By Amy Boruta
The Film Festival Planning Team is excited about the many films that will be shown during the One Earth Film Fest 2012 on April 27-29th. The screenings will take place throughout Oak Park/ River Forest at venues like Lake Street Theater and Dominican University. The event will be kicked off with a celebratory event, the Green Carpet Gala, on Friday, April 27th at the Oak Park Conservatory that will focus on community and conversation. Purchase your tickets for the Green Carpet Gala and register for the film fest here.
Approximately 300 films were considered for the fest and the planning team screened 70. The planning team thoughtfully selected a combination of long and short films that we feel embody the purpose of the event and there will be something for all members of the community. These special films promote awareness, inspire change, and drive action. We would like to move Oak Park / River Forest and the Chicago-area forward as sustainable communities and green community leaders and we feel that these films will inspire this change. You can find a complete list of films, showing times, and venues hereAn Amazing Line-Up
The films highlight the importance of climate change, sustainability, and the power of human involvement. Waste Land is one of the films that will be shown during the event and is the winner of the Sundance Film Festival Best World Cinema Audience Award. Waste Land follows renowned artist Vik Muniz as he journeys from his home base in Brooklyn to his native Brazil and the world's largest garbage dump, Jardim Gramacho, located on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. There he photographs an eclectic band of “catadores”, self-designated pickers of recyclable materials. Muniz’s initial objective was to “paint” the catadores with garbage. However, his collaboration with these inspiring characters as they recreate photographic images of themselves out of garbage reveals both the dignity and despair of the catadores as they begin to re-imagine their lives. “The trailer alone had me choke up, and the reviews and awards are amazing,” said Sally Stovall, planning team member. You can view the trailer here. Wasteland will be shown on Saturday, April 28th at 9:30am at the Lake Street Theatre.
Another featured Sundance film is A Fierce Green Fire that will be shown at Dominican University on Saturday, April 28th at 5:00pm. The film is the first to take on environmentalism as a whole, to bring together all the parts and eras, from conservation to climate change. It explores how the issues built into an international cause, the largest movement the world has ever seen and perhaps the most crucial in terms of what’s at stake. You can view the trailer here.
Still Time To Get Involved
Oak Park/River Forest’s Green Community Connections is still looking for volunteers to get involved in the fest. We are interested in identifying volunteers for roles throughout Friday, April 27th- Sunday, April 29th that can assist with set-up, registration, facilitators for movie discussions, and clean up. We are looking for volunteers to serve in a variety of roles on Saturday between 8:30am - 8:00pm and Sunday between 8:30am - 7:30pm.
If you are interested in participating as a volunteer during the event click here. It's more fun to volunteer with a friend, so please share this volunteer opportunity with others that may be interested in participating.
