If you missed last year’s successful Eco-Film Festival at College at the Canyons, you can catch it this year, on Saturday, March 8, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The free festival will again offer six outstanding environmentally focused films. You may be motivated by the horrific fires that beset Los Angeles recently to learn more about how our actions are affecting the natural world, and this is an opportunity to do that and spend a relaxing, enjoyable day at the same time.
All films, as well as information tables, a bicycle library, and a thought-provoking art installation will be conveniently located in the Dianne Van Hook University Center. A welcome table in the lobby will provide a “menu” of the films and their screening rooms. Complimentary parking is available in front of the center or in lots 13 or 14, and a food truck will be parked in front of the center as well, from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m.
The six films will be screened in three time blocks — two in the morning from 10 a.m. until noon, two short ones during the lunch break from noon until 1:30, and the final two from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Each film will be followed by a short discussion/Q&A session about the film and its focus.
“Common Ground” is one of the morning choices. It profiles the hopeful, uplifting movement of white, Black, and Indigenous farmers using regenerative models of agriculture that could balance the climate, save our health, and stabilize America’s economy. The documentary also unveils a dark web of money, power and politics behind our broken food system.
The second morning choice is “Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret.” This groundbreaking documentary follows filmmaker Kip Anderson as he uncovers the most destructive industry facing the planet — animal agriculture — and investigates why the world’s leading environmental organizations are too afraid to talk about it. He’s warned of the risks to his freedom and life if he dares to persist, but he proceeds anyway and lives to tell the tale.
Two short films will be shown during the lunch break, and both could potentially be seen by all film-goers, since they’ll be shown at different times. In the award-winning “Burnt Country,” Kirsten Slemint showcases the work of Tasmania’s Indigenous Melukerdee people, who have long used low-temperature fires to reduce fuel load and control far more destructive burns. The second film, “Saging the World,” reveals how poachers are stealing tons of white sage to supply international demand, and how Native American advocates are speaking out in defense of the plant they have long cherished and protected.
In the afternoon, the two films are “Send Kelp!” and “Buy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy.” The first is the story of Francis Ward, a 20ish “seaweed nerd” in British Columbia who wants to do something meaningful with her life. She learns that kelp is being decimated by sea urchins that proliferated because their primary predators, sea stars and sea otters, have become endangered due to global warming and human interaction. The film follows her efforts to start kelp farms along the BC coast, even though she started with no training or experience.
We may not think our consumer habits have much effect on the world, but the second afternoon film, “Buy Now,” shows how the consumerism we’re encouraged to engage in creates extreme waste and negatively impacts the lives of people living far away — people we wouldn’t normally think about. The film investigates fast fashion/clothing, electronics, and plastics in particular, and reveals secret advertising tricks major global brands use to drive consumerism. Would you like to know how you’re being subconsciously manipulated to buy now? Watch this film!
The free film festival is a joint project of the SCV Eco Alliance, which is composed of over a dozen local environmental groups and organizations. Most of these groups will have tables in the lobby during the festival, with opportunities to engage.
For more information about the alliance and the film festival, visit scv-eco-alliance.weebly.com.
Cher Gilmore
Newhall
