Our intern Chang Liu, a telecommunications major at the University of Florida, created this cool video for a school project. Check it out: http://plaza.ufl.edu/flyfluency/verde.html
http://plaza.ufl.edu/flyfluency/interview.html
Here’s a new video from our intern Xueji Xiao a Tourism, Recreation and Sports Management graduate student at UF: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
Thanks to both of you! Cheers!
We’ve got some exciting Cinema Verde news to share at Green Drinks on Wednesday, May 1 at The Brew Spot Cafe…. Join us! 1000 NE 16 Ave. in Gainesville, Florida. Click here for more info: www.GoGreenNation.org.
or if you have been in years past…click here
Radio Love rates Audience Choice at Cinema Verde Environmental Film and Arts Festival; We Are Water rates Best in Show
The Cinema Verde Film and Arts Festival has released the list of names and award winners for films included in the 2013 film festival, with Radio Love receiving the Audience Choice award.
During the six day festival, hundreds of attendees participated in an eco-fair, ecoart gallery, Vintage Verde fashion show, and a multitude of films presented at Jolie Events thanks to Cinema Verde’s generous sponsors.
Directed by Hideyuki Tokigawa, Radio Love is a fun film from Japan that follows the existential awakening of its protagonist, a disillusioned radio DJ, as he discovers a more meaningful – and sustainable – life. The radio DJ becomes aware of the invisible connection between the radio and the people of Hiroshima in a magical way.
Our audience had the opportunity to meet the director of Radio Love, Hideyuki Tokigawa, via Skype following the film screening. He revealed that the star of the film, Yuji Yokoyama, is “the most famous” television and radio star in Hiroshima, Japan and is in fact a real radio disc jockey. Hideyuki said that Yokoyama has been sharing news about Cinema Verde with his audiences in Hiroshima.
Trish Riley, Director of Cinema Verde, said, “Radio Love is a wonderful way to end Cinema Verde on Valentine’s Day, highlighting the most important part of a sustainable life: love. It was great for us to share the love with our new friends in Hiroshima.”
A complete list of the Cinema Verde Award winners follows and trailers of the awarded films can be viewed at our website:http://www.cinemaverde.org
Trish is excited about the prospect of next years’ festival. “Cinema Verde 2013 was our fourth and best year; we are thrilled to get started now creating an even better festival for 2014. We are grateful to the special guests who joined our audiences, our dozens of volunteers, and our generous sponsors.”
Cinema Verde’s mission is to provide environmental education to the public and foster implementation of sustainable solutions to help forge a healthier future for all.
Audience Choice: Radio Love; Director: Hideyuki Tokigawa (Hiroshima, JAPAN)
Best in Show: We Are Water; Director: Jill Heinerth (High Springs, FL)
Best Solution: Ground Operations: Battlefields to Farmfields; Director: Dulanie Ellis (USA)
Best College Film: Borders of Wilderness; Director: Gabriella Garcia-Pardo (USA)
Best High School Film: A Quest for Peace: Nonviolence Among Religions; Director Matthew J. Evans (USA)
Cinema Verité Award: Growthbusters; Director: Dave Gardner (USA)
Most Engaging: A Fierce Green Fire; Director: Mark Kitchell (USA)
Most Revealing: The Hidden Debt; Director: Edu González (SPAIN)
Animal Award: Scars of Freedom; Director: Celine Cousteau (USA)
Earth Award: Grow; Directors: Anthony-Masterson (USA)
Education Award: School’s Out: Lessons from a Forest Kindergarten; Director: Lisa Molomot (USA)
Energy Award: Fukushame; Director: Alessandro Tesei (ITALY)
Health Award: Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare; Directors: Matthew Heineman and Susan Froemke (USA)
Food Award: Symphony of the Soil; Director: Deborah Koons Garcia (USA)
Local Award: From Waterway to Greenway; Director: Darren Preston Lane (Gainesville, FL)
Peace Award: 1948 and Counting; Director: Steve McGuire (USA)
Sustainable Business Award: Coal Rush; Directors: Lorena Luciano & Filippo Piscopo (USA)
Whistleblower Award: You’ve Been Trumped; Director: Anthony Baxter (UK)
For film trailers and additional info:http://www.CinemaVerde.org/films/
Congratulations and Thank You to All!
