Tag: theater

Eco-Films Debut on Festival Circuit

  • Environmentally-themed movies are hitting the festival circuit hard (Source: Sailko at Wikimedia Commons)

If you think Al Gore’s movie, ‘An
Inconvenient Truth,’ is one of the only
environmental films out there, think again.
There are so many movies about the environment
that entire festivals have been created to
showcase them. Jennifer Guerra has more:

Transcript

If you think Al Gore’s movie, ‘An
Inconvenient Truth,’ is one of the only
environmental films out there, think again.
There are so many movies about the environment
that entire festivals have been created to
showcase them. Jennifer Guerra
has more:

Science films have come a long way from this.

(sound of old science film)

Now, they’ve got flashy trailers, famous narrators and edgy music. There are hundreds of
these environmentally-themed movies and they’re hitting the festival circuit hard. Korea,
Italy, Israel, DC, Colorado, Michigan.

Susan Woods got to choose which movies to include in Michigan’s first ever Green on
the Big Screen film festival.

“It was quite daunting in the beginning, to tell you the truth, when I started looking
up all these films. I thought oh my goodness, how can I select them. There’s too
many to select.”

She eventually settled on about 30 films, including King Corn. Curt Ellis produced the
documentary, which is all about – yup, you guess it – corn and our dependence on it for
almost everything we eat.

(sound from movie)

“When you’re telling a story about the natural world, you really have to be able to
transport people to the place you’re talking about.”

And Ellis thinks the best way to do that – short of lecturing people in a cornfield in the
middle of Iowa – is to show them a film.

“The reason we make documentaries – Lord knows it’s not for the profit – the
reason we make film is because we believe film can make a difference.”

“My opinion of media effects in terms of film actually producing social action is
pretty limited.”

That’s Daniel Herbert. He teaches film at the University of Michigan. You could say he’s
got a healthy amount of skepticism when it comes to films’ impact on environmental
change.

“Unless you have policies in your city government without recycling, what does it
matter if you’ve watched An Inconvenient Truth? If Al Gore’s telling you to buy
$30 light bulbs and you make 9 bucks at Starbucks, what’s it matter?”

Plus he says you run the risk of having audiences think that just because they watched the
film they’ve somehow participated in solving the problem.

That said, if he had to choose between showing an environmental film at a festival, a
commercial movie theater or on TV? Herbert says he’d pick the festival. Sure, there’s
probably a greater audience to be had with television, and it’s a little more convenient to
just Netflix the film and watch it from home, but you lose something that way.

Susan Woods – she’s from the Michigan film festival – she says a festival can provide a
whole different experience.

“The difference is that these people are sitting home in a dark room as opposed to
being with a group of people who have the same mind set. And I think that’s the big
difference.”

And, she says, at a festival, if you feel inspired by one of the films, you can go up to a
director afterward and ask questions, or talk with a climate change expert about solutions
or sign up with a local environmental group.

Something you definitely wouldn’t be able to do sitting at home alone in the dark with
your TV.

For The Environment Report, I’m Jennifer Guerra.

Related Links

Imax Movie Highlights Great Lakes

  • "Mysteries of the Great Lakes" is an IMAX film highlighting the threats to Great Lakes wildlife (Photo by Lester Graham)

There’s a new IMAX film about the threats to wildlife around the Great Lakes. Chuck Quirmbach has more:

Transcript

There’s a new IMAX film about the threats to wildlife around the Great Lakes. Chuck Quirmbach has more:

The film “Mysteries of the Great Lakes” highlights some less commonly known stories, like that of the massive fish known as the lake sturgeon. Biologists are trying to bring the threatened fish back to healthy numbers.

Ron Bruch is a key figure in the new movie. Here, he discusses a 120 year old female sturgeon he’s seen numerous times on spawning runs.

“I’ve gone through this ritual eight times with this fish, and each time I wonder if it’ll be the last. But she’s a survivor and maybe 50 years from now, she’ll come up this river looking for me, and I’ll be gone.”

The film also looks at possible health risks to bald eagles, and what invasive species are doing to native wildlife.

“Mysteries of the Great Lakes” has started its run in several U.S. and Canadian cities.

For The Environment Report, I’m Chuck Quirmbach.

Related Links

Al Gore Movie: Hot!

