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Film Festivals
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2007 Silver Lake Film Festival - Sustainable LA
SUSTAINABLE L.A AT SILVER LAKE FILM FESTIVAL ‘07
Films, Symposium, and Eco-Expo Devoted to Personal and Political Devotion
To City’s Present Environment and Future Sustainability
Los Angeles, CA -- The 7th annual Silver Lake Film Festival – Los Angeles’s leading independent-alternative film and arts festival – is proud to announce its ‘SUSTAINABLE L.A.’ program. This multi-faceted offering features films, a panel discussion (to be attended by leading environmentalists and actor/activists Daryl Hannah, Alicia Silverstone, and Ed Begley, Jr.), and an eco-expo, and has been officially commended by Los Angeles Council City President Hon. Eric Garcetti.
From May 3rd until May 12th, 2007, Silver Lake Film Festival will screen more than 200 narrative and documentary features, and short films and videos. The West Coast premiere of "Fay Grim," the latest film by director Hal Hartley, starring Parker Posey and Jeff Goldblum, has been tapped for the Opening Night Gala. Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, co-directors of "Little Miss Sunshine," are among this year’s festival honorees. Its parallel MusicFest, featuring music documentaries and live musical performances, will be presented for the first time by ASCAP and will showcase leading recording acts performing live in an intimate club setting, including the legendary Circle Jerks as well as Dengue Fever, 400 Blows. Sea Wolf and The Bird and The Bee.
Silver Lake Film Festival continues its annual tradition of environmentally conscious programming with this centerpiece event. SUSTAINABLE L.A.’s goal is to show attendees how they as individuals and community members can contribute to an urban environment that is a healthier place to live. At the same time, the program’s mission is to empower us to combat pressing ecological issues that affect citizens of the modern world.
In keeping with the grassroots nature of many of these organizations, films will emphasize awareness, practical information exchange, and participation. A complete schedule and synopsis will be presented online at www.silverlakefilmfestival.org online once the festival scheduling has been finalized.
Films:
EVERYTHING'S COOL USA 2006 100 MINS
DIRECTORS: DANIEL B. GOLD, JUDITH HELFAND
World premiere at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. In their signature upbeat comedic style, award-winning documentary filmmakers Daniel Gold and Judith Helfand weave an entertaining, character-driven, behind-the-scenes tale about the mother of all problems: global warming.
Against a distinctly American backdrop of denial, deception, and delay, a group of global-warming messengers/prophets fervently searches for the right language and strategy to propel a reluctant, disaster-fatigued citizenry and its elected officials into action. Among this cast of characters are a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who repeatedly tries to retire but can't, the Weather Channel's first climatologist with a "global-warming beat" who must pack her Ph.D. into 30-second sound bites, two "bad boys" who aim a radical critique at the environmental movement, and a public servant who blows the lid off the White House's manipulation of key climate-change research. Intercut throughout this strikingly shot journey are the trials and tribulations of a snow groomer turned biodiesel entrepreneur and an Inuit Alaskan community that must decide whether to move its entire village.
Daniel Gold previously won the 2002 Excellence in Cinematography Award at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival for his film "Blue Vinyl." Judith Helfand received the Peabody Award for "A Healthy Baby Girl."
SCREENINGS
SATURDAY, MAY 5, 4:45 PM; LOS FELIZ 3
WEDNESDAY, MAY 9, 9:45 PM; LOS FELIZ 3
THE POWER OF COMMUNITY USA, 2006 60 MINS
DIRECTORS: FAITH MORGAN, PAT MURPHY
Winner, the People’s Choice Award at the 2006 Aotearoa (New Zealand) Environmental Film Festival.
Richard Heinberg, author, The Party's Over, Powerdown, and The Oil Depletion Protocol: "Everyone who is concerned about Peak Oil needs to see this film. Cuba survived an energy famine during the 1990s, and how it did so constitutes one of the most important and hopeful stories of the past few decades. It is a story not just of individual achievement, but of the collective mobilization of an entire society to meet an enormous challenge."
Cuba underwent the loss of over half of its oil imports and survived, after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1990, a very difficult time of economic scarcity called the "Special Period." In doing so, the country made a successful transition from a highly industrial society and reliance on fossil-fuel-based pesticides and fertilizers to a sustainable one of small organic farms and urban gardens. The documentary includes many interviews with Cuban farmers, urban gardeners, scientists and engineers, and local politicians who explain their country’s achievement.
FREEDOM FUELS USA 2006 49 MINS
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: MARTIN O’BRIEN
(playing with THE POWER OF COMMUNITY)
Winner of the 2006 Environmental Preservation Award at the Artivist Film Festival.
FREEDOM FUELS takes an in-depth look at renewable fuel sources, such as bio-diesel, ethanol and vegetable oil. It explores the interaction of the petroleum industry and alternative fuels over the last 150 years, and examines the global impact that bio-fuels can have on our future. The documentary includes interviews with eco-celebrities such as Darryl Hannah and Willie Nelson and clips from TV shows such as "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report."