Film Submissions for Cinema Verde 2014 are now open:http://cinemaverde.org/submit-a-film/
Trish Riley
Director: Cinema Verde Environmental Film & Arts Festival
Publisher: www.GoGreenNation.org
It’s hard to believe but Cinema Verde is just around the corner – it will be held Feb. 9 – 14 this year at Jolie, 6 W. University. I’ve got nine directors planning to come in and speak following their films, an EcoArtWalk Gallery exhibit opening during our VIP Reception Feb. 9 (6 – 7:30 p.m.), and EcoFair on opening weekend Feb. 9 – 10, and a Valentine’s Night Awards Ceremony and Wrap Party where we’ll celebrate our Love for the Planet and our neighbors. I hope you will be able to join us – especially at our VIP Reception. Our full schedule and film descriptions can be found at www.CinemaVerde.org.
I look forward to seeing you there!
Cinema Verde 2013 is at Jolie, 6 West University Avenue in downtown Gainesville.There is plenty of parking nearby: http://joliecatering.com/parking/
Highlights and Special Guests
Feb. 9 Celebrate Nature EcoFair Energy Day Presented by Solar Impact
Featuring a Green Vehicle Expo, the weekend days include booths with area organizations and businesses providing information about local sustainability initiatives. Films include La Huerta, about ancient urban farming in Spain, The Borders of Wilderness, a film about nearby Cumberland Island. Director Gabriella Garcia-Pardo will be in attendance from Washington D.C. In the Same Boat explores communities in economic transition. Holy Island and Fukushame offer two perspectives on nuclear power from Japan.
VIP Opening Night Reception and EcoArt Gallery Opening Join us in celebrating the fourth year of Cinema Verde and enjoy the beautiful nature-themed artwork of some of our area’s most accomplished artists – Tickets are free for VIP Pass holders, $25 for non-pass holders.
Then join us for our Opening Night film, Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare, presented by the Dharma Endowment Foundation, followed by our Opening Night Party featuring music by contemporary band Morning Fatty. Let’s celebrate!
Feb. 10 Celebrate Nature EcoFair: Animals
How well do you know bats? Come meet a few residents at the Lubee Bat Conservancy who will be visiting our EcoFair at Jolie on Sunday and watch the film Night Stalkers, about bats in the tropics. Several films of the day focus on the various plights of animals around the world, including the short Scars of Freedom by Celine Cousteau who is carrying on her grandfather Jacques Cousteau’s mission to learn about and protect creatures of the sea.
Parents and teachers: Consider an alternative approach to education featured in School’s Out: Lessons from a Forest Kindergarten. Director Lisa Molomot will be on hand to share her experiences with kids who call a day in the woods “school.” PLEASE HELP US SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THIS VERY INTERESTING FILM TO THE PARENTS AND TEACHERS WHO WOULD BE MOST INTERESTED IN THIS LOVELY APPROACH TO EDUCATION! THANKS!
Next up is an inspiring tale of a renegade who works to return earth’s creatures to their natural habitats, We Are in the Field.
Also highlighted on Sunday is the plight of Pit Bulls and other dogs in our society. Please join us for a screening of Beyond the Myth, followed by a discussion led by passionate local Pit Bull advocate and Cinema Verde supporter, Gladys Cofrin, film director Libby Sherill and Kim Wolf, from Maddie’s Rescue program at the UF Vet school. There will be a few pups in attendance as well!
The discussion will be followed by a screening of the Sundance Award-winning film, A Fierce Green Fire, which provides an interesting historical overview of the environmental movement.
Feb. 11: Water Day
Cinema Verde will focus on the myriad water issues on Monday, beginning with From Waterway to Greenway, a film about the Rodman Dam debacle on the Ocklawaha River. Director Darren Preston Lane will be on hand to discuss the film along with Karen Ahlers, an environmental advocate who has been working for years to see the dam dismantled.
Next up is Himalayan Meltdown, a film from the United Nations Development Program about melting glaciers, and the implications for surrounding communities dependent on glaciers as their freshwater source – a pressing story worldwide.
