Suggested Films for Youth
While children are welcome at all of our screenings, these are films that we feel are especially appropriate for our younger audiences.
Going Big Box VS Going Local 07:20 (U.S.A.)
Winner - Environmental Activism and Social Justice
This fast-paced, outrageous docu-drama follows Hannah in her shopping quest for a shirt and some eggs. Contrasting Wal-Mart and local markets, her journey uncovers the truth about the people, animals and money behind the products we purchase. Using rare footage from Chinese sweatshops and hellish conditions in the worst hen houses, this film exposes what mega-corporations don't want people to see. While showing viewers a true alternative to supporting sweatshops, animal abuse, and the decline of local businesses, Hannah's search ends with a sexy surprise, as she finds the metrics behind buying local to be better for her conscience and her love life.
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Conversing with Aotearoa 14:30 (New Zealand)
Winner - Environmental Art
In an age of technological integration and urban life, people turn to the natural world for a wilderness experience. What draws us to the remote corners of land and sea when we realize something in our life is missing? In this animated documentary, New Zealanders attempt to fathom their deep, personal connection with their land. Shot and animated entirely in New Zealand, director and animator Corrie Francis uses a collage of animation techniques to convey not only the richness of the landscape but the stories it holds. Voices of hunters and trampers, fishermen and farmers, mountaineers, adventure-racers, conservationists, ecologists, artists, Pakeha, Maori and tourists, lead us through a visual journey of the wildernesses we find both without and within ourselves.
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March Point - A work in progress 57:00 (U.S.A. Washington)
Katherine Knight Awards - Environmental Activism and Social Justice
Cody Nick and Travis, three teens from the Swinomish Tribe, wanted to make a gangster movie. But they were asked to investigate the impact of two oil refineries on their tribal community. March Point follows their journey as they come to understand themselves, and the threat their people face.
For centuries the Swinomish tribe has relied on the natural resources of the Skagit Valley, through clamming, crabbing, and fishing. Before white settlement tribal people inhabited the valleys, rivers, and shorelines, living off the rich land. But, in 1855, most of this land was taken away by the Federal government in the Treaty of Point Elliott. The Swinomish people were left with basic health care, some fishing rights and a small reservation. In the late 1950s, two oil refineries were built on March Point, an area that was once part of the Swinomish reservation by treaty. Over time, the presence of the refineries has negatively affected the health of the water and land and the very fabric of cultural tradition itself. March Point is story of three boys awakening to the destruction these refineries have wrought in their communities.
Ambivalent environmental ambassadors at the onset, the boys grapple with their assignment through humor, sarcasm and a candid self-knowledge. But as the filmmaking evolves they begin to experience the need to understand and tell their stories, and the power of this process to change their lives.
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Just A Lawn 13:11 (Canada)
Winner - Pollution & Global Warming
Just a Lawn' follows the evolution of the lawn, from an 18th century British aristocratic gardening fashion to an iconic element of the North American suburban landscape. This film examines the complex reasons for the lawn's rise in popularity in the 1940s and 50s and the concomitant rise in pesticide use for controlling some of the 'perfect' lawn's enemies. Most Canadian homeowners greeted the advent of pesticides for lawn maintenance with great enthusiasm. However by the 1960s, the potential danger of these chemicals became apparent.
Just a Lawn' follows an anti-pesticide campaign in Quebec, from the dermatologist who sounded the alarm in 1985 to a courageous teenager with non-Hodgkins lymphoma who insisted that government officials ban pesticides that are dangerous to human health.
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River Lab 29:20 (U.S.A. Connecticut)
Winner - Oceans, Water Quality and Watersheds
A grassroots organization in Connecticut realizes that environmental education directed at children can be more effective than political advocacy. River-Lab, the resulting education program integrated into local schools, is developed and taught primarily by parents and other volunteers, rather than teachers. By involving parents (and other family members and members of the community), the program teaches not only the children, but also the volunteers, as well as the community at large. The documentary shows how one person with vision and dedication can make a difference.
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Don’t Release A Pest, Freezing is Best 03:17 PSA (U.S.A.)
Winner - Oceans, Water Quality and Watersheds
A fish and a little girl perform in a public service announcement “Don’t release a pest, Freezing is best!” and then have a lively discussion. In the end they agree it is best to follow the guidelines in the public service announcement when getting rid of your fish tank.
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Florida’s Wild Side 30:00 (U.S.A. Florida)
Environmental Art
Take a spectacular journey through a beautiful place with incredible guides! A scientist reveals one of the most entertaining ways dolphins catch their lunch, a reptile enthusiast swims with alligators in crystal-clear water, a mother/daughter team paddles with manatees, an 87 year old artist paints his way through the Everglades, and turtle hatchlings are given a helping hand in a flying boat. 'Florida's Wild Side' is gentle ride through a beautiful place, told through the eyes of amazing people.
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