Tuesday 2nd November 7.30
All in the Environment Centre, 25 Ward St.
Parking at the corner of Ward and Anglesea in the Wintec carpark
$8
Flood Children of the Holdibari
Director: Mary Matheson
Bangladesh 2008 (5 mins)
Bangladeshi children look at practical measures on their river island to make life easier during the floods that have become more extreme with climate change.
Milking the Rhino
Director: David E. Simpson
USA 2008 (83 mins)
The Maasai of Kenya and the Himba of Namibia are two of Earth’s oldest cattle cultures. Conventional African wildlife documentaries often depict both cultures — if at all — as a problem for conservation: in conflict with wildlife, poaching, killing for bushmeat, turning habitat for wildlife into sparse, sere pasture for bony cattle. In contrast, Milking the Rhino gives the Maasai and Himba their own voice in conservation, and offers “…complex, intimate portraits of rural Africans at the forefront of community-based conservation: a revolution that is turning poachers into preservationists and local people into the stewards of their land”. One of this festival’s top films, Rhino busts myths about wildlife conservation in Africa.
Thursday 4th Nov 7.30
Soil in Good Heart
Director: Deborah Koons Garcia
USA 2008 (13 mins)
“You can imagine things that would replace oil; I can imagine no replacement for good soil.” — Dr. David Montgomery
The aural beauty of a mandolin’s harmony opens this short sampler of a documentary currently in production by Deborah Koons Garcia, director of the landmark film, The Future of Food. This new film celebrates the beauty of healthy soil and plant production in a sustainable organic context. The importance of understanding, preserving and rebuilding this essential resource is the foundation of sustainable agriculture.
Fresh
Director: Ana Sofia Joanes
USA 2009 (70 mins)
“When I was in college my roommate was from Pakistan and he says, George, he says, you know Americans fear only one thing — inconvenience.”
With a charming mix of humour and pragmatism, Fresh celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who have begun to change the industrial model of food production to a healthier, sustainable system. The setting might be the US, but the problems caused by that industrial model — food contamination, environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources, morbid obesity and others — threaten New Zealand as well. Fortunately, we’re not yet as far down that industrial road (despite the best efforts of the Mackenzie Basin dairy farmers), but the risks remain. Why repeat the mistakes of the US; why not learn from the examples set by the likes of urban farmer and activist Will Allen, sustainable farmer and entrepreneur Joel Salatin, supermarket owner David Ball and others — people who show clearly that producing good, healthy, bountiful food doesn’t have to cost the Earth.
Friday 5th November 7.30
New Zealand Shorts
The Break Up
Director: Charlee Collins New Zealand 2009 (4 mins)
1080
Director: Peter Holmes and Steve Ting
New Zealand 2009 (28 mins)
Silver bullet or slippery slope? In Aotearoa, 1080 poison offers the gift of life to some animals but inflicts a painful death on others. With remarkable objectivity, Holmes and Ting explore one of the hottest debates about the New Zealand environment in their debut effort in short film. As the poison rains from the sky, some say the risks don’t justify the means while others claim it’s the only hope for protecting our native wildlife from public enemy number one. Informative, challenging, and creatively filmed.
Albatrocity
Director: Iain Frengley and Edi Saltau
New Zealand 2009 (26 mins)
New Zealand filmmakers Iain Frengley and Edward Saltau trace the story of the albatross, immersing the viewer in the beauty, majesty and vulnerability of these birds as viewed through the dramatic prism of Coleridge’s famous poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Using some of the most innovative visual effects in documentary film, the work distils a vast collection of natural history, harsh reality and folklore in a well paced viewing experience.
Vegetables from the Sea 6 mins
Carving the Future
Director: Guy Ryan and Nick Holmes
New Zealand 2010 (25 mins)
This short film debut by Guy Ryan and Nick Holme stirs hope and challenges the viewer with an inspirational account of how young New Zealanders are leading change for the betterment of our environmental future. The film shows how one person might change the future. It aims to inspire tomorrow’s leaders to act today on the challenges posed by climate change and short sighted management: challenges that are already damaging tomorrow’s environment. Grassroots, youth-driven community action inspired the film. Features the music of Raglan band Cornerstone Roots.
