to protect the future of our food. Seed banks around the world are crumbling, crop failures are producing starvation and rioting, and the accelerating effects of climate change are affecting farmers globally. Communities of indigenous Peruvian farmers are already suffering those effects, as they try desperately to save over 1,500 varieties of native potato in their fields. But with little time to waste, both Fowler and the farmers embark on passionate and personal journeys that may save the one resource we cannot live without: our seeds.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Sandy McLeod via videoconference.

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4 p.m.

The Burden

Produced and directed by Roger Sorkin
2015 | 40 min.

America’s dependence on fossil fuels is the greatest long-term national security threat facing the nation, according to this documentary produced by Operation Free, a nationwide coalition of veterans advocating for clean energy. The film cites the expense of securing and protecting oil, the vulnerability to terrorism of the global oil supply and the danger of delivering oil on the battlefield among reasons that the military is leading our transition away from oil.  Operation Free was founded by the Truman National Security Project, a national security and leadership development organization based in Washington, D.C. Truman fellow Roger Sorkin, director.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Roger Sorkin, and Jon Gensler, who is an Iraq War veteran currently working in the solar industry.

Website

 

6 p.m.

After the Spill

Produced and directed by Jon Bowermaster
2015 | 62 min.

Ten years ago Hurricane Katrina devastated the coast of Louisiana. Five years later the Deepwater Horizon exploded and spilled more than 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, the worst ecological disaster in North American history. Amazingly those aren’t the worst things facing Louisiana’s coastline today. It is that the state is fast disappearing.

When on Earth Day 2010 BP’s Deepwater Horizon exploded and sank many in Louisiana predicted it would change the state’s coastline forever, both its economy and its people. How has the coast changed in the past five years?

A follow-up to his 2010 film “SoLa, Louisiana Water Stories” Jon Bowermaster’s new film introduces us to some of the spill’s most aggrieved victims as well as those who are desperately trying to save its coastline. Writer and historian John Barry who launched a suit against 97 oil and gas companies attempting to get them to pay their fair share for reparations caused by their explorations. Consultant and native son James Carville who manages to find some hope in new technologies that may save the coast. And Lt. Gen. Russell Honore, the man who saved New Orleans post-Katrina, whose new passion is for a Green Army he has recruited.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Jon Bowermaster.

Website
 

7:30 p.m.

Dinner with the Director: Jon Bowermaster

Please join us in welcoming Jon Bowermaster, a noted oceans expert, award-winning journalist, author, filmmaker, adventurer and six-time grantee of the National Geographic Expeditions Council after the screening of his exceptional film After the Spill.

In homage to Jon’s film, Mediterra chefs have crafted a 4 course New Orleans and Creole inspired menu:
Hors D’oueurvres (choice)
Cajun Tomato Bruschetta
Chilled Shrimp with Remoulade

First Course (choice)
Butterleaf Salad with spicy buttermilk dressing
Vegetarian cream of garlic soup

Second Course (choice)
Andouille sausage stuffed porkchop served over braised mustard greens
Blackened Bass with red beans and rice
Zucchini Creole over grilled polenta

Dessert
Caramel Bourbon Beignets

Reservations will include the 4 course meal and non-alcoholic beverages. Alcohol will be charged on a cash bar basis. Space is limited. Reserve your place with Mediterra.
 

7:30 p.m.

The True Cost

Produced by Michael Ross and directed by Andrew Morgan
2015 | 92 min.

Filmed in countries all over the world, from the brightest runways to the darkest slums, and featuring interviews with the world’s leading influencers including Stella McCartney, Livia Firth, and Vandana Shiva, “The True Cost” invites us on an eye opening journey around the world and into the lives of the many people and places behind our clothes.

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SATURDAY, APRIL 9


 

10 a.m.

Habitats Around the World

The Philadelphia Zoo on Wheels presents a program with live animals about the diverse wildlife habitats that exist around the world and how the animals that live in them thrive. We’ll also learn how our choices at home impact animals throughout the world and ways to become a “wildlife warrior.” For children 5 and older.

11:30 a.m.

The Creature Show

Directed by Jared Flesher
2015 | 15 min.

