One Earth Film Festival takes particular care to attend to the collaborative potential between film, venue and community when planning screening events. The match doesn't happen haphazardly. The sensitive pairing of particular films with venues and communities surfaced again and again during conversations with three venue partners—Elio DeArrudah at Universidad Popular, Liz Lyon at Plant Chicago, and Connie Spreen at the Experimental Station.
Rakel Garðarsdóttir is the co-director and co-producer of “Useless,” a documentary that looks at why food and fashion waste have become a pressing social and environmental problem, and what people can do to change it. Garðarsdóttir lives and works in Reykjavík, Iceland.
One Earth Festival had a few questions for Rakel about the making of the documentary.
Out of 196 entries total, the following nine finalists will also be recognized for their Honorable Mention films, which will screen at a separate event in April, near Earth Day. In addition, a few of these films will be incorporated into the One Earth Film Festival as “trailers” before feature films between March 6 and 15, because the content for these shorts enhances or matches the feature film content.
One Earth Film Festival organizers expect audiences to leave screenings being more enlightened and aware of environmental issues. Organizers also want audiences to be ready to take action for the planet when they leave a screening.
To get audiences to that point, they need to digest a film’s information, then connect it to everyday life. That’s where trained facilitators come in. Facilitators are key pieces of the festival, helping attendees develop a more meaningful understanding of the many important topics covered during a screening.
Recently, South Korean filmmaker, Bong Joon Ho, swept the 92nd Academy Awards, opening the door for a cross-cultural vision in cinema. Meanwhile, the One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest had a parallel surprise. Suzie Kang took the top prize at the post grad level for her animated film "Vandals." From South Korea originally, she graduated from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts last spring.
Festival audiences expect to leave screenings with information that will guide them in taking the next steps on their sustainability journey. That is the Power of We. When people feel connected to others by a common passion or commitment, much gets done. Problems are solved. Communities become healthier. The Earth gets healed.
Chicago is fortunate to have many advocates on the front lines of climate action and environmental and social justice.
