From manatees to koalas to pangolins, endangered wildlife was a recurring theme among 148 submissions to the 2022 One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest. Students ages 8 to 25 revealed the impact of weather extremes and plastic pollution on people, animals, and the planet, with a new note of urgency about the climate crisis in their short films.
Sunday March 6th, 3:30 pm/ Oak Park Public Library/ Tickets
Post-film program will include Q&A with: John Murray, Filmmaker for "A Farmer's Road" Wes Jarrell, Farmer and Owner, Prairie Fruits Farm & Creamery Cheryl Munoz. Founder and Marketing Director, Sugar Beet Food Coop. Discussion and panel facilitator: Jim Slama, Founder and CEO FamilyFarmed and Good Food Business Accelerator Opportunities to take relevant, local action will be shared. Cheese and gelato tastings will be available from Prairie Fruits Farm & Creamery.
Sunday March 6th, 4 pm/ Montessori School of Lake Forest/ Tickets
Please stay for post-film discussion, and concrete opportunities for action.
John Murray/ 2015/ 74 min/ Food & Agriculture
FILM DESCRIPTION: A Farmer's Road is a documentary about changing the American food system one meal at a time. At the heart of A Farmer’s Road is a story of how two PhD soil scientists traded the security of academic tenure at a major research university for the relentless challenges and economic uncertainty of operating a Grade A goat dairy and farmstead creamery in central Illinois.
Sunday March 6th, 12:30 pm/ Ascension Catholic Church/ Tickets
A light lunch will be served at noon, immediately prior to the films. Three short films (Bomb Trains on the Hudson, Backyard, and The Sustainable) will be woven together with quotes from the recent Papal Encyclical, Laudato Si, which urges a sense of integral ecology and care for our common home and common family. Post-film opportunities include a panel of experts in trains that carry hazardous materials, fracking in Illinois and updates on the solar energy field. There will be time for Q&A and opportunities to take concrete action on various issues, including local environmental issues in Cicero and information on socially responsible investing (Joe O'Krepky with Edward Jones). Facilitator: Gina Orlando, DePaul Faculty; Wellness Coach, Consultant, Hypnotherapist at Healthy is Wealthy.
Panelists include:Alexis Aurigemma, Co-producer of the film "The Sustainable" Lisa Albrecht, Board member of ISEA (Illinois Solar Energy Association) Stacey Durley Hess, Environmental consultant for environmental investigations and remediation in the Midwest. Dawn Dannenbring, Environmental organizer for Illinois Peoples Action
Deia Schlosberg/ 2013/ 28 min/ Energy
FILM DESCRIPTION: Energy companies pursue increasingly difficult methods of fossil fuel extraction at increasing costs to the people and the environment. “Backyard” examines four states that are presently in different stages of hydro-fracking development. The results are several powerful stories of people at odds with the natural gas extraction occurring around them.
Saturday March 5th, 7 pm/ Northwestern University/ Tickets
Post-film discussion will feature a panel of experts who will demystify some important innovations in conservation strategy.The event is co-sponsored by Northwestern's Environmental Policy and Culture Department, and the panel will include Mark Witte, Department of Economics, Northwestern University; Jason Funk, Senior Climate Scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists; Tom Hodgman, Director of Conservation Transactions for NatureVest, the impact investment unit of The Nature Conservancy. Facilitator: Dorie Blesoff, Adjunct Faculty, Northwestern University - SESP/LOC
Dennis Delestra & Sandrine Feydel/ 2014/ 52 min/ Social Justice: Economy
FILM DESCRIPTION: Banking Nature is a provocative documentary that looks at the growing movement to monetize the natural world—and to turn endangered species and threatened areas into instruments of profit. It's a worldview that sees capital and markets not as a threat to the planet, but as its salvation—turning nature into "natural capital" and fundamental processes such as pollination and oxygen generation into "ecosystem services."
Pre- Event Screening: Thursday Feb. 25th 6:30/ River Forest Public Library/ Tickets
This film is paired with a longer film, My Stuff. Stay for a brief, post-film program and discussion focused on the topics of waste and consumerism, and voluntary simplicity. Featuring Q&A with Rachel Lyons, member of Emmaus House in Lawndale focused on racial justice, hospitality, and accompaniment. She is also the Organizer for the Mission of Social Justice at Old St. Patrick's Church. Facilitator: Seamus Ford, Co-Founder, Root Riot Urban Garden Network.
Bea Johnson/ 2015/ 8 min/ Waste, Recycling
FILM DESCRIPTION: Bea Johnson's Zero Waste Home raises questions such as, how much do you throw away each year and how about each day? The numbers are mind boggling, but what if the waste you produced in a single year fit into a quart size jar? That’s what one family of four is doing!
Sunday March 6th, 3:30 pm/ Frontier Chicago/ Tickets
Sponsored by West Town Chamber of Commerce and West Town Bike-Friendly Business District in partnership with Frontier Chicago.Please join us for post-film discussion about opportunities for creating bike friendly communities, featuring: Kate McKenna, Outreach and Communications Director, West Town Chamber of Commerce / Bike-Friendly Business District, and Rebecca Noble, Urban Fellow and Outreach Coordinator, Go Bronzeville. Facilitator: Jim Troxel, Facilitator, Angel Groups and Funds.
Related direct action opportunities will also be available. *The film is suitable for high school and above. Food and beverages at this View & Brew screening will be available for purchase; patrons 21+ with ID may purchase alcoholic beverages.
Fredrik Gertten/ 2015/ 88 min/ Transportation
FILM DESCRIPTION: From bike activists in Sao Paulo and Los Angeles, who are fighting for safe bike lanes, to the City of Copenhagen, where forty percent commute by bike daily, Bikes vs Cars will look at both the struggle for bicyclists in a society dominated by cars and the revolutionary changes that could take place if more cities moved away from car-centric models.