One of the festival’s key events will be the premiere public presentation of the film We Are Water, created by Jill Heinerth, a world renowned cave diver based in High Springs. Jill will talk with audiences following her film, joined by local water experts Dr. Robert L. Knight, Director of the Florida Springs Institute and Karen Chadwick, Springs Protection Activist. Join us at 7 p.m. for the film and discussion, and plan to stick around for the final film of the evening, Elemental, a film about three environmental activists and their work for the planet – people perhaps like you? J
Feb. 12: Local Food Night Potluck
Everyone loves food – especially local organic fare. Each year, one of the most fun evenings at Cinema Verde is our night devoted to this favorite topic. We invite you to bring in a dish made from locally grown food so we can honor our local farmers by showing them what we can do with the fruits of their labor, and to thank them for their efforts. This year the evening will also include food demonstrations by Blue Oven Kitchen and Slow Food Gainesville, plus a panel of local food experts organized by Alachua County Sustainability Program as part of Local Food Week. Admission to the film Grow, about young farmers in the southeast, has been covered by the Sustainability Program so it’s free for everyone – besides, you’re bringing the food, right?
Please plan to stay with us as the evening continues with a very special film, Ground Operations: Battlefields to Farmfields, featuring a ranch in Jacksonville whose owner, Matthew Raiford, will be attending. Director Dulanie Ellis will also be here from California. The pair will talk with audiences about the film, which details the many benefits experienced by war veterans who have taken up farming to ease the effects of battle, including PTSD.
Feb. 13: Sustainable Business and Sustainable Government
We can’t have a sustainable planet without curbing the way we do business and manage our governments. The films selected for Thursday night address the environmental impact our profit-at-all-costs business model has on our communities, such as The Hidden Debt, which looks at the health and environmental costs of mining and other industries. Voices of Transition details the movement to bring communities back to a local, more sustainable model while You’ve Been Trumped examines the tactics of Donald Trump as he pushes a sprawling golf development on an unspoiled Scottish coastal town. Director Filippo Piscopo will be on hand to discuss his film, Coal Rush, which follows the members of a mountain village who file suit against a mining company for the health hazards associated with the business. The questions raised: Why are these poor, sick people expected to fight the rich and powerful polluters? Why can’t these businesses be expected to operate with integrity without being forced by litigation or regulations to do the right thing?
Wednesday ends with a celebration of local sustainable businesses by bringing back last year’s premier Vintage Verde, a fashion show featuring clothing from consignment shops and locally owned boutiques, all modeled by Cinema Verde’s fabulous interns and friends. Enjoy this fun party night with us!
Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day! Love the Planet, Love the Animals, Love Your Neighbors!
A sustainable future means sustainable communities and sustainable lives for everyone. We open our final day of films with Growthbusters, an entertaining look at urban sprawl and population. Then we take a sweet turn with Happy, a surprising look at the most important elements of a satisfying life. Next up is 1948 and Counting, an examination Costa Rica’s decision to disband its military in favor of healthcare and education for its citizens. Director Steve McGuire will be visiting us from California to discuss the film with our audiences.
Our final film is Radio Love, a fun film from Japan that follows the existential awakening of its protagonist as he discovers a more meaningful – and sustainable – life. The film will be followed by our Award Ceremony and Cinema Verde 2013 Wrap Party – please help us thank the many filmmakers, volunteers and sponsors who make Cinema Verde possible! And Thanks to You for joining us!
Full Schedule: schedule 2013
Count Down to 6 Days of CV Eco-Passion
By Lynn Dirk, Content Editor, GLOB Correspondent
GLOB correspondent Lynn Dirk, also a Cinema Verde Board Member, will be reporting on the progress of Gainesville’s upcoming 4th Annual Cinema Verde Environmental Film and Arts Festival. Each week leading up to the Festival, the Gainesville Lunch Out Blog will be posting “sneak peeks” at some if the films that will be shown. This week’s sneak peaks are listed below after some general info about the Festival.
With titles like Fukushame, A Fierce Green Fire-The Battle for a Living Planet, and Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare, plans for the 4th Annual Cinema Verde Environmental Film and Arts Festival from February 9-14 are reeling along according to Cinema Verde Director, Trish Riley.
