SPECIAL EVENT - Project Native

PROJECT NATIVE
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Award-winning
environmental films to educate,
inspire, enrage & engage
Ad
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6th
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FILM FESTIVAL
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Fr
March 5
Tower Theaters
South Hadley, MA
March 12
e
March 13
Mahaiwe Performing
Triplex Cinema
Great Barrington, MA
Arts Center
Great Barrington, MA
LETTER FROM PROJECT NATIVE’S GENERAL MANAGER
During these long winter months our minds frequently
wander to arrival of spring. This is the time of year when
calls and emails start pouring in about seed orders, plant
availability, and site preparations.
It is with a heavy heart that I inform you that Project Native will not continue its operations at the farm on North
David Ellis,
General Manager
Plain Road. After years of financial struggles, trying to
maintain an 1800’s farm house, barn, 54 acre property,
full-scale nursery, and native butterfly house, our overhead expenses prevent
us from becoming a financially sustainable endeavor. In light of this, the very
difficult decision has been made to sell the property.
The Project Native Board has accepted an offer from Helia Land Design to purchase the farm and continue operation of a native plant nursery.
While our time at the farm has come to an end; it is the intent of the Board
of Directors that an educational component of Project Native will continue as
demonstrated by this presentation our 6th Annual Film Festival. Conversations
with like-minded non-profit organizations are ongoing to explore the best options for moving forward with education programming.
Over the years Project Native has been supported by your donations of time
and money. Through your generosity we were able to demonstrate to thousands of visitors the value of native habitat and creating healthy diverse ecosystems. We were able to supply native plant material for small backyard gardens and hundred acre restoration projects. By sharing the incredible lifecycle
of Lepidoptera on Bug & Butterfly Safaris or guided tours of our woodlands
and meadow we succeeded in our mission to connect people to nature. We
have enjoyed sharing the enthusiasm of our volunteers, visiting camps, school
groups, customers and interns.
As this chapter of Project Native comes to a close the Board of Directors and
staff wish to express our deepest appreciation to the many friends of Project
Native that have been a part of this journey and shared in our experience on
the farm.
Respectfully,
A NOTE FROM FILM FESTIVAL COORDINATOR
What many people don’t know is that preparations for the
film festival begin six months before the lights are dimmed
and the first films roll. Long before the snow flies, budgeting and fundraising begin. The winter is spent connecting
with producers, attending film festivals, securing sponsors
and partner organizations. Evenings and weekends are
Karen Lyness LeBlanc, dedicated to previewing films with the goal of whittling
Project Native’s Film over 125 films down to just two dozen.
Festival Coordinator
This year, twenty-five films were selected for inclusion in the festival. Many of
these films have won multiple awards at some of the most prestigious festivals
in the nation. The festival includes four blocks of short films; be sure to check
them out. You’ll be surprised how much you can learn in under ten minutes
and I guarantee that “White Earth” (an Oscar® Nominated short) will stick with
you until well after the film festival closes.
Films are important educational tools and we feel we can reach a larger and
more diverse audience if we show the films for free. To help support future
educational events, like the film festival, please consider making a donation.
Thank you for joining us for Project Native’s 6th Film Festival. Please take
a moment after the films to talk with the underwriting organizations in the
lobby to find out how you can get involved. Education and inspiration are
important, but action is necessary!
Tips to ensure you have the festival experience possible.
• Tickets will be available at the box office the day of the festival.
• If the festival is free why do I need tickets? Great question. Tickets are
issued so we have a head count and do not over fill the theater.
• To guarantee admission plan to arrive 15 minutes prior to start time.
If a film is sold out, a rush line will form and seats will be released 5
minutes prior to start time.
• Please turn off all cell phones and electronic devices.
• Theatre must be cleared between shows. All personal belongings must
be removed from the theatre. Please take your trash with you.