Do even the creatures most feared by humans—snakes—deserve the right to exist? “The Creature Show” heads to the New Jersey Pine Barrens to investigate, in search of timber rattlesnakes, northern pine snakes, and corn snakes, all threatened or endangered in the state. Starring Emile DeVito of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, with guest host Tyler Christensen. Filmed on location at the Franklin Parker Preserve in Chatsworth, NJ.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Jared Flesher.

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1 p.m.

The Hudson: A River at Risk

A Series of Short Films
Directed by Jon Bowermaster

While the world is in agreement that the Hudson River, America’s ‘First River,’ is far cleaner than it was twenty and thirty years ago, it still wrestles with a variety of environmental ills and potential catastrophes.

During the past year filmmaker Jon Bowermaster traveled up and down the river by boat and kayak, from Troy to Manhattan and back, taking a look at a handful of issues facing the river, its historic valley and 20 million neighbors.

Specifically, Bowermaster took a close-up look at five distinct risks: the so-called “bomb trains” that carry a highly explosive mix of crude oil and gas from the shale fields of North Dakota into the port of Albany and down the river into New Jersey; the 53-year-old nuclear power plant at Indian Point, which continues to operate even as its infrastructure ages; and the rebuilding of the Tappan Zee Bridge, currently the biggest construction project in North American, with a potential to create serious environmental harm if not closely monitored; new transmission lines connecting 20th century power plants with 21st century needs and the continuing nightmare of G.E. having dumped millions of barrels of toxic PCBs into the river.

That the Hudson is demonstrably cleaner and accessed by more and more people each year is largely due to the dedication of a handful of environmental groups, led by Riverkeeper, Scenic Hudson, Clearwater, the NRDC and more, who have been fighting for it for the past fifty years.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Jon Bowermaster.

Website

 

3:30 p.m.

Sky Line

Produced and directed by Miguel Drake-McLaughlin & Jonny Leahan; Robert Wood, executive producer.
2015 | 74 min.

Driven by man’s inherent need to explore, a group of scientists and entrepreneurs endeavor to build an elevator to space. What happens when egos and passions collide in a quest to complete the impossible? Dr. Bradley Edwards has a plan to build an elevator to outer space. All he needs to do is design the largest structure ever built, and invent a material strong enough to make it work. “Sky Line” follows Dr. Edwards and his collaborators through their years working with NASA, raising equity and creating companies and institutions to make this dream of science fiction a reality.

The concept of an elevator to space is not new. In the world of Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Heinlien, and other sci-fi giants, it is a natural progression.What most people don’t know is that men and women around the world are working hard to build it right this moment. Some want to solve the energy crisis, some want easier access to raw materials in the solar system, and some just want to travel to space and gaze upon their home planet. For all of them though, the elevator is more than just a science fiction plot, it is a way of life.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Miguel Drake-McLaughlin and editor Chris Guido.

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7 p.m.

Newman

Produced and directed by Jon Fox
2015 | 88 min.

Orphan. Entrepreneur. Recluse. Genius. Megalomaniac.

Inventor Joseph Newman is all of the above. A controversial figure in the scientific community, Newman rose to notoriety with “The Newman Device,” an electromagnetic machine that he claimed produced more energy than it took to power it. What should have been a revolutionary discovery was stopped by a lengthy and disheartening legal battle with the United States Patent Office.

This film seeks to understand the enigmatic Newman through intimate discussions with his colleagues and, surprisingly, with the man himself.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Jon Fox and attorney John Flannery, who appears in the film.

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SUNDAY, APRIL 10


 

11 a.m.

Bluespace

Directed by Ian Cheney
2015 | 73 min.

This documentary explores the terraforming of Mars, whose canals and ice offer science-fiction authors and scientists the promise of colonization alongside the waterways of New York City where rising seas are a threat. The film questions our future relationship with the natural world as one of potential lifesaving cooperation or ill-fated attempts at domination

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Ian Cheney.

Sunday Brunch Screening. Light refreshments, tea and coffee (courtesy of Small World Coffee) will be served.

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1:30 p.m.

Take 5 

Five short films featuring filmmakers and post-screening discussions:

A Whispering World (World Premiere)

Produced and directed by Kalani Jimenez-Mackson
2015 | 5 min.