Saturday March 5th, 7 pm/ Good Earth Greenhouse/ Tickets
Arrive early to purchase refreshments! This film is for general audiences, but teens and pre-teens are encouraged to attend. Stay after the film for Q&A with Kelly Mitchell, Climate Campaign Director, Greenpeace. Concrete, local action opportunities will also be shared. Facilitator: Susan Lucci, Professional Trainer & Coach.
Maarten van Rouveroy/ 2013/ 53 min/ Social Justice, Youth (Middle School +)
FILM DESCRIPTION: When the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise set sail to protest the first ever oil drilling in the Arctic Ocean, none of the people on board could have known what was coming. Seized at gunpoint by Russian special forces, the ‘Arctic 30’ were thrust into headlines all over the world, facing up to 15 years in prison and finding themselves at the centre of a bitter international dispute. Black Ice is a film about social justice and attendance is acceptable for middle school + aged viewers.
Sunday March 6th, 12:30 pm/ Ascension Catholic Church/ Tickets
A light lunch will be served immediately prior to the film, at noon. Three short films (Bomb Trains on the Hudson, Backyard, and The Sustainable) will be woven together with quotes from the recent Papal Encyclical, Laudato Si, which urges a sense of integral ecology and care for our common home and common family. Post-film opportunities include a panel of experts in trains that carry hazardous materials, fracking in Illinois and updates on the solar energy field. There will be time for Q&A and opportunities to take concrete action on various issues, including local environmental issues in Cicero and information on socially responsible investing (Joe O'Krepky with Edward Jones). Facilitator: Gina Orlando, DePaul Faculty; Wellness Coach, Consultant, Hypnotherapist at Healthy is Wealthy.
Panelists include:Alexis Aurigemma, Co-producer of the film "The Sustainable" Lisa Albrecht, Board member of ISEA (Illinois Solar Energy Association) Stacey Durley Hess, Environmental consultant for environmental investigations and remediation in the Midwest. Dawn Dannenbring, Environmental organizer for Illinois Peoples Action
Jon Bowermaster/ 2015/ 7 min/ Energy
FILM DESCRIPTION: For many years, the Hudson river, like so many waterways, was treated like an infinite waste barrel, a receptacle for poisonous chemicals, hazardous waste and trash of all descriptions. However, in the past forty years, thanks to a committed group of environmentalists and their agencies (Riverkeeper, Scenic Hudson, Clearwater and more) the river has become markedly cleaner. While it is still an under-utilized natural resource, increasingly it is used by boaters, kayakers, even swimmers as a recreational playground. But the river has had a "foot on its neck" for one hundred years and still today, despite the efforts to clean it up, there are environmental risks and concerns.
Watch trailer: https://www.hudsonriverstories.com/bomb-trains/
Pre-Event Screening: Wednesday February 24th, 6:30 pm/ Forest Park Public Library/ Tickets
Post-film program includes discussion about protecting our marine environments and the quality of our precious water resources. Independent environmental journalist Gary Wilson will be on hand to help frame the conversation. Gary specializes in water issues as a commentator for Great Lakes Echo and WKAR Public Radio in Lansing, Michigan. Facilitator: Stephanie McCray, Executive Coach, Consultant, Speaker.
Saturday March 5th, 3 pm/ Wilmette Theater/ Tickets
Come see "The Breach" at the WIlmette Theater Saturday March 5th at 3 pm. Stay for post-film dialogue, and to hear about opportunities for relevant, local action, from Jessica Fujan of Food and Water Watch. Concessions will be available for purchasing snacks and beverages. Facilitator: Jill Stewart, Founder, Stewart Communications & Co-Founder, Green Block.
Sunday March 6th, 3:30 pm/ Sixth Grace Presbyterian Church/ Tickets
Arrive early to enjoy a Green Fair before the film.Also learn about green activities, and hear about concrete, local opportunities for action from Faith in Place and other relevant advocacy groups. Facilitator: Rev. Dr. Barbara Wilson, Presbytery Community Organizer, Presbytery of Chicago.
Mark Titus/2014/ 85 min/ Water
FILM DESCRIPTION: When fishing guide and filmmaker Mark Titus learns why wild salmon populations plummeted in his native Pacific Northwest, he embarks on a journey to discover where the fish have gone and what might bring them back. Along the way, Titus unravels a trail of human hubris, historical amnesia and potential tragedy looming in Alaska – all conspiring to end the most sustainable wild food left on the planet. Visit The Breach's official site.
Saturday March 5th, 11 am/ Institute of Cultural Affairs/ Ticket
Program will include a tour of the Institute of Cultural Affairs Greenrise's solar array (the 2nd largest in the City of Chicago), and a brief sharing of initiatives by Cook County Community Solar Project, as well as Ben Ishibashi of the National People’s Action Clean Jobs Bill. Facilitator: Samantha Sainsbury, Program Coordinator at Institute of Cultural Affairs.
Saturday March 5th, 3 pm Trinity United Church of Christ/ Tickets
Stay for our post film program where Imani Village will share about their solar house project. There will also be opportunities for taking concrete action from local advocacy groups such as Faith in Place. Facilitator: Fara Taylor, Finance & HR Administrator at Institute of Cultural Affairs.
Shalini Kantayya/ 2013/ 75 min/ Energy
FILM DESCRIPTION: Through the stories of workers and entrepreneurs in the U.S. and China, Catching the Sun is a feature length documentary that explores the global race to a clean energy future. Catching the Sun follows the hope and heartbreak of unemployed American workers seeking jobs in the solar industry and sheds light on the path to an economically and environmentally sustainable future.
