2015 Portland EcoFilm Festival
2015 FESTIVAL FILM SELECTIONS and SPECIAL GUESTS:
Winner of the 2015 Portland EcoFilm Festival's Best Feature Film Award
HOW TO CHANGE THE WORLD
Directed by Jerry Rothwell - post-film discussion with filmmaker!
HOW TO CHANGE THE WORLD chronicles an eclectic group of young pioneers who set out to stop Richard Nixon’s atomic bomb tests in Alaska and ended up founding Greenpeace, thereby launching the worldwide green movement. Greenpeace cinematographer Ron Precious in attendance.
Winner of the 2016 Portland EcoFilm Festival's EcoHero Award & Festival Special Guest
Ron Precious, original Greenpeace expedition cinematographer
We're honored to be presenting our 2015 EcoHero Award to Ron Precious, whose seminal cinematography during the early years of Greenpeace, set in motion a global awakening of the environmental movement by using powerful, first-hand imagery of Greenpeace founders' direct action protests on nuclear arms, wildlife and ocean advocacy.
SILENCING THE THUNDER
Directed by Eddie Roqueta - post film discussion with filmmaker!
In winter, Yellowstone Park’s wild bison migrate to lower elevations and exit the Park, placing them in danger of being killed and at the center of conflicts between government wildlife managers, ranchers, and bison advocates.
THE EPIC OF EVEREST
Directed by John Baptist Lucius Noel
Presented in partnership with the Mazamas
The original 1924 film shot during George Mallory and Andrew Irvine's fatal climb of Mount Everest. Accompanying them was Captain John Noel, who documented the expedition, filming in brutal conditions with a hand-cranked camera and capturing images of breathtaking beauty and considerable historic significance. This film restoration by the British Film Institute includes the addition of an epic musical score.
LE SEMEUR/THE SOWER
Directed by Julie Perron
Presented in partnership with Portland Community Gardens
LE SEMEUR is a portrait of artist and seed producer Patrice Fortier. Living on his farm in remote Quebec, Fortier preserves and propagates rare seeds in order to restore vitality and variety to our agricultural heritage. He’s also an artist, using seeds from his garden to create fantastic works of art, finding in farming a source of inspiration for his unique artistic expression.
NATURE IN STOP-MOTION ANIMATION WORKSHOP FOR KIDS AGES 7-13
Inspired by environmental artists such as Andy Goldsworthy and Patrick Dougherty, this workshop will teach students to collaboratively create a large-scale installation made of natural objects and to capture the creative process through stop-motion animation. Afterwards, students will see their work premiere on the big screen at the Portland EcoFilm Festival's screening of All the Time in the World. This special workshop includes a Chipotle Mexican Grill catered lunch and free admission to the film!
ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD
Directed by Suzanne Crocker
All the Time in the World chronicles a family of five who live for nine months in the Yukon Territory with no electricity, running water, or amenities in order to reconnect with each other and the natural environment.
JUST EAT IT: A FOOD WASTE STORY
Directed by Grant Baldwin
Presented in partnership with the Oregon Food Bank and Whole Foods
In a nation where one in ten is food-insecure, Just Eat It looks at our systemic obsession with expiry dates, perfect produce, and portion sizes and reveals the core of this seemingly insignificant issue that is having devastating consequences around the globe.
THE BREACH
Directed by Mark Titus - filmmaker in attendance!
The Breach is a riveting story of the journey of wild salmon and their precarious situation in the ecosystem of the American river system—specifically here in the Pacific Northwest. With director Mark Titus in attendance to discuss his film. Watch trailer here.
MONSOON
Directed by Sterla Gunnarsson
Part road movie, part spectacle, part human drama, Monsoon is a documentary exploration of a monsoon, the vast seasonal weather system that unifies the immense and varied culture of India, shaping the conditions of existence for its billion-plus inhabitants.
FUNGIPHILIA RISING
Directed by Madison McClintock
By attending mushroom forays and fungus festivals, talking to scores of individuals from mycologists to artists, businessmen to locovore chefs, Fungiphilia Rising paints a vivid image of the secret life of mushrooms and its admirers.
