| 7th Annual Spring 2012 |
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| Written by Paul Mahoney |
| Wednesday, 25 January 2012 11:55 |
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AU's Center for Environmental FilmmakingAnd Filmmakers for Conservation Hosted by Chris Palmer and Justine Schmidt Free and Open to the Public, No Reservation Required Directions: http://www.american.edu/maps/
Tuesday, February 7 at 7 pm Shark Week with Executive Producer Brooke Runnette. Brooke Runnette, the key person behind Discovery Channel's famed Shark Week annual event, will show clips while explaining why Shark Week is so successful, what is does for shark conservation, and the challenges she faces in producing the programs.
Tuesday, February 14 at 7 pm Defending Eden: Indigenous People, Conservation and Film. How storytelling over multiple media platforms might enable Ecuador's Waorani people to defend their biologically rich territory from the incursion of industry. Filmmakers Keith Heyward and Jennifer Berglund of Prehensile Productions will discuss their film and their experience as new environmental filmmakers trying to hang on to their values in a competitive industry.
Tuesday, February 21 at 7 pm Exploring the Potential Power of Film in Protecting America's National Parks. Stephen Shackelton, a top executive and Chief Ranger with the National Park Service (NPS), shows stunning stills and clips of our iconic national parks like Yellowstone and Yosemite, and describes how NPS uses the media to protect and conserve these national jewels.
Tuesday, February 28 at 7 pm Documenting the Unseeable: Spielberg, Ground Zero, and Feeling the Rebuilding. Mark Breeze, the Producer of the Memorial and Museum episodes of the recent landmark six-part Discovery Channel/ Spielberg documentary on the rebuilding of Ground Zero, discusses the challenges and process of making a documentary over 18 months about the rebuilding of a site that everybody knows, but nobody wants to talk about.
Note: The March 20-23 events are also part of Washington D.C.'s Environmental Film Festival. www.dcenvironmentalfilmfest.org
Tuesday, March 20 at 7 p.m. (Reception with refreshments at 6:30 p.m.) An Evening with Chris Palmer: The Best and Worst of Wildlife Films. When Chris Palmer's book Shooting in the Wild: An Insider's Account of Making Movies in the Animal Kingdom was published in 2010, it sparked praise, great interest, and controversy. Exposing the thrilling, yet sometimes tragic, world of wildlife filmmaking, his book revealed a dark side to this world: a pervasive and troubling trend toward sensationalism, extreme risk-taking, falsification and even wildlife abuse in filmmaking. In this special evening, Chris highlights the worst and best examples of the genre, illustrating his talk with numerous, controversial, high impact clips from wildlife films. He evaluates the ethics behind their making, explaining what should be condemned and what should be praised. Chris also screens the winners of this year's Eco-Comedy Video Competition, sponsored by the Sierra Club.
Wednesday, March 21 at 7 p.m. Student Environmental Short Film Festival. Screenings hosted by Professors Chris Palmer and Sandy Cannon-Brown Several short student films will be shown, followed by a discussion with the filmmakers.
Thursday, March 22 at 7 p.m. "OK, I've Watched the Film, Now What?": Panel discussion moderated by Chris Palmer, featuring Diane MacEachern, Founder & CEO, Big Green Purse; Steve Michelson, Executive Producer of Specialty Studios/Video Project; and Joanna Benn, Senior Officer, International Policy, Pew Environmental Group and Board member, Filmmakers for Conservation. How do we produce films that make a difference? By showing many clips, this panel explores ways we can turn films into action at both the policy and personal levels. Our panellists consider the challenge of producing films that have a tangible and measurable impact on their audiences.
Friday, March 23 at 7 pm DC Premieres: Dying Green, plus a discussion with filmmaker Ellen Tripler and the film's star Dr. Billy Campbell. Also showing: Delicious Peace Grows in a Ugandan Coffee Bean. Dying Green: Living green is something many of us strive for in today's world, but did you know that you can die green as well? Set in the foothills of the Appalachians, Dying Green explores one man's vision of using green burials to conserve land. Dr. Billy Campbell, the town's only physician, has radically changed our understanding of burials in the United States. Dr. Campbell's dream is to conserve one million acres of land. Dying Green focuses on the revolutionary idea of using our own death to fund land conservation and create wildlife preserves.
Tuesday, March 27 at 7 pm Secrets Revealed: The Sometimes Complicated, Always Entertaining Journeys of a Wildlife Filmmaker. Emmy Award winning filmmaker Kevin Bachar, founder and director of Pangolin Pictures, has made natural history films for all the big networks. In this presentation, he will show a number of fascinating clips to illustrate the major challenges facing wildlife filmmakers in the field. Whether debating the common sense involved when jumping in the water to film orcas feeding, or deciding where is the best spot to place a hidden camera when filming undercover, Kevin will give some insight on what you need to know when shooting natural history documentaries.
Tuesday, April 3 at 7 pm Dolphin Tails, Whale Tales and Fin Facts: Why Truth and Integrity Are Needed in Media Coverage of Marine Mammals. Trevor Spradlin, a marine mammal biologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, will discuss the important contributions films and documentaries can make to support the conservation of marine mammals, and the unintended consequences when artistic license misleads the public.
Tuesday, April 10 at 7 pm Menhaden: The Most Important Fish in the Bay Explore the far-reaching impact of menhaden through the eyes of the men who love this stinky, oily fish for what it contributes to their livelihoods, to their heritage, and to the health of Chesapeake Bay. This engaging film, created by students in Sandy Cannon-Brown's Environmental and Wildlife Production Class, will premiere on Maryland Public Television on April 16. Join these emerging filmmakers for a sneak preview and a discussion about the challenges of producing environmental films for television.
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