FILM FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
Saturday, March 5 - Tower Theater
10:00 I Bought a Rainforest (58)
11:25
Water Water Everywhere, but...*
A Dam Problem (6), Slow Season (6) , Mixing Oil & Water (11)
Silent River (25), Forget Shorter Showers (12)
12:50
The True Cost (93)
2:50 Energy & Impact*
36 Inches (6), 1000 Cuts (10), White Earth (20)
Dryden: The Small Town That Changed The Fracking Game (12)
4:10 This Changes Everything (90)
Saturday, March 12 - Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center
SPECIAL EVENT
Embracing the Greatest Challenge of Our Time
Featuring Joanna Macy and the Great Turning and
The Wisdom to Survive: Climate Change, Capitalism and Community
Followed by a panel discussion.
SUnday, March 13* - Triplex Cinema
* Don’t forget to change your clocks, March 13 is Daylight Savings.
10:00
10:30
11:50
1:25
3:00
5:00
7:15
Doeville (96)
Gambling on Extinction (52)
People & Nature*
American Lawn (12), Our Daily Dose (20), Bluebird Man (30), Nature Rx (3)
Overburden (66)
Whistleblowers *
Exposed: USDA’s Secret War on Wildlife (32), The Burden (40), The Accidental Environmentalist (12)
Unbranded (105) screened with Nature Rx (3)
The Important Places (10)
Return of the River (70)
* a collection of short films
FILM DESCRIPTIONS (listed alphabetically)
1000 Cuts 10 min
Filmmaker: James Balog
Utah’s Canyonlands National Park is known for its
fantastically formed arches and pinnacles, its canyon
mazes and pristine solitude. Famed photographer
and filmmaker, James Balog (Chasing Ice), finds that
the rugged, primitive land that he loves is being transformed by industrial development—right up to national park boundaries.
2:50 TOWER THEATERS
36 Inches 7 min
2:50 TOWER THEATERS
Filmmaker: James Parker
A recovering apathetic millennial embarks on a
journey of discovery to understand the economic, property rights, and environmental concerns
associated with the proposed Jordan Cove
Energy Project, a $7.6 billion natural gas export
project through Southern Oregon.
The Accidental Environmentalist
12 min
Filmmaker: Kristine Stolakis
John Wathen was just an average guy until coming into contact with toxic chemicals, stumbling
upon a video camera, and discovering his passion
for protecting the world’s waters. Watch this Alabama native’s transformation into an internationally recognized environmentalist. Winner of Spirit
of Activism Award at Wild & Scenic 2016.
3:00 TRIPLEX CINEMA
American Lawn 11:50 TRIPLEX CINEMA
12 min
Filmmaker: Robert Sickels
For a lot of people, “in lawns we trust” is more
than a motto: it’s a way of life. Conversely, many
folks see their lawn as an enemy. “American
Lawn” is a lighthearted, surprisingly insightful,
and kaleidoscopic portrait of Americans of all
stripes grappling with their relationships to lawn.
Bluebird Man
11:50 TRIPLEX CINEMA
The Burden
3:00 TRIPLEX CINEMA
30 min
Filmmaker: Neil Paprocki
Al Larson was one of the first citizen scientists to
take up the North American Bluebird Society’s
call to action back in 1978. At 91-year-old Al has
been monitoring and maintaining over 300 nestboxes for bluebirds in Idaho for 35 years. “Bluebird Man” chronicles Al’s continued efforts to
conserve bluebirds throughout Southern Idaho
despite his advancing age.
40 min
Filmmaker: Roger Sorkin
The U.S. military is currently the world’s single
largest institutional consumer of oil, and the
United States alone uses 20% of the total global
supply. “The Burden” examines how America’s
dependence on fossil fuels poses serious immediate and long-term national security threats
– and how the military is taking a leading role in
the battle for clean, renewable energy.
Winner of Best of Festival at Wild & Scenic 2016.
A Dam Problem 11:25 TOWER THEATERS
Doeville
10:00 TRIPLEX CINEMA
6 min
Filmmaker: Upper Deschutes Watershed Council
Building successful relationships takes time but
those relationships are the key to completing a
successful dam removal and floodplain restoration project near Sisters, OR, that benefited farmers, fish and the surrounding ecosystem.
96 min
Filmmaker: Kathryn Pasternak
Doeville follows farmer Gail Rose as she struggles to keep a promise made to her late husband Alex - to keep his beloved deer farm alive
- in the heart of Virginia’s beautiful Shenandoah
Valley. It’s impossible to predict how Gail’s story
will end, but the journey is one full of spirit,
determination, humor, heartache and hard work.
