FLEFF: March 31-April 6, 2008
I'm incredibly excited about the upcoming Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival (FLEFF) in Ithaca, NY, from March 31 through April 6, 2008. One look at the film list will explain my excitement. Many great documentaries are available, some of them attended by the filmmakers who created them. There are film discussion panels, concerts, mini-courses, and other events as well. The festival is incredibly rich with facts, ideas, and fun, and it's great to see awareness being raised about so many important issues. There's certainly a risk of compassion fatigue, but that danger is what makes FLEFF such a fantastic event.
Last year was the first year I attended the festival, and I saw a great documentary called Frankensteer, which discussed aspects of the Canadian cattle industry, and the inspiring The Forest For The Trees, which covered the trial of Judi Bari's civil rights lawsuit against the FBI and Oakland Police to clear her name of accusations of carrying a bomb to an Earth First! logging protest. The bomb--which detonated and injured both Judi and a fellow activist Darryl Cherney--was planted by agents, who lied and fabricated evidence against Judi and Darryl. Another highlight last year was the paradigm-shifting Black Gold, a documentary about fair trade coffee and the plight of Ethiopian organic coffee growers. I learned a lot in this film, and it piqued my interest in subject areas--including World Bank/IMF issues and global trade inequalities (WTO, free trade)--that, before the film, I had not considered or understood in context. It was inspiring and sobering to sit in a crowded theater and see these issues on screen and in discussion and wonder about what I could do, as one person, against this tide of unfairness and oppression.
This year's lineup looks, again, to be quite thought-provoking. I'm planning to see at least half a dozen films on the Ithaca College campus as time and schedule allow. Also in the lineup are weekend films in the downtown indie theaters. I'm including The Price of Sugar, Counterfeiters, War/Dance, the much anticipated Taxi to the Dark Side, and maybe Summer Palace. I hope to blog about my experiences and reactions to these films and subsequent discussions. It's really going to be a great week!
Last year was the first year I attended the festival, and I saw a great documentary called Frankensteer, which discussed aspects of the Canadian cattle industry, and the inspiring The Forest For The Trees, which covered the trial of Judi Bari's civil rights lawsuit against the FBI and Oakland Police to clear her name of accusations of carrying a bomb to an Earth First! logging protest. The bomb--which detonated and injured both Judi and a fellow activist Darryl Cherney--was planted by agents, who lied and fabricated evidence against Judi and Darryl. Another highlight last year was the paradigm-shifting Black Gold, a documentary about fair trade coffee and the plight of Ethiopian organic coffee growers. I learned a lot in this film, and it piqued my interest in subject areas--including World Bank/IMF issues and global trade inequalities (WTO, free trade)--that, before the film, I had not considered or understood in context. It was inspiring and sobering to sit in a crowded theater and see these issues on screen and in discussion and wonder about what I could do, as one person, against this tide of unfairness and oppression.
This year's lineup looks, again, to be quite thought-provoking. I'm planning to see at least half a dozen films on the Ithaca College campus as time and schedule allow. Also in the lineup are weekend films in the downtown indie theaters. I'm including The Price of Sugar, Counterfeiters, War/Dance, the much anticipated Taxi to the Dark Side, and maybe Summer Palace. I hope to blog about my experiences and reactions to these films and subsequent discussions. It's really going to be a great week!
posted by nancy at 14:39
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