Al Gore’s movie “An Inconvenient Truth” is reportedly drawing steady crowds at theatres in many parts of the U.S. But the film about global warming is bringing out both believers and skeptics. The GLRC’s Chuck Quirmbach reports:

Transcript

Al Gore’s movie, An Inconvenient Truth, is reportedly drawing steady
crowds at theaters in many parts of the US. But the film about
global warming is bringing out both believers and skeptics.
The GLRC’s Chuck Quirmbach reports:


An Inconvenient Truth is the kind of movie that seems to provoke
discussion and debate. Liberal and conservative talk shows, bloggers
and pundits are duking it out. Sometimes the debate is within the
same household. Chun Yuan says after seeing the
movie and learning about all the carbon emissions, he’ll keep a closer
eye on his home’s thermostat.


“…Try to be more aware of like adjusting the heater….(laughs) ”


But Yuan’s wife, Yaphen Chen says An Inconvenient Truth
sometimes seems more like a lecture than entertainment. She says the
movie might help Al Gore as much as the environment.


“I think American people adore movie stars, so maybe this will help Al
Gore get elected. (laughs)”


Gore denies he’s trying to use An Inconvenient Truth to revive his
political career.


For the GLRC, I’m Chuck Quirmbach.

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Activist Family Sets Stage for Global Warming

Scientists predict global warming could have a devastating impact on the earth and its inhabitants. But a traveling theater troupe has managed to find something funny about climate change. As the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Chris Lehman reports, the group “Human Nature” hopes to spread a message as well:

Transcript

Scientists predict global warming could have a devastating
impact on the earth and its inhabitants. But a traveling theater
troupe has managed to find something funny about climate
change. As The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Chris Lehman
reports, the group “Human Nature” hopes to spread a message as
well:


Joyful Simpson’s middle name is Raven. So perhaps it’s only
fitting that she plays a raven in the play, “What’s Funny About
Climate Change?”


“I suppose the raven in mythology is known as a trickster or a
shape shifter. So she’s come in human form to both tease and
cajole and plead with the audience for their understanding and
their awareness.”


(sound of play: “You came, you actually came! I said that if we made a show about global warming sound like
it actually might be funny, that the humans would come. And
here you are…suckers!!”) (laughs)


(fade under)


“What’s Funny About Climate Change” is a three-person
comedy review. The three members are the Simpson family.
They call their theater group “Human Nature”. Their goal is to
raise awareness about the problems caused by global warming.


Jane Lapiner is Joyful’s mother. She says their group uses
theater as a political tool.


“With comedy and theater in general, people can be more
receptive to important ideas, as opposed to a meeting or a
conference.”


That’s why the Simpsons founded the Human Nature theater
group more than 20 years ago. Global warming’s not the only
thing they’ve written about. They’ve performed plays about the
timber industry, wolves, and Pacific salmon.


David Simpson writes most of the material. He says he tries to
inform people and make them laugh.


“I have to say this is an intelligent show…It’s a sophisticated
show, the humor is sophisticated. People are going to learn
something about climate change, they’re gonna laugh, and
they’re gonna think.”


(sound of play, actors singing)


Joyful Simpson says she was fairly involved with her parents’
theater group growing up. But when she left for college, she
started to pursue other ways to communicate her concerns about
the environment. Her journey eventually led her back to her
parents’ theater group.


The current tour is the first time she’s worked with her parents in
about seven years. She says her years away from her family
might have prepared her for her role in “What’s Funny About
Climate Change.”


“I’m not educated about it from a scientific perspective and
actually I think that I embody some of the societal doubt of
whether or not it is a real thing and I’m trying to break out of
that because I think that’s deeply ingrained.”


Joyful is young. She’s in her mid-20’s. And she says it’s crucial
that young people understand environmental issues.


“I have a lot of people in the older generation that I look up to
who are very active in the environmental and the political world
and I see some of that energy in my generation but we are
lacking in that field. And so I’m pushing myself to feel inspired
to take the torch and also trying to push others to understand our
responsibility.”


(more sound of play: Joyful Simpson: “Did you actually think
there was something funny about climate change? It’s the
biggest disaster in the history of the entire civilization and it
really is happening…”)


(fade under)


The Simpson family will be performing on college campuses
across the nation this spring.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Chris Lehman.