March 2009
18th Annual Environmental Film Festival
By Michelle Stricklin
As the days get longer, flowers bloom and spring sets in, Washington, D.C.'s 18th Annual Environmental Film Festival (EFF) will present 26 documentary, feature and animated films that will provide educational entertainment for the entire family. The festival runs from Tuesday, March 16 through Sunday, March 28 at venues throughout the Washington, D.C., area.
The Environmental Film Festival is one of the largest festivals in the nation's capital and was founded in 1993 by Flo Stone. Since then, the EFF has featured more than 100 films, reached more than 20,000 people and been viewed in more than 50 venues every year. Barbara Bramble of the National Wildlife Federation says, "Through film we learn new ways to see our world. Those of us who never could visit Antarctica or the Amazon have been able to travel with great filmmakers as our guides. For over 15 years, the Environmental Film Festival has brought this special experience to lucky Washington residents."
"The vital connections between food and the environment will be a major focus of the festival," says Helen Strong, the festival's public affairs director. Some of the topics that will be explored in the films include an off-the-grid organic family farm in Pasadena, Calif., America's first certified organic restaurant and the anatomy of dirt.
On Saturday, March 27, The Legend of Pale Male and Small Talk Diaries: Changelings, which both won at the 2009 Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival, will be presented at the National Museum of Natural History. The Legend of Pale Male is an inspiring true story of a hawk that lays claim to Central Park and sets in motion a chain of events that will unite New York City behind his cause. Along more educational lines, Small Talk Diaries: Changelings follows some very ugly insects and the process they go through when they shed their skins.
Another winner from the 2009 Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival, Frog, Chemical, Water, You, will be shown on Sunday, March 28 at the National Museum of Natural History. A documentary about amphibians as an indicator species, the film discusses how the health of the worldwide ecosystem could potentially be in big trouble.
As the target audience for most of these films is children, many of the directors will be there to interact with the kids after their films are shown. On Wednesday, March 17, Sea Turtle will be shown at the Town Hall Education Arts and Recreation Campus (THEARC) in Southeast D.C. Another documentary, Sea Turtle explores an island in Malaysia that is known to have more sea turtles than anywhere else on earth. The director, Jonathan Bird, will be there after the showing to discuss the film with the viewers. Four other features, Stars of the Sea, The Real Nemo, Feeding Frenzy and television's "Jonathan Bird's Blue World," will also be shown at the THEARC on March 17.
The National Museum of the American Indian will present two films on Friday, March 19: Indigenous Plant Diva and The Gift of Pachamama. Indigenous Plant Diva sheds some light on the remarkable healing powers of plants growing among the urban streets of downtown Vancouver, and The Gift of Pachamama is a spiritual docudrama about a 13-year-old boy who lives a traditional life with his family near Uyuni, a salt lake in Bolivia.
The popular 2009 animated comedy from Disney Pixar, Up, will play Saturday, March 20 at the National Geographic Society. The film follows Carl Fredicksen, a 78-year-old balloon salesman who finally fulfills his lifelong dream of a great adventure when he ties thousands of balloons to his house and enjoys a helium-powered trip to South America. Pete Docter, the producer, will discuss the film following its screening.
The D.C. library program will be showing five films, The Goat That Ate Time, Wishful Thinking, Cravings, Smart Machine and Chicken of the Sea, at different libraries during the festival. Four out of the five films are animated shorts, while the last one, Chicken of the Sea, is a wildlife documentary. Made for children, these films provide both comedy and education.
Many of the Environmental Film Festival children's programs are free. For complete details, visit dcenvironmentalfilmfest.org or call 202-342-2564.
Michelle Stricklin is a Washington Parent intern.