Dryden: The Small Town The Fracking Game
2:50 TOWER THEATERS
12 min
“The industry kept saying: ‘We have the power;
you have none. We are coming. Get out of the
way or leave,’” says Joanne Cipolla-Dennis.
When the oil and gas industry came to their
town of Dryden, NY. Joanne and her neighbors
came up with a plan. This is the true story of
people who discovered their shared strength
and turned the tables on a powerful industry.
Exposed: USDA’s Secret War on Wildlife
32 min
Three former federal agents and a Congressman
blow the whistle on Wildlife Services—a barbaric, wasteful and misnamed agency within the
USDA most Americans have never heard of—and
expose the government’s secret war on wildlife
on the taxpayer’s dime.
3:00 TRIPLEX CINEMA
Forget Shorter Showers
12 min
Filmmaker: Jordan Brown
You compost, bring your own bags, eat organic,
and have reduced your lawn to the size of a postage stamp. Are personal “solutions” enough to
save the planet?
11:25 TOWER THEATERS
Gambling on Extinction
52 min
Filmmaker: Jakob Kneser
This is a story about greed and a merciless battle
over a limited resource: wild elephants and
rhinos. Ivory and rhino horn is now a 20 billion
dollar a year business, the most lucrative after
drugs and weapons and has been taken over
by powerful, connected, heavily armed international syndicates. Journey from the killing fields in Kenya and South Africa to
the trading hubs of Vietnam and China with undercover investigators, rangers,
ex-poachers, conservationists and buyers. Contains graphic images.
10:30 TRIPLEX CINEMA
SPECIAL EVENT
Embracing the Greatest
Challenge of Our Time
Saturday, March 12 at 7:00pm
Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center
Join us for an evening that reveals why we are fortunate to be alive in these very
challenging times. The evening will include a screening of two films “Joanna
Macy and the Great Turning” and “The Wisdom to Survive: Climate Change, Capitalism and Community” followed by a panel discussion with Bruce Winn, Maia
Conty, Chris Landry and Quincy Saul.
To create the real change necessary to heal our communities and the planet,
we need the energy, creativity and enthusiasm of young people. Middle, high
school and college students are encouraged to attend the festival and bring their
friends.
Joanna Macy & The Great Turning
Filmmaker Christopher Landry in attendance.
27 minutes
Joanna Macy, PhD, eco-philosopher,
scholar of Buddhism, systems
theory, and deep ecology shares
her understanding of these times
we live in, when everything we
treasure seems to be at risk. A
respected voice in the movements
for peace, justice, and ecology, she
interweaves her scholarship with
five decades of activism.
What is the Great Turning? It is, as Joanna describes it, the shift from the industrial growth society to a life-sustaining civilization. It is, she believes, the third
major revolution of human existence, after the agricultural and industrial revolutions. This one, though, has to unfold much more quickly. The good news is that
it is, all around the world.
This is a thoughtful, and ultimately hopeful, film for anyone concerned about the
future of life on the planet.
Wisdom to Survive
Climate Change, Capitalism & Community
56 minutes
The Wisdom to Survive accepts the
consensus of scientists that climate
change has already arrived, and asks,
what is keeping us from action? The
film explores how unlimited growth
and greed are destroying the life support system of the planet, the social
fabric of the society, and the lives of
billions of people.
Will we have the wisdom to survive? The film features thought leaders and activists in the realms of science, economics and spirituality discussing how we can
evolve and take action in the face of climate disruption. They urge us to open
ourselves to the beauty that surrounds us and get to work on ensuring it thrives.
PANELISTS
Maia Conty is a Social Change-Agent, Evolutionary Economist, & Master LifeCoach. She is the co-creator and facilitator of Walking Our Talk, a highly active
women’s circle community that is growing a local culture of trust, care and
support. And she is the co-creator and a facilitator of the Generosity Economy
Circle, where committed members of the local community participate in the
evolutionary economic practice of gifting, generosity and community building.
