DC Environmental Film Festival: March 16-28
Organic Food, Climate Change and Peter Matthiessen
Environmental Film Festival Marks 18 Years in D.C.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The 18th annual Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital, March 16 through 28, will present 155 documentary, feature, animated, archival, experimental and children's films selected to provide fresh perspectives on environmental issues facing our planet. The vital connections between food and the environment are a major theme of the 2010 Festival, which features cinematic work from 30 countries and 66 Washington, D.C., United States and world premieres. Fifty-six filmmakers and 94 special guests will discuss their work at the Festival.
Two-time National Book Award winner Peter Matthiessen will speak about the impact of climate change on Arctic cultures; a cinematic portrait, Peter Matthiessen: No Boundaries, about the life and work of this renowned naturalist, author and explorer will also be shown. The Washington, D.C. premiere of a newly restored 35mm black and white print of Araya, a 1959 prize-winner at Cannes, portrays the "salineros" who worked in a Venezuelan salt mine before industrialization. The Venezuelan filmmaker, Margot Benacerraf, will attend the screening.
The Washington, D.C. premiere of GasLand, an award-winner from the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, will screen on the Festival's opening night with filmmaker Josh Fox in attendance. A special sneak preview of Turtle: The Incredible Journey traces the extraordinary lifetime journey of the loggerhead turtle as it navigates the globe. The D.C. premiere of Colony documents the crisis of colony collapse discorder within the beekeeping community. Oscar-nominated director Pete Docter will discuss his Disney/Pixar blockbuster Up following its screening.
March 16 - March 28, 2010
Tel: 202-342-2564
Fax: 202-298-8518
www.dcenvironmentalfilmfest.org
info@envirofilmfest.org
The Music Tree, exploring the future of the threatened brazilwood tree, which has been vital in the manufacturing of fine violin bows since the age of Mozart, will receive the Festival's first annual Polly Krakora Award for artistry in film at its
Washington, D.C. premiere with Brazilian filmmaker Otavio Juliano. To the Sea (Alamar), also a D.C. premiere, captures a father-son trip to the Mexican Caribbean that reveals a subtle relationship between man and nature. Garbage Dreams profiles the impact of globalization on Cairo's sustainable garbage collecting community, the Zabbaleen, known for their pioneering recycling methods. Sweetgrass follows the last sheepherders to trail their flocks up into Montana's Beartooth Mountains.
What's On Your Plate? focuses on food sources and Fresh on the growth of a sustainable food culture in America, while Seed Hunter spotlights the search for seed genes able to withstand global warming. Dirt! The Movie and Soil in Good Heart highlight the key role of topsoil in creating nourishing food. Nora! profiles Washington restaurateur Nora Pouillon, founder of the nation's first certified organic restaurant. Who Killed Crassostrea virginica? investigates the decline of oysters in the Chesapeake Bay.
Building a carbon neutral house (in McLean, Va.), the construction of an entire green city in Kansas, restoring Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park, the health effects of cellular technology, saving the Anacostia River, protecting rainforests and orangutans in Indonesia and the toxic effects of plastics on our global environment are among other topics examined in the 2010 Festival. Winners from the 2009 Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival will also be shown, including The Legend of Pale Male about a red-tailed hawk living in New York City, with Belgian filmmaker Frederic Lilien.
The Environmental Film Festival has become the leading showcase for environmental films in the United States. Presented in collaboration with over 100 local, national and global organizations, the Festival is one of the largest cooperative cultural events in the nation's capital. Films are screened at 56 venues throughout the city, including museums, embassies, libraries, universities and local theaters. Most screenings are free.
For a complete schedule, visit the Festival Web site at www.dcenvironmentalfilmfest.org. Photographs are available on our Web site under the press section or by email from info@envirofilmfest.org. To receive a film brochure, sign up for our mailing list on the Web site, email us at info@envirofilmfest.org or call 202-342-2564.
