This meeting will adjourn on October 1st by which time please post your film recommendations for the Spring 2010 film series.
As a reminder, the Film Committee Protocol specifies the following regarding Meeting #1: Meeting #1 will take place by email or in person no later than October 1st (Fall semester) and March 1 (Spring semester) to select 10-12 films to be previewed. All members of the Film and lecture Committee may suggest films for preview by the committee. Individuals who attend at least two Film and Lecture Committee meetings each year will be considered members. Films will be included on the preview list on a first-come first-served basis; extras will be bumped to the following semester.
When recommending a film to be previewed, committee member should do the following:
*See the film
*Make the film available to other committee members if the film is not available on netflix
*Include basic information such as an overview of the film, the year of production, distributor/producer, length and the cost of screening rights (if known)
Note: All films recommended with supporting material will make the “A” list while films recommended without supporting material will be put on the “B” list.
7 comments:
For Spring 2010, I have two recommendations so far:
1. Diamond Road. This is a 99 minute film from Bullfrog Films that I have not yet seen, but I have ordered a preview copy and will share it with others when I receive it. The film looks at some unpleasant realities behind the allure of the diamond industry. I'm not sure who might speak at this showing. I doubt local jewelers would like the film or jump at the chance to speak at it.
2. Big Bucks, Big Pharma. This is a 46 minute film that can be previewed for free in full (but on a tiny 3"x4" screen); check out the Media Education Foundation website and type the film's name in the search box. The film interviews experts who expose problems behind the pharmaceutical industry, and the film is especially interesting in light of recent scandals involving Pfizer's 2.3 billion-dollar lawsuit settlement and Merck's recall of Vioxx. Local members of the medical community could speak to the film.
Neither of those two films are great in terms of production and filming; they aren't "best documentary" type films, but nonetheless they seem informative and worth while.
Jason
Here's Dan Onorato's suggestions for Spring 2010;
The Betrayal, by Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath. Here's the POV description (it aired on POV (PBS) about six months ago).
Filmed over 23 years, "The Betrayal" is the Academy Award nominated directorial debut of renowned cinematographer Ellen Kuras in a unique collaboration with the film's subject and co-director, Thavisouk (Thavi) Phrasavath. After the U.S. government waged a secret war in Laos during the Vietnam War, Thavi's father and thousands of other Laotians who had fought alongside American forces were abandoned and left to face imprisonment or execution. Hoping to find safety, Thavi's family made a harrowing escape to America, where they discovered a different kind of war. Weaving ancient prophecy with personal testimony and stunning imagery, "The Betrayal" is a story of survival and the resilient bonds of family. A Diverse Voices Project co-production with support from the CPB; funded in part by the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM). An official selection of the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.
Noah Hughes recommended the film Sea Change which I saw and realluy liked. Here's the info: This film is about ocean acidification (a byproduct of high CO2 level in the atmosphere). "Ocean acidification is a significant part of the climate change story. A Sea Change does a unique and excellent job of conveying this complex scientific issue to the public." - Dr. Richard W. Spinrad (NOAA Assistant Administrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research). A SEA CHANGE has a long list of awards, and reviews, on our webpage at http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/seachn.html. The film would be $95 to rent for a showing or $295 to purchase.
Here are Laura Paull's first two recommendations:
1) "Trouble the Water," an Oscar nominated feature-length documentary about Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. Its real subject, of course, is the persistence of class issues in America and in American government. The film came about when two filmmakers went down to New Orleans to shoot a film about the hurricane, and discovered a young resident of the 9th Ward who had pulled out her own videocam and documented her own experience of the storm and the struggle for survival AS IT WAS HAPPENING. They incorporated her raw footage, as well as later interviews with her as she goes about the tasks of picking up her life and putting it back together again, after the storm. It is tremendously moving and eye-opening, and has a realism that is far more powerful than most Frontline and other PBS specials. It received a great deal of press when it came out, and Zeitgeist is very helpful in terms of providing discussion and action guides, publicity materials, etc. They also gave me a low res screening copy which I saw and will lend to the Committee. $200 will get us an institutional DVD and screening rights for groups of 50 or less; I think we could get away with this as we never know how many will show up.
