The Santa Clarita Valley Eco Alliance Film Festival returned for its second year and saw over 100 guests at the College of the Canyons University Center on Saturday.
According to Cher Gilmore, facilitator of the event, the free festival played six environmental films from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a short discussion following at the conclusion of each showing.
The festival was made possible with the assistance of a dozen local environmentally focused nonprofit organizations, who are collectively known as the SCV Eco Alliance, and they too were present to connect with members of the community and teach people about their efforts.
This year’s film lineup was: “Common Ground,” “Cowspiracy,” “Burnt Country,” “Saging the World,” “Send Kelp,” and “Buy Now.”
The goal of the annual event is to bring “more awareness about what the consequences are of our habits, our daily habits, and our choices every day,” Gilmore said. “Something needs to be done, and something is being done, but what’s something I can do to help if possible?”
For Gilmore, one growing concern for her in today’s society that’s affecting the environment is fast fashion, she said.
“When you go into the store and you just see this vast array of really, not, not very well-made clothing that’s very cheap, it disturbs me because it’s so poorly made you can’t reuse it, you can’t resell it,” she said, adding that much of the clothing that’s disposed of after one use are dumped in areas that affect natural habitats.
The lineup of films, Gilmore said, weren’t new topics. Many of the films discussed current issues that have already received a lot of attention but, “what the films do is, they take you to a deeper level of learning about that issue. It just gives you a deeper understanding of all the ramifications of that issue.
“Everything is connected, everything that we do affects somebody else,” she added.
Gilmore encouraged those who missed the annual festival to explore environmentally focused films on streaming platforms. People can gain a deeper understanding of current environmental issues and discover small, meaningful changes they can make to help protect the planet, she said.