SANDORKRAUT
Directed by Emily Lobsenz, Ann Husaini
A portrait of Sandor Ellix Katz, a self-described "fermentation fetishist" and author of New York Times best seller The Art of Fermentation, whose revival of ancient culinary practices has transformed his relationship with life and death.
GAIA
Directed by Erin Fowler & Nick Graalman
Gaia (Mother Earth) is struggling for survival in an increasingly degraded and urbanized planet. Through the language of dance, Gaia tells a story relevant to everyone that inhabits the earth.
BLACK GOLD
Directed by Woonam Kim
An animated film that reflects on the story of traditional indigenous trading routes while questioning the value and impact of today's ever-expanding network of oil and gas pipelines in British Columbia.
TRUST 350
A short film highlighting the work of tonight’s featured nonprofit, Our Children's Trust, which empowers and supports youth-driven legal actions holding government accountable to protecting the environment.
CRYING EARTH RISE UP
Directed by Suree Towfinghnia. Producer Courtney Hermann in attendance!
Two Lakota women fight to protect their drinking water from contamination by a nearby uranium mine.
CHUITNA COAL: MORE THAN SALMON ON THE LINE
Director Trip Jennings. Producer Paul Moinester in attendance!
This short film follows the journey of fly fishermen who travel to Alaska’s Chuitna Watershed to fight against the proposed Chuitna Coal Mine that threatens the salmon runs.
INTO THE MIND
Fundraiser for Mercy Corp's Nepal Earthquake Response Fund
Presented in partnership with Mercy Corps, Mazamas, Mountain Shop and the Nepali Association of Oregon, Sherpa Cinema
Directed by Sherpas Cinema
With stunning cinematography, Into The Mind travels from Alaska to Bolivia to the Himalayas, painting a philosophical portrait of humankind via an outdoor adventure film. A Nepal earthquake relief fundraiser, presented with Mercy Corps, Mazamas, Mountain Shop, and the Nepali Association of Oregon.
BIKES VS CARS
Directed by Fredrick Gertten. Executive Producer Chris Paine in attendance!
Presented in partnership with the BTA/Bicycle Transportation Alliance
The bicycle, an amazing tool for change. Bikes vs Cars looks at the daily global drama in traffic around the world and at people in biking communities who have a better future vision for our planet and how cities work.
ONLY THE ESSENTIAL: A HIKE FROM MEXICO TO CANADA ON THE PACIFIC CREST TRAIL
Directed by Colin Arisman - filmmaker in attendance!
Presented in partnership with the Pacific Crest Trail Association
In 2013, Casey Gannon and Colin Arismann thru-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail with cameras in hand. Only The Essential is the story of their five-month, 2668-mile journey on foot from Mexico to Canada across the wilderness of CA, OR, and WA.
UPRIVER
Outdoor screening in Sellwood Park! Includes music, food and kayaking before the film!
Presented in partnership with Portland Parks and Recreation
Directed by Freshwaters Illustrated. Filmmaker Jeremy Monroe in attendance!
UPRIVER is a locally-produced feature film about the Willamette River and the many Oregonians coming together to shape the river's future.
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
Directed by Avi Lewis. Director Avi Lewis and Producer/Writer Naomi Klein in attendance!
Presented in partnership with 350PDX
Filmed in nine countries and five continents over four years, THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING is an epic attempt to re-imagine the vast challenge of climate change.
Thanks to our filmmakers, sponsors, audiences and to the community members/organizations who were featured at our films and event panel discussions!
Participants included: 350 PDX, Alder Creek Kayak and Canoe, Bicycle Transportation Alliance, Columbia Riverkeeper, DoubleTree Portland, Friends of the Columbia Gorge, Friends of Portland Community Gardens, Greenpeace, Hollywood Farmers' Market, Human Access Project, Mazamas, Oregon Food Bank, Oregon Natural Desert Association, Oregon Media Production Association (OMPA), Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility, Our Children's Trust, Pacific Crest Trail Association, PAE, Portland Bureau of Parks and Recreation, Sierra Club Oregon, Stash Tea, Velo Cult, Whole Foods, Wild Salmon Center, Women in Film Portland, Willamette Riverkeeper.
