This past October, The University of Georgia’s Odum School of Ecology held their second annual Eco Focus Film Festival in Athens, Georgia. As I stated in my previous post, I ventured out to catch as many of the films as I could at the beautiful Cine’ Theater on Hancock Avenue. I know that it sounds incredibly dramatic to say that the movies changed my life, but they actually did. They opened my eyes to current challenges facing the planet and gave me a starting point for assembling my “dream team” of people who I would like to interact with. So for today’s post I’d like to give credit to the films that rocked my world.
Earth Days - A Robert Stone Film. This film presents a thorough history of the beginnings of the modern environmental movement and the start of Earth Day. I really liked the archival footage and the interviews with people directly involved in the movement. It was a wonderful film to start with. It made me realize that ecologically, I just hadn’t been paying attention to what had been going on for decades.
So Right, So Smart - This film is an exploration in the connection between the economy and the environment. It shows that being profitable and being an environmental steward aren’t mutually exclusive concepts. I absolutely loved this movie. Much of it revolves around Ray C. Anderson and his work to make Interface-Flor both financially and environmentally solid. I had already purchased Flor carpet for my home office and was even more satisfied with that fact once I saw everything Flor was doing. This film also gave me a great number of books to add to my reading list, not just from Mr. Anderson, but the book that he had read that lead him to his epiphany, “The Ecology of Commerce” by Paul Hawken.
The Cove – In this movie, former dolphin trainer Ric O’Barry works to bring the world’s attention to the slaughtering of dolphins in Japan and the plight of captive sea mammals world-wide. I knew this was going to be a hard one to watch when the girl at the ticket counter said ”Good luck to not cry through this one”. Well, luck wasn’t to be had as I spent most of the movie clinging to my husband’s arm with tears streaming down my cheeks. The movie is gut-wrenching and extremely graphic, but I feel it needs to be to make its point. My hat is off to Mr. O’Barry for what he’s doing. This film is now in some Redbox locations, so even though it’s hard to watch, I highly recommend that you do.
Tapped – This movie is about the business of bottled water, with solid information on the various reasons bottled water just isn’t eco-friendly. I immediately banned bottled water in my home after this one and gave all of my friends and family stainless steel water bottles for their holiday gift.
No Impact Man – This is a film chronicle of author Colin Beavan’s year-long project to eliminate his family’s environmental footprint. I found it inspirational to see that other people struggle to find answers on how to lead a more environmentally conscious lifestyle and more so, that just one person can make a difference.
Addicted to Plastic - If you’ve ever wondered where plastic comes from and what it’s impact is on life on this planet, then this is the film to watch. I hadn’t realized until I saw this one that plastic is a huge global issue with undeniable detrimental impact to life on this planet. I have changed my buying habits based on this in order to cut down our dependance on plastic.
There were many more worthwhile films at the festival along with a multitude of shorts, but unfortunately because I am a working gal, I couldn’t spare the time away to see them. It is my sincere hope to schedule time away from my job this year in order to enjoy the next festival more fully. My thanks and congratulations to the Odum School of Ecology, the sponsors and all of the people who worked so hard to bring this festival to the public. Please know that your efforts have made a positive impact.