2) "The Garden"
The Garden, by director Scott Hamilton Kennedy, won a Sterling award for best U.S. documentary feature and was also nominated for an Oscar last year. The Sterling Feature Jury praised the film for “its tenacity in storytelling in the face of injustice, and the filmmaker’s singular vision in bringing a gripping, dramatic, and important story to the public eye. The Garden has raw emotion, visceral energy, and nail-biting twists and turns. It unravels a complex and layered tale of the destruction of America’s largest urban farm that must not be forgotten.”
The fourteen-acre community garden at 41st and Alameda in South Central Los Angeles is the largest of its kind in the United States. Started as a form of healing after the devastating L.A. riots in 1992, the South Central Farmers have since created a miracle in one of the country’s most blighted neighborhoods. Growing their own food. Feeding their families. Creating a community. Inevitably, they face the turning wheel of development and urban planners which threaten their survival, and must increase their activism in order to fight for their interests.
The synopsis states: “The Garden has the pulse of verité with the narrative pull of fiction, telling the story of the country’s largest urban farm, backroom deals, land developers, green politics, money, poverty, power, and racial discord. The film explores and exposes the fault lines in American society and raises crucial and challenging questions about liberty, equality, and justice for the poorest and most vulnerable among us.”
I saw this on PBS and found it potentially very relevant for our community; to be discussed.DVD is available for purchase; The home DVD is $25.; the institutional DVD is about $300, and a SCREENER DVD is available for ONE MONTH for $15 if the CEP committee wants it.
http://www.thegardenmovie.com
Here are Laura's two additional recommendations:
3) Rivers of the Lost Coast. This is a wonderful documentary in a "Ken Burns style" that chronicles the decline of the north coast steelhead fisheries and the history of the fly fishing community. I saw it at the State; many people missed it. Very relevant given the state’s growing water crisis and resulting water wars. Haven’t had time to research the availability but I know that it is.
4) Daniel Ellsberg: The Most Dangerous Man in America. This brand new doc from Rick Goldsmith ("Tell the Truth and Run: the Life and Times of George Seldes) and Judith Erlich ("The Abraham Lincoln Brigade") will premiere at the Mill Valley Film Festival on Oct. 17 so I don’t know when it will be out, but it already showed at the Toronto Film Fest and is receiving great reviews. It looks at Ellsberg from a historical perspective and considers the value of individual conscience and resultant action. I'm pretty sure it will be screened on PBS in the coming months or early in 2010, so I don’t know when it will be out on DVD.
I know the film makers and might be able to get one or both of them out here, for a small honorarium. We might even show it in BETA or film… I've got an email out to them and know they will respond when they have time. Let's keep an eye on it.
Here are two possibilities for Spring 2010;
1. Flow: For the Love of Water. From both local and global perspectives, this documentary examines the harsh realities behind the mounting water crisis. Learn how politics, pollution and human rights are intertwined in this important issue that affects every being on Earth. With water drying up around the world and the future of human lives at stake, the film urges a call to arms before more of our most precious natural resource evaporates.
2. Thin. Filmmaker Lauren Greenfield chronicles six months in the lives of four women undergoing treatment for eating disorders in this revealing documentary. Powerful and haunting, the film follows four anorexics ranging from age 15 to 30 as they undergo therapy sessions, endure daily weigh-ins and battle with staff at a Florida treatment center. With unprecedented access, Greenfield captures the stark realities of eating disorders from multiple angles.
Here's another movie suggestion - "Food, Inc." It had a short run at the State Theater but I think showing in the Spring would lead to some interesting discussion. Here's the synopsis of the film;
Drawing on Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation and Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma, director Robert Kenner's documentary explores the food industry's detrimental effects on our health and environment. Kenner spotlights the men and women who are working to reform an industry rife with monopolies, questionable interpretations of laws and subsidies, political ties and rising rates of E. coli outbreaks.
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