The 19th annual Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital, March 15 through 27, will present 150 documentary, narrative, animated, archival, experimental and children’s films selected to provide fresh perspectives on environmental issues facing our planet.
The critical connections between energy and the environment are a major theme of the 2011 Festival, which features cinematic work from 40 countries and 80 Washington, D.C., United States and world premieres. Fifty-five filmmakers and 94 special guests will discuss their work at the Festival.
Renowned oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle will appear with the portrait film-in-progress, Mission Blue. Distinguished biologist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Dr. E.O. Wilson will lecture on his two new books, “The Leafcutter Ants: Civilization by Instinct” and “Kingdom of the Ants: José Celestino Mutis and the Dawn of American Natural History.” Canadian environmentalist Dr. David Suzuki will discuss Force of Nature: The David Suzuki Movie exploring his life and ideas.
Award-winning films from international festivals include the Russian psychological thriller, How I Ended This Summer and Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, winner of the 2010 Palme D’Or at Cannes. The film, Sun Come Up, about climate refugees from the Carteret Islands, is a 2011 Academy Award nominee for best short documentary.
Werner Herzog’s new film, Happy People: A Year in the Taiga and Chilean documentary filmmaker Patricio Guzmán’s film, Nostalgia for the Light are also among this year’s highlights. A special sneak preview of The Pipe captures the threat of oil pollution to the livelihoods of fishermen and farmers on the west coast of Ireland. Oil Rocks – City Above the Sea, a stunning portrait of the first and largest offshore oil city ever built, is this year’s winner of the Polly Krakora Award for artistry in film.
The impact of the BP Oil Spill on the lives and livelihoods of people living in the Gulf is explored Stories from the Gulf: Living with the BP Oil Disaster. The threat of mountaintop removal mining to the water, air and landscape of West Virginia is examined in two films: On Coal River and Burning the Future: Coal in America. The introduction of wind power in two small communities in the United States is shown in Windfall and Islands in the Wind. The film Into Eternity focuses on the world’s first permanent repository for nuclear waste in Finland.
The Washington, D.C. premiere of Brazilian filmmaker José Padilha’s new film, Elite Squad 2, from the Sundance Film Festival leads a strong showcase of Latin American films. The effects of the international border fence between Mexico and the United States are explored in two films, The Fence and El Muro. The IMAX 3D film, Arabia, provides a window into a unique and exotic culture and an
environment of extreme challenge. Disorder and Ghost Town document the raw underside of life in China today.
The pervasive and pernicious impact of plastics on the environment is covered in three films: Plastic Planet, Bag It and Voyage of The Plastiki. The Light Bulb Conspiracy considers how industry can move beyond planned obsolescence to save earth from accumulating waste. The Waterkeepers with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. traces the growth of grassroots efforts to protect waterways in the United States.
A Community of Gardeners celebrates seven urban community gardens in Washington, D.C. and America’s Sustainable Garden: United States Botanic Garden introduces its newest outdoor garden, the National Garden. Four films on the Chesapeake Bay include The Runoff Dilemma, examining the effect of agricultural nutrient runoff on the Bay.
The lives of iconic conservationist Aldo Leopold and renowned zoologist George Schaller, the mysterious vanishing of honeybees, the artistic expression of the Bayaka pygmy people of Central Africa, the urban parks of Frank Law Olmsted, the legendary art historian Vincent Scully and unplugging teenagers from technology are among additional topics explored in the 2011 Festival. Winners from
Britain’s Wildscreen Festival will also be shown.
The Environmental Film Festival has become the leading showcase for environmental films in the United States. Presented in collaboration with over 100 local, national and global organizations, the Festival is one of the largest cooperative cultural events in the nation’s capital. Films are screened at 60 venues throughout the city, including museums, embassies, libraries, universities and local theaters.
Most screenings are free. For a complete schedule, visit the Festival Web site at www.dcenvironmentalfilmfest.org.
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