Talk about timely. Not only green, but free!
Entering its 11th year, Eckerd College's Environmental Film Festival may not be the most renowned film festival in the area. However, the festival's achievements and program lineup remain simply stellar, and its themes more than ever appropriate for our times.
The officially titled Environmental Film Festival 'Visions of Nature/Voices of Nature' was started many years ago under the direction of Professor Cathy Griggs as the Native American Film Festival, but expanded years later to focus on environmental issues and all humans' connection to nature.
Past luminaries have included Victor Nunez (Ulee's Gold), but this year the festival's connection to the Sundance Film Festival pays great dividends with the screening of Dirt! The Movie!, along with an appearance from director Gene Rosow.
(Did I mention the festival is free?)
Other Sundance films include The Beekeeper and a Film From My Parish and 6 Farms. As well, Academy Award nominee for 2009 Best Documentary, The Garden, will be screened in its first Tampa Bay appearance.
The festival takes place from Saturday, February 21st- Saturday, February 28th at the Dan and Mary Miller Auditorium at Eckerd College. All screenings are at 7 pm (expect for the Sunday, February 22nd screening at 2 pm). For more information, please go to http://www.eckerd.edu/eff.
For the opening night film, Professor Jim Deutsch of the Smithsonian Institution will lead discussion of Werner Herzog's latest Encounters at the End of the World. Numerous other critically acclaimed films and speakers will appear during the eight-day festival.
On Thursday, February 19th, Eckerd's International Cinema Series — frequently selected by CL as the Best of the Bay — will feature Carlos Reygadas' Silent Light, which will explore the contrast between patterns of nature and conventional patterns of everyday life and provides a nice segue to the environmental festival.
This article appears in Feb 11-17, 2009.