Act Locally - Films from local Filmmakers
New This Year! These are films that are made in or are about our Community. Act Locally films will be screened at a special Earth Day Week Screening. Check back for details.
California Grey Bears 28:00 (U.S.A. Santa Cruz)
Environmental Sustainability
CALIFORNIA GREY BEARS, INC. is an affirmative action, nonprofit, membership organization of "Seniors Helping Seniors" in a spirit of volunteerism unparalleled anywhere in Santa Cruz County. Grey Bears was started in 1973 by a couple of young people and some seniors who came together to share their excess produce. The purpose of Grey Bears is to supply seniors 55 and older with free, nutritious, and budget-stretching "Brown Bags" of groceries which come from donations that are picked up from local stores or farms, donated, or gleaned from the fields. Grey Bears' goal is to be as self-reliant as possible, and, as a result, we started a recycling program which contributes one third of the revenues necessary to make it possible to serve 2700 seniors throughout the County.
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Great Artists of the World – James Audubon 27:38 (U.S.A. Santa Cruz)
Environmental Art
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From The Ground Up 29:12 (U.S.A. Santa Cruz)
Alternative Energy
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What’s Moving Santa Cruz 23:25 (U.S.A. Santa Cruz)
Alternative Energy
Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) is a possible solution to traffic congestion in Santa Cruz. PRT offers 3 or 4 person pods running on elevated lines, with off-line stations so all trips are non-stop. Time from the Metro Center to UCSC would be about 7 minutes. PRT technology was started in Morgantown, WV in the late 70s and has operated without interruption and without casualties since then. PRT is now being installed at Heathrow Airport in London, and in Uppsala, Sweden and is being considered in other Cities in the U.S. and around the world. PRT is quite probably the coming public transport technology. It does not contribute to global warming, operates largely on solar power, is quiet, efficient and cost-effective. PRT lines can be aesthetically pleasing. This film describes PRT and it's applicability in our City.
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Stuck in the Mud: The Pajaro River in Peril 30:29 (U.S.A. Watsonville)
Oceans, Water Quality and Watersheds
While literally stuck in the mud of the Pajaro River, Dr. Robert Curry, professor emeritus of UCSC, describes the extensive build up of sediment caused by sand and gravel mining that threatens the health of the river. Other scientists, lawyers and farmers provide perspectives on our 1300-mile watershed. We watch the varied course of the Pajaro, the movement of migratory steelhead fish and the birds, which once thrived in the river’s forests. Historical photos invite us to consider past recreational uses of the river and to wonder if we could reclaim the Pajaro again for these purposes.
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Pulp, Poo and Perfection 15:00 (Chile)
Oceans, Water Quality and Watersheds
This short documentary investigates two issues threatening surfing and water quality in Chile: Pichilemu's sewage pipeline and the South's forestry industry pollution. Mythical waves, inspired activists, fishermen, environmental problems and sharky corporate executives weave a classic South American tale of environmental action and ecological solutions. Featuring interviews and surfing with Ramon Navarro, Shane Dorian,Congrio Colorado and Chilean friends.
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True Accounts of the Light Brown Apple Moth Aerial Spraying
Farming, Pesticides and Soil
In the fall of 2007, the California Department of Agriculture declared a state of emergency to eradicate the Light Brown Apple Moth. Their method chosen is aerial spraying. Monterey and Santa Cruz counties have been sprayed in the fall of 2007, and the state plans to continue the spraying in late spring of 2008, for 3 to 5 years, every month. Many people have reportedly gotten ill from the spray. This film reveals the true stories of people's reactions to the spray not readily being circulated in mass media. It is also a call for action to stop the spray.
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Strange Days on Planet Earth: Season II “Most Dangerous Catch” 60:00 U.S.A. Monterey Bay
Oceans, Water Quality and Watersheds
A series of strange, seemingly unrelated events are unfolding across the globe. In the West African nation of Ghana, olive baboons are ransacking crops and terrorizing villagers. Further down the coast, in Namibia, a once rich fishing ground is struggling to recover while putrid fumes are exploding from the ocean depths, spewing greenhouse gases into the air. Half a world away in Puerto Rico, space-age aquapods filled with fish are floating far out at sea, while off the coast of New Brunswick, Canada, migratory salmon are settling into coastal life astride kelp and mussels in a radical new farming experiment. All these events are linked to one activity — over-fishing. Recent reports state 90 percent of our most important commercial fish are gone and fisheries all over the world are in dire straits. It’s become increasingly clear that our massive demands on the ocean are impacting life far beyond the shoreline including Earth’s own life support systems. Can we reduce fishing pressures, restore fish stocks and protect ocean habitats in time to safeguard the health of life in the sea, life on land and ultimately ourselves?
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Once Upon A Tide: 10:00 U.S.A. Monterey Bay
Oceans, Water Quality and Watersheds
touching hearts . . . and minds
Narrated by Academy Award-winner Linda Hunt, this magical fable follows the journey of a little girl who tries to break a spell that has caused everybody on Earth to forget about the ocean. Throughout her odyssey, she comes to learn how all life depends upon the ocean in myriad ways. Based in science, the film combines live action and animation to create a realistic -- and fantastic -- portrait of our times.
Funding provided by The Center for Health and Global Environment, Harvard Medical School.
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Return To Wilderness 28:00 U.S.A. Santa Cruz
Oceans, Watersheds and Water Quality
Take a journey with the Ventanna Wilderness Alliance as they restore the spectacular Willow Creek Watershed. In addition to viewing a spectacular watershed clearly worthy of wilderness protection, the trip identified several large deposits of trash and debris along the main stem of Willow Creek. These deposits were left on abandoned mining claims and by illegal human habitation. These trash deposits appear to be the largest concentration of trash sites within the Monterey Ranger District of the Los Padres National Forest. In January 2001, the VWA Board of Directors decided to undertake the cleanup and restoration of this area.
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Leatherback 14:00
Filmmaker Clay Wiseman
Leatherback is a film about leatherback sea turtles, their place in the ocean ecosystem, and the people who care about them. It is about how small changes in human behavior could save this beautiful and ancient species from extinction. And it is about the beauty of the ocean that we should cherish rather than take for granted. With footage both above and beneath the sea and captured both locally as well as overseas in Papua Indonesia, Leatherback covers the same distance that these incredible ocean travelers do as they migrate half-way around the world between their nesting beaches in Indonesia and feeding areas in the Monterey Bay.
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Well-Oiled Machine: On Tour with Hot Buttered Rum 10:25
Director/Producer, Kathy Bisbee
A bluegrass band from the San Francisco Bay Area, Hot Buttered Rum, chooses an ecological mode of transportation and educates fans along the way about environmental issues.
Their full-sized tour bus has been converted to run on vegetable oil and biodiesel fuel, often acquired as "waste" oil from restaurants in the towns where the band plays and educates fans at music festivals and venues throughout the United States.
Mini-documentary interviews band members on the road about their unique music and alternative fuel mission.
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