Cinema Verde’s last call for environmental film submissions extended to Dec. 19
by Candice Wynter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The window of opportunity for filmmakers to lock a spot in the 2013 Cinema Verde film festival has widened. Due to technical difficulties with the software used for film submissions, Cinema Verde director Trish Riley has decided to extend the deadline for Cinema Verde’s film submissions to Dec. 19. The extended deadline is applicable to both the general public and IMDb’s Withoutabox independent film community. The fourth annual Cinema Verde Film and Arts Festival will be held Feb. 9 – 14, 2013 in Gainesville, FL.
Cinema Verde screens films focusing specifically on environmental content, aiming to educate the community and encourage them to forge a sustainable future.
Filmmaker Matt Briggs said that movies are the language of today. People are reading and writing less frequently, but they’re looking at screens more often.
“Movies are where it’s at and you have to figure out a way to communicate information in an interesting way that connects with people emotionally, otherwise they won’t care,” he said. “You can’t just tell them to do something, you have to inspire them.”
Briggs won the Best in Show award at the February 2012 Cinema Verde festival for his international cut of the environmental documentary, “Deep Green: Solutions to Stop Global Warming Now,” which he wrote, produced and directed.
Briggs was one of the directors invited to speak at the festival last February. He participated in multiple sustainability events happening around the community during the week of the festival.
“My experience was great down there; Gainesville’s got it going,” Briggs said.
Trish Riley is currently the sole director of Cinema Verde. As an environmental journalist and author, she has traveled to many up-and-coming cities to participate in green conferences around the country.
“I always noticed they had great movies in town,” Riley said. “I thought, we’ve got to figure out how to bring these movies to Gainesville.”
Riley pitched the idea of starting a local environmental film festival to a business partner she met at a networking event. In three months time, a film festival sprouted as a result of their collaborative efforts.
Riley said she credits the community, investors, volunteers and interns with the success Cinema Verde has experienced over the years. She has invested her life savings in making the project work, and she says she’s gratified by the community and international support the venture has gained.
Twenty-year-old UF marketing major Karina Bigott became an intern for Cinema Verde her freshman year. Although she started with little knowledge about living a sustainable lifestyle, the 2012 film festival opened her eyes to the many different aspects and responsibilities of being environmentally conscious.
“I was very impressed with how passionate people were about it, which made me passionate about it too,” Bigott said.
Filmmaker Shelley Rogers has been involved with Cinema Verde since its beginning in 2010. In the recent festival, she won the award for Best Local Issue with her film, “Cash Mobs.” From a young age, Rogers has lived an environmentally conscious lifestyle.
“It’s always been a part of my life and a part of my filmmaking,” she said.
Rogers has run into various challenges as an environmental filmmaker. Funding is always a huge one, she said. The majority of filmmakers need other jobs to pay production costs, which takes time away from working on the film itself.
“It’s always just trying to balance your time between the things that you have to do and the things that you want to do,” Rogers said.
Briggs spent over $2 million dollars – like Riley, all of his retirement money – on the making of his film, “Deep Green.”
Despite the initial costs, Briggs said dramatically altering his own lifestyle was one of the most rewarding parts of creating the film. Briggs said he included his own life changes in the documentary to show how much one person could accomplish.
“Saving the planet is a participatory sport,” he said. “It’s either all of us, or we’ll all go over the waterfall together.”
Submit your film or learn more about Cinema Verde at www.CinemaVerde.org.
Cinema Verde has had some great memories in the year leading up to the 2012 Film and Arts Festival. Take a look at our past; hopefully, it will make you want to be a part of our future.
Questions?
Visit www.cinemaverde.org and click ‘SUBMIT A FILM‘
Do you remember seeing Earthman at Cinema Verde 2011? —->>> “One of the first acts scheduled for the Oct. 11 Debate Festival at Centre College was in town this week getting an early look at the leafy venue he hopes will be even more pristine after his performance.
Lanny Smith, better known as Earthman, is scheduled to present his combination of what he calls “commercial music with a message” about keeping a clean environment at the festival’s noon start time. He may dabble in different musical genres, but the message is consistent and fairly simple.
“My focus is using music and the arts to motivate, to inspire, people to take care of the environment,” said Smith, who produces music videos and creates environmentally-minded arts curricula for schools in addition to his performance schedule….”