We’re happy to have filmmakers (directors, producers, film subjects, and writers) joining us for 14 festival programs during our 10th anniversary run. The filmmakers listed below will be participating virtually from around the globe in post-viewing panel discussions. Click on the film names below to book free tickets (for most events) and ask questions via live chat.
Q: What is the focus of your film?
A: The film looks at colonization and the destruction of food systems, and at those attempting to revive them. It focuses on areas that were colonized post-1870s, west of the Mississippi—places where I could find the essential imagery, the photographic evidence, I needed to tell these stories. The challenge was to hone a very large subject scope into something based in image. Structure is essential in film, as are length considerations, as is, of course, finding the best stories to tell.
Our 10th anniversary launch party mixologist, Dave Hudson, author of “A Year of Magical Drinking: Cocktails in the Time of COVID,” created this drink—Turmeric Beer (non-alcoholic) One Earth Mule (with alcohol)—just for our filmmakers toast (link to invite page), happening this Friday at 6 p.m. Join us!
What was your motivation for making “Mermaids Against Plastic?”
I went on vacation to the Quintana Roo region of Mexico, on the Yucatan Peninsula. We were walking on a beach in a spectacular, remote area and I was horrified by the amount of plastic covering the beach. It was coming from all over the world—the U.S., Russia, China, South America. It made me realize that the responsibility for this is on all of us. People need to understand that this is where their plastic is going.
Despite the confinement and anxieties surrounding this past year, 149 students age 8 to 25 managed to make and submit films to the One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest. Of those, 10 will receive top prizes at 3 p.m. Saturday, March 13, in the Awards Celebration, while 15 Honorable Mention films will be screened during the Earth Day Festival in April.