Chris Landry, filmmaker of “Joanna Macy and the Great Turning,” helps missiondriven organizations tell better stories through his consulting firm, Landry Communications. Chris learned how to tell effective stories during the two decades
he spent in the non-profit world (including ten years of work in food security and
sustainable agriculture).
Quincy Saul is an organizer, musician, writer, illustrator and co-founder of Ecosocialist Horizons. His published books include “Reflections of Crisis: The Great
Depression and the 21st Century” and “Maroon the Implacable: the Collected
Writings of Russell Maroon Shoatz.” He is the illustrator of “The A to Z Characteristics and Qualities of Being a Revolutionary,” by Fred Ho.
Bruce Winn is the co-founder of the Berkshire Environmental Action Team and
a professor at Berkshire Community College. BEAT works with the public to
protect the environment in the Berkshires and beyond. BEAT educates citizens
about the environment and their role in protecting it, keeps the public informed
of current local issues and helps people work together to take action to protect
the environment.
I Bought a Rainforest
58 min
Filmmaker: Jacob Andrén
Jacob Andrén was an ordinary kid going to school
in the 1980’s who, with the help of teachers,
raised money to buy a piece of forest. Now a
grown up young man he is wondering about
what happened to all those trees. Jacob decides
to buy a plane ticket to try to find his trees and
see if his efforts made a difference. Nominee for Best Conservation and Best
People & Nature Program at Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival 2015
10:00 TOWER THEATERS
The Important Places
7:15 TRIPLEX CINEMA
10 min
Filmmaker: Forest Woodward
A father and son rediscover their connection on
a journey down the Colorado River through the
Grand Canyon. This poignant film is a reminder
that although we may sometimes go astray —
stuck in eddies and in life — the path back to the
important places is never too far away. Winner
of a Jury Award at Wild & Scenic Film Festival.
Joanna Macy & The Great Turning
See center spread for more information. Mixing Oil & Water
11:25 TOWER THEATERS
Filmmaker: Eric Warren
Oil and gas development and fresh water use are
tightly intertwined. “Mixing Oil and Water” illustrates that water quality and scarcity are becoming more prevalent in Montana where oil and gas
development occurs. Are we willing to sacrifice
clean water for extreme fossil fuel development?
Nature Rx: Prescription Strength
11:50 & 5:00 TRIPLEX CINEMA
11 min
3 min
Filmmaker: Jason Bogardus
“Nature Rx” offers a timeless prescription for
whatever ails you. Side effects may include confidence, authenticity, remembering you have a
body, and being in a good mood for no apparent
reason. Winner of Best International Short at
Planet in Focus Film Festival.
Our Daily Dose
20 min
Filmmaker: Jeremy Seifert (GMO OMG)
“Our Daily Dose” is an eye-opening look at how
we have less control over our health than we
may have thought. Seifert lays out the dangers of
water fluoridation highlighting the most current
research and interviewing doctors, activists, and
attorneys close to the issue. Through thoughtful examination of old beliefs and new science, the film alerts us to the health
threat present in the beverages we rely on every day.
11:50 TRIPLEX CINEMA
Overburden
65 min
Filmmaker: Chad A. Stevens
After a mine explosion kills her brother, a procoal activist joins forces with a tree-hugging
grandmother to take down the most dangerous
coal company in the United States. Lorelei, fighting to stop mountaintop removal, launches a
campaign to build wind farm. Betty, who lost her
brother in the disaster, joins Lorelei’s fight to bring justice and economic diversity to the coalfields of Appalachia.
1:25 TRIPLEX CINEMA
Return of the River
70 min
Filmmakers: Jessica Plumb, John Gussman
Return of the River follows a group of strongminded committed people as they attempt the
impossible: to change the public opinion of a
town and eventually bring a dam down. The
community comes to a consensus, setting the Elwha River free and showing the way to more sustainable future. Amid grim environmental news, this is a film infused with hope.
Winner of Best Conservation Message and Best Storytelling at the International
Wildlife Film Festival 2015. Winner of the Marian Zunz Emerging Filmmaker
Award and the Project Impact Award at 2015 Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival.
7:15 TRIPLEX CINEMA
Thanks to all of our wonderful sponsors.
This festival would not be possible without your support.