Can you hear the whispers all around? A symphony of sound, there is so much to hear, so much to appreciate. In this film, filmmaker Kalani Jimenez-Mackson displays the many beautiful whispers of this earth. Being the mother of us all she has so much to teach, all we have to do is open our eyes and our ears and be witness to her magic.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Kalani Jimenez-Mackson.

Website

 

A Watershed Moment: The Delaware River Basin (Festival Premiere)

Executive produced by Tom Lennon
2016 | 12 min.

The film depicts the Delaware River Watershed, the stresses it faces and efforts underway by public and nonprofit groups to protect and restore it. The watershed, covering 14,000 square miles over four states from the Poconos to the Delaware Bay, provides drinking water for 15 million people and generates $25 million in economic activities. It faces “death by a thousand cuts” from growing development, agricultural and storm-water run-off, and in some places from energy infrastructure such as pipelines and transmission corridors. Using drone footage and interviews with scientists and activists, the film highlights these threats and profiles efforts underway by activists, landowners and others to protect forests, improve farm management and implement “green infrastructure” in Philadelphia to protect water quality. The film is an outgrowth of a growing citizen movement in the watershed called the Delaware River Watershed Initiative that seeks to focus attention, raise funding and implement actions to ensure the watershed’s protection.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with producer Joe Angier and Peter Howell, executive vice president of the Open Space Institute.

Website

 

Ghost in the Making: Searching for the Rusty-patched Bumble Bee

Directed by Neil Losin & Morgan Heim and produced by Neil Losin, Clay Bolt, & Nathan Dappen
2016 | 19 min.

Everyone has heard about bee declines, but with so much attention focused on domesticated honeybees, someone has to speak up for the 4,000 species of native bees in North America. Natural history photographer Clay Bolt is on a multi-year quest to tell the stories of our native bees, and one elusive species – the Rusty-patched Bumble Bee – has become his white whale.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Nathan Dappen.

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Think Like a Scientist

Directed and produced by Nathan Dappen & Neil Loisin and produced by Sean B. Carrol
2015 | 7 min.

In the 1960’s Gorongosa National Park was one the best national parks in all of Africa. It’s slogan was, “Where Noah Left the Arch.” But, 30 years of war in Mozambique (first a war with Portugal for independence and the a 15-year civil war) devastated the park. Gorongosa was at the epicenter of the conflict and 95% of it’s wildlife were killed to feed the soldiers or poached for ivory to purchase more weapons. The war is over and a group of scientists, conservationists and Mozambicans are bringing back the park.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Nathan Dappen.

Website

 

7 Gramos

By Jonatn Vila Gmez (director) & Hadzael Gmez (co-director)
2015 | 12 min.

Based on a true story in a small rural community in the Dominican Republic, 7 Gramos tells the story of a Hispaniolan Emerald (one of the smallest birds in the world, endemic species) who decides to build her nest and lay her eggs in a support pillar of a school building under construction. After two weeks, her little chicks hatch. Along with their mother, the chicks begin their daily routine. Meanwhile, the construction workers, in order to finish their job, must decide whether to leave the birds’ nest where it is, or remove it.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Marc Jourdan, UN Programs & Outreach Manager, GFDD.

 

4 p.m.

Wrenched

Produced and directed by ML Lincoln
2014 | 93 min.

“Wrenched” captures the outrage and enduring inspiration of Edward Abbey, one of America’s original irascible defenders of wildlands. Abbey lit the lame of radical environmental activism and gave the movement its soul. The film is a provacative blend of unique archival footage and compelling interviews of Abbey’s feisty monkey-wrenching friends – the pioneers of eco-activism and direct action. “Wrenched exposes the complex, pivotal and uncompromising moments in the history of the movement and brings them into the present with Tim DeChristopher, a leader of today’s generation on climate action.

The fight continues to sustain the last bastion of the American wilderness – the true spirit of the West. And “Wrenched,” following in Abbey’s footsteps, asks the question: “How far are we will to go in defense of the wilderness?”

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers: ML Lincoln, director; Patrick Gambuti, Jr., producer, writer, editor; and Kurt Engfehr, consulting producer.

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