Environmental Film Festival
Want to see some really good, little-known films for free? Make a journey to St. Petersburg for Visions of Nature/Voices of Nature, Eckerd College's film festival that premieres at 7 p.m. Sat., Feb. 26, with C.S.A: The Confederate States of America. Filmmaker Kevin Willmott is on hand to answer questions about his 2004 Sundance Film Festival debut, a mockumentary about what could have happened had the South won the Civil War. Other screenings this week include:
Billy Budd. A 1962 film of good versus evil adapted from Herman Melville's final story; Gregory O. Jones, the senior editor of Blue Water Sailing Magazine, is the featured presenter. 7 p.m. Sun., Feb. 27.
Blue Vinyl. A humorous look at vinyl, the world's second largest selling plastic; featuring presenters Judith Helfand (filmmaker) and Dan Gold (co-director). 7 p.m. Mon., Feb. 28.
Thirst. A frightening look at the global corporate drive to control and profit from drinking water; featuring John Hausdorffer, assistant professor of environmental studies at Eckerd College. 7 p.m. Tue., March 1.
The Yellow Earth. Created in 1984 by two leaders of China's new wave cinema (director Chen Kaige and cinematographer Zhang Yimou), this film tells the story of a young woman's search for personal freedom in China during the early days of the country's revolution; featuring presenter Hong Gu, an instructor of Chinese language and culture at Eckerd College. 7 p.m. Wed., March 2.
Miller Auditorium, Eckerd College, 4200 54th Ave. S., St. Petersburg, 727-864-7979, www.eckerd.edu/film.
-Leilani Polk