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By Amy Cook
Ever wondered how the films for One Earth Film Festival are selected? Reviewing films is a volunteer role, and one way that you can get involved with the film fest next year. Film reviewing usually starts in the summer—we call it our "summer movie club."
Many film festivals seek submissions, but we have a unique model in that we go out looking for the best of the best films from all over the world. We look at other film festivals, industry awards, what's hot in popular culture, and recommendations from festival friends.
Susan Greenberg, a reviewer for the last three or four years, says she enjoys the process because it allows her to “see great films without having to travel to far away venues.” Her passion is climate justice and Susan says that her “passion is stoked by seeing the plight of those affected by climate change and those who are working to make the earth healthier for all.” Likewise, Michele McSwain enjoys being able to volunteer from home, learn about the environment, and then “do something to help.”
Katie Johnson, who has been a reviewer since 2019, says,” I love having the opportunity to be a reviewer because sometimes there are films I have heard of that I get to see in advance and sometimes there are films that were (and never would be) on my radar that I get to view that are phenomenal and completely transformative.” She recommends “Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth,” which she says “is a great family-friendly film that is based on the Oliver Jeffers picture book and as a former independent bookseller and librarian, seeing a book come to life on screen is always thrilling.”
This year's review process by the numbers:
100 films reviewed
615 film report cards/evaluations received between October and December 2020
104 reviewers
77 reviewer zip codes (from around the US, as well as Puerto Rico, Wales and other countries)
6 average report cards per reviewer
34,407 minutes (or 573 hours) of films screened/evaluated
331 average minutes (or 5.5 hours) of films screened/evaluated per reviewer
Sign me up to be a film reviewer for next year!