Biodiesel, straight vegetable oil and ethanol are all covered with a pretty equal balance between commentary and humor. It's not all biofuel and happiness, though; as Daryl Hannah said in the movie, "There are lots of unsustainable ways to produce biofuels," so the clearing of the rainforest for biofuel plants gets some important air time.
SCREENING
SATURDAY, MAY 5, 11:45 AM; LOS FELIZ 3
Q&A with Martin O’Brien, Ed Begley, Jr. and Darryl Hannah after the screening.
CURRENT TV SHORTS
Eco-shorts, provided courtesy of Current TV, playing before Sustainable LA features films.
FARM GIRL USA 2006 3 MINS
DIRECTORS/PRODUCERS: TALBOTT & LULA
In Ute City Farms, a group of women gather every year to grow their own organic fruits and vegetables. A paean to local agriculture and getting down and dirty for your food.
BICYCLE KITCHEN USA 2006 4 MINS
PRODUCER: TREEHUGGER TV
Los Angeles based Bicycle Kitchen aims to get people out of the cars and onto the saddle by teaching them how to build and maintain bikes.
BIO-TOWN USA 2006 5 MINS
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: BROCK WILLIAMS
A small town in Indiana becomes the first bio-town through a series of city-wide initiatives. A big science project for the state and the world.
BANGLADESH ON THE BRINK USA 2006 10 MINS
DIRECTORS/PRODUCERS: GRACE BECK, ADAM YAMAGUCHI
A reportage style short on the growing effects of global warming on the rural citizens of Bangladesh.
SCREENING
BEFORE SUSTAINABLE LA FEATURES
SHORT FILMS PROGRAM (curated by Echo Park Film Center)
(total running time: 110 MINS)
Echo Park Film Center is a volunteer-run, non-profit media arts organization dedicated to providing affordable and accessible film education and resources to our community. For more information on EPFC programs and services, go to www.echoparkfilmcenter.org
EDIBLE ESTATES REGIONAL PROTOTYPE GARDEN #2: LAKEWOOD, CA
USA 2006 12 MINS
DIRECTORS: FRITZ HAEG, JACINTO ASTIAZARAN,
SOUTH CENTRAL FARMERS USA 2005 7 MINS
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: ROSS GUIDICI
IN THE GARDEN OF BROKENNESS USA 2007 4 MINS
DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER/PRODUCER: FARMLAB
FALLEN FRUIT USA 2007 5 MINS
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: FALLEN FRUIT
YOU CAN’T COMPOST CONCRETE USA 2007 4 MINS
DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER/PRODUCER: ELON SCHOENHOLZ
SCREENWRITERS: BRYN MACKINNON, SCOTT SINGER
TREE PEOPLE CAMPUS FORESTRY VIDEO USA 2006 6 MINS
PRODUCERS: MICHAEL KUEHNERT, PABLO GARRAHAN FOR WSR CREATIVE
SUPERVISING PRODUCERSS: LAURA KAUFMAN, RACHEL DAWSON FOR TREE PEOPLE
CAMERA: MICHAEL VEST, MICHAEL KUEHNERT, PABLO GARRAHAN
REAP WHAT YOU SEW USA 2005 30 SEC
DIRECTORS: LAURA HOWE, BETH ANN WHITTAKER
PATH TO FREEDOM: URBAN HOMESTEAD USA 2007 8 MINS
DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER/PRODUCER: KIMME NEUNUEBEL FOR CURRENT TV
COLD STORAGE USA 2007 6 MINS
PRODUCER: WWW.ROUTESANDMETHODS.ORG
GREEN USA 2006 15 MINS
DIRECTOR/EDITOR: ECHO PARK FILM CENTER
PRODUCER: NOT A CORNFIELD
GREEN AMBASSADORS USA 2005 8 MINS
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: ROSS GUIDICI
BUILD A SELF-WATERING CONTAINER FREE REPUBLIC OF SILVER LAKE 2007 2 MINS
DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER/PRODUCER: SURVIVELA
LOVECRAFT BIODIESEL USA 2007 N/S MINS
PRODUCER: BRIAN FRIEDMAN
RESTORING OUR URBAN RIVERS AND STREAMS USA 2004 12 MINS
DIRECTORS: MIA MONROY, ITZA PICHE, KAREEN LOPES, JOHAN BERMUDEZ, KELVIN HERNANDEZ, JONATHAN CAMPOS
PRODUCER: NORTH EAST TREES
HOW TO MAKE AN LA RIVER LIVER: A LIVING SOLUTION TO URBAN STORM WATER POLLUTION USA 2007 4 MINS
DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER/PRODUCER: GREENMEME
SHIFTING BASELINES IN THE SURF USA 2005 4 MINS
DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER: RANDY OLSON
SCREENWRITER: CHAD NELSEN
PRODUCER: TY CARLISLE
WOLFPACK: THE HUSTLE RIDE USA 2007 3 MINS
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: DONNY DIGITAL
SUNDOWN SCHOOLHOUSE: AUTUMN 2006 USA 2006 15 MINS
EDITOR: MICHAEL PARKER
URBAN FRUIT ACTION USA 2007 3 MINS
DIRECTORS/SCREENWRITERS/PRODUCERS: FALLEN FRUIT (DAVID BURNS, MATIAS VIEGENER, AUSTIN YOUNG)