Silent River
25 min
Filmmakers: Steve Fisher, Jason Jaacks
Since the passage of the NAFTA 20 years ago,
U.S. companies have used the Santiago River as
their own waste canal. “Silent River” follows a
young woman and her family as they defy death
threats to try and save one of the most polluted
rivers in Mexico. Winner of Best Student Film11:25 TOWER THEATERS
maker at Wild & Scenic Film Festival 2016.
Slow Season
11:25 TOWER THEATERS
6 min
Filmmaker: John Fiege
The devastation of the 2010 BP oil spill has faded
from public consciousness, but for some it cannot be escaped. “Slow Season” is a reverie on
an endangered way of life through the words of
a Houma Indian crab fisherman and his family,
deep in Louisiana’s bayou.
This Changes Everything
90 min
Filmmaker: Avi Lewis
Inspired by Naomi Klein’s international non-fiction bestseller This Changes Everything, the film
presents seven powerful portraits of communities on the front lines, from Montana’s Powder
River Basin to the Alberta Tar Sands, from the
coast of South India to Beijing and beyond.
Interwoven with these stories of struggle is Klein’s narration, connecting the
carbon in the air with the economic system that put it there. Throughout the
film, Klein builds to her most controversial and exciting idea: that we can seize
the existential crisis of climate change to transform our failed economic system
into something radically better.
This is not a film that tries to scare the audience into action: it aims to empower.
Provocative, compelling, and accessible to even the most climate-fatigued viewers, This Changes Everything will leave you refreshed and inspired, reflecting on
the ties between us, the kind of lives we really want, and why the climate crisis
is at the center of it all. Will this film change everything? Absolutely not. But
you could, by answering its call to action.
4:15 TOWER THEATERS
The True Cost
93 min
Filmmaker: Andrew Morgan
This is a story about the clothes we wear, the
people who make them, and the impact the
industry is having on our world. The price of
clothing has been decreasing for decades, while
the human and environmental costs have grown
dramatically. The True Cost is a groundbreaking
documentary film that pulls back the curtain on the untold story and asks us to
consider, who really pays the price for our clothing?
12:50 TOWER THEATERS
Unbranded 105 min
Filmmaker: Phill Baribeau, Dennis Aig
3,000 miles, 16 wild mustangs, 4 young cowboys
and countless breathtaking shots of the western
landscape make this multi-award winning film a
must see on the big screen. Follow the cowboys
as they adopt, train, and ride a string of wild
mustangs from Mexico to Canada through the
wildest terrain of the American West. Unbranded
is an emotionally charged odyssey that shines a bright light on the complex plight
of our country’s wild horses. The trip became an epic journey of self-discovery,
tested friendships, and iconic landscapes that included runaway horses, a sassy
donkey, perilous mountain passes, rodeos, sickness, injury, and death. Audience
Award winner at Telluride Mountainfilm and Hot Docs Film Festival. Winner of
People’s Choice and Most Inspiring Adventure Film at Wild & Scenic Film Festival.
Nominee for Best Theatrical at Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival.
Rated PG-13 for language and unsettling images.
5:00 TRIPLEX CINEMA
Plan to arrive a few minutes early to
meet one of Blue Star Equiculture’s
rescued working horses.
White Earth
20 min
Filmmaker: J. Christian Jensen
Thousands of souls flock to America’s Northern Plains seeking work in the oil fields. “White
Earth” is the tale of an oil boom seen through
unexpected eyes. Three children and an immigrant mother brave a cruel winter and reflect on
the challenges and opportunities of life in the
nation’s biggest oil rush. Winner of the Student
Award at the American Conservation Film Festival, Oscar®Nominee for Documentary Short Subject, and 13 more!
2:50 TOWER THEATERS
Wisdom to Survive: Climate Change, Capitalism & Community
See center spread for more information.
7:00 MAHAIWE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
OFFICIAL SPONSORS
William Gundry Broughton
Charitable Private Foundation
Bobbie Hallig
SUPPORTERS
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Festival Locations
Tower Theaters (located in the Village Commons)
19 College Street, South Hadley, MA 01075
Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center
14 Castle Street, Great Barrington, MA 01230
Triplex Cinema
70 Railroad Street, Great Barrington, MA 01230