SCREENING
SUNDAY, MAY 6, 11:30 AM; LOS FELIZ 3
Sustainable LA panel discussion and After-Party
SUNDAY, MAY 6, 4:00 PM
Offices of Lehrer Architects
2140 Hyperion Ave.
Los Angeles 90027
Tickets: Free to the public
The SUSTAINABLE L.A. program will culminate with a panel discussion and party at the beautiful offices of an environmentally conscious architecture firm of national repute. This interactive panel will be devoted to current local interests and activism in the realm of sustainable urban living solutions. Among the topics we’ll consider: urban gardening, transportation alternatives and community activism. In keeping with the grassroots nature of many of these organizations, films will emphasize awareness, practical information exchange, and participation.
Actor/activists Ed Begley Jr. and Alicia Silverstone will be joined by environmental leaders will join us for this spirited and informative exchange of ideas. Current TV’s Aline Allegra will moderate the event.
PETER BARSUK
Peter Barsuk is an architect with Gensler, an internationally renowned engineering and architecture firm with offices in Santa Monica. A LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) expert and advocate for green building, he is an elected member of the US Green Building Council Board of Directors. His interests and advocacy focus on sustainable design and green building practices.
ED BEGLEY JR.
Ed Begley Jr., received six Emmy nominations as Dr. Victor Ehrlich on the long-running hit television series, "St. Elsewhere," and currently stars in HGTV’s popular eco-series, "Living With Ed." A longtime environmental leader, he is a commissioner for the Environmental Affairs Commission and has served on the Board of Directors of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy.
BERNADETTE DEL CHIARO
One of California’s leading experts on clean energy issues, Ms. Del Chiaro directs Environment California’s Clean Energy Program and serves as the contact for state clean energy issues. Since 2003, Ms. Del Chiaro has been the lead advocate of the Million Solar Roofs campaign and also has directed the Clean Energy L.A campaign, a successful coalition effort to establish a renewable energy standard by 2017 at the LA DWP.
JENNA DIDIER
Jenna Didier is the founder and director of M&A (Materials & Applications) Gallery, nationally renowned non-profit organization based in Silver Lake presenting ongoing exhibitions and lectures relating to art, architecture & the environment.
BRIAN FRIEDMAN
Silver Lake-based Lovecraft Biofuels founder Brian Friedman wants to offer you liberation from petroleum addiction. Brian has designed a fuel conversion system that enables automotive diesel engines to burn readily available vegetable oil. ABC’s World News Tonight, KCAL 9 and Al Gore’s Current TV and National Public Radio have all done stories on Brian and his company.
MONICA HOWE
As the Outreach Manager of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition (LACBC), Monica Howe has garnered praise for bringing attention to urban cycling in Los Angeles and the need for safer on-road riding conditions. The LACBC brings a regional vision to transportation issues, with extensive knowledge and accountability, and is a recognized leader in bikeway planning and design issues.
JESSICA JENSEN
MICHAEL B. LEHRER
Architect Michael Lehrer, principal architect of Los Angeles-based Lehrer Architects, has won many awards for his green design. He served as President of the American Institute of Architects and is the founding director of the Community Design Studio at the University of Southern California.
ALICIA SILVERSTONE
Actor, producer, activist and committed vegan, Alicia Silverstone became a household name in CLUELESS and has gone on to star in such films as BATMAN AND ROBIN and LOVE LABOUR’S LOST (opposite Kenneth Branagh), while working on Broadway. In 2001 she started executive producing the hit Saturday-morning animated series "Braceface," which has garnered her two Environmental Media Awards and a Genesis Award for highlighting environmental and animal rights issues.
ECO-EXPO AT FAMILYFEST
Tree People is offering a seed-planting station for children and their parents. For more information, please visit:
The 2007 Silver Lake Film Festival is under the direction of Kate Marciniak, Greg Ptacek and Saskia Wilson-Brown and produced by the passion, talent and energy of an extraordinary group of volunteers.
This year’s festival is made possible by the generous contributions of our sponsors, including ASCAP, CBS Outdoor, Charter Communications, Crushed Planet, First Independent Pictures, Five Star Theatres The Echo and EchoPlex, Karl Strauss Beer, Kodak, Magnolia Pictures, MusicPlus TV, Mr. T. J. Singh and Trailer Park.
ABOUT SILVER LAKE FILM FESTIVAL
Silver Lake Film Festival, a nonprofit arts organization, was established in 2000 to provide a showcase for truly independent-alternative films in the entertainment capital of the world. Seven years later, the festival has evolved into Los Angeles’ leading independent film, music & art festival, and the only major media arts event in the city’s hip and burgeoning Eastside, which includes silver lake, Los Feliz, Echo Park, Hollywood and Downtown.
Website: http://silverlakefilmfestival.org
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