Conservation

Chicago's True Nature

Chicago's True Nature

Forest Preserves of Cook County + WYCC PBS Chicago +Juneteenth Productions/2016/21 or 60 min/Conservation

SOLD OUT!
Saturday, March 11, 11 a.m. [W Suburbs]
Thatcher Woods Pavilion, River Forest

Sunday, March 12, 1 p.m. [South]
St. James Church,  Chicago

FILM DESCRIPTION: Like many natural wonders, the Forest Preserves are “hidden in plain sight.” While the Preserves are well-known for family parties and cook-outs, many are unaware of its vast biodiversity – the flora and fauna of the urban preserves and the diversity of native plants that struggle to flourish against invasive species. Chicago’s True Nature takes viewers beyond the picnic groves and introduces them to the nearby wonders of nature.

Death by Design

Death by Design

Sue Williams/2016/74 min/Waste

Wednesday, March 8, 7 p.m. [North]
Northwestern University, Evanston

Thursday, March 9, 7 p.m. [Dupage County]
College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn

FILM DESCRIPTION: In an investigation that spans the globe, filmmaker Sue Williams investigates the underbelly of the electronics industry and reveals how even the smallest devices have deadly environmental and health costs. Death by Design tells a story of environmental degradation, of health tragedies, and the fast approaching tipping point between consumerism and sustainability.

Dive!

Dive!

Jeremy Seifert/2009/53 min/Waste

SOLD OUT!
VIEW AND BREW [Downtown]
Sunday, March 12, 12:30 p.m.
Haymarket Pub & Brewery, Chicago

FILM DESCRIPTION: Inspired by a curiosity about our country's careless habit of sending food straight to landfills, the multi award-winning documentary DIVE! follows filmmaker Jeremy Seifert and friends as they dumpster dive in the back alleys and gated garbage receptacles of Los Angeles' supermarkets. In the process, they salvage thousands of dollars worth of good, edible food - resulting in an inspiring documentary that is equal parts entertainment, guerilla journalism and call to action. 

Food Frontiers

Food Frontiers

Leo Horrigan and Mike Milli/2016/36 min/Food-Agriculture

Wednesday, March 8, 7 p.m. [South]
Harper Theater, Chicago

CHICAGO PREMIERE. FILM DESCRIPTION: Food Frontiers showcases six projects from around the United States that are increasing access to healthy food in varied ways – from a pioneering farm-to-school project to creative supermarket financing to cooking classes in a doctor’s office and a teen-managed grocery store.

Hometown Habitat

Hometown Habitat

Catherine Zimmerman/2016/90 min/Wildlife

Saturday, March 4, 1:30 p.m. [Lake County]
Prairie Crossing School, Grayslake

Saturday, March 4, 2:30 p.m. [W Suburbs]
Triton College, River Grove

Sunday, March 5, 3:30 p.m. [Downtown]
Peggy Notebaert Museum, Chicago

Monday, March 6, 7 p.m. [Kane County]
Waubonsee Community College, Aurora

CHICAGO PREMIERE. FILM DESCRIPTION: Hometown Habitat features renowned entomologist Dr. Douglas Tallamy, whose research, books and lectures on the use of non-native plants in landscaping, sound the alarm about habitat and species loss. Tallamy provides the narrative thread that challenges the notion that humans are here and nature is someplace else.

Minimalism: A Documentary About Important Things

Minimalism: A Documentary About Important Things

Matt D'Avella/2016/79 min/Waste

Tuesday, February 21, 7 p.m. [North]
Loyola University, Damen Student Center, Chicago

SOLD OUT!
Saturday, March 4, 7 p.m. [W Suburbs]
Good Earth Greenhouse, River Forest

FILM DESCRIPTION: How might your life be better with less? Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things examines the many flavors of minimalism by taking the audience inside the lives of minimalists from all walks of life—families, entrepreneurs, architects, artists, journalists, scientists, and even a former Wall Street broker—all of whom are striving to live a meaningful life with less

National Parks Adventure

National Parks Adventure

Greg MacGillivray/2016/45 min/Conservation

SOLD OUT!
Sunday, March 5, 3 p.m. [South]
Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago

A trio of adventurers’ quest to experience America’s wildest, most historic and most naturally beautiful places becomes the ultimate off-trail adventure in National Parks Adventure, narrated by Academy Award® winner Robert Redford. Immersive IMAX® 3D takes audiences soaring up exposed rock faces, hurtling down steep mountain cliffs and exploring other-worldly realms found within America’s most legendary outdoor places. Along the way, the film becomes at once an action-packed celebration of the 100-year anniversary of the U.S. National Park Service and a soulful reflection on what wilderness means to us all. 

NaturePlay

NaturePlay

Daniel Stilling/2015/52 min/Environmental Advocacy

Sunday, March 12, 1 p.m. [South]
St. James Church, Chicago

CHICAGO PREMIERE. FILM DESCRIPTION: Natureplay features the most endangered species in the wild today - our children, and devises ways to save humanity's connection to nature in the next generation. Filmed in Denmark, Norway and Sweden and the USA, Natureplay portrays the Scandinavian method of teaching, living and enjoying nature, juxtaposed with the high stakes testing/high stress Edu culture of "rigor." Featuring Matt Damon.

Power to the Pedals

Power to the Pedals

Bob Nesson/2014/32 min/Transportation

Wednesday, March 8, 7 p.m. [South]
Harper Theater, Chicago

CHICAGO PREMIERE. FILM DESCRIPTION: The film portrays the transformative vision and extraordinary efforts of Wenzday Jane, a woman whose mechanical skills and innovative actions are reshaping her community. Wenzday goes to the heart of the sustainability issue by offering solutions, and suggests that things don’t have to be the way they are.

A self-taught innovator and revolutionary community leader, she heads an urban movement to replace trucks with cargo bicycles for local delivery, municipal waste-hauling for the city of Cambridge, and agricultural distribution.

Shifting Sands

Shifting Sands

Lee Botts and Pat Wisniewski/2016/57 min/Conservation

Monday, March 6, 7 p.m. [South]
Pullman National Monument Information Center, Chicago

Thursday, March 9, 7 p.m. [West]
Oak Park Public Library, Oak Park

Saturday, March 11, 2:30 p.m.
[Lake County]
Waukegan Public Library, Waukegan

FILM DESCRIPTION: Shifting Sands tells the story of how one region, where rare plants grow in the shadows of smokestacks, sparked a movement for a national park; a movement which eventually led to game-changing environmental policies with worldwide impact and unique partnerships on the path to a more sustainable world.

Sonic Sea

Sonic Sea

Michelle Dougherty and Daniel Hinerfield/2016/60 min/Wildlife

SOLD OUT!
Thursday, March 9, 7 p.m. [North]
Institute of Cultural Affairs, Chicago

FILM DESCRIPTION FROM DISCOVERY.COM: "Sonic Sea travels beneath the ocean's surface to uncover the damaging consequences of increased ocean noise pollution and what can be done to stop it. Narrated by Academy Award-nominated actress Rachel McAdams and featuring interviews with marine ecologists, ocean life experts, and wildlife activists, including Grammy-Award winning musician, human rights and environmental activist Sting, Sonic Sea highlights how noise from a range of man-made sources has affected whales in recent years, including the mass stranding of whales around the planet."

Tierralismo

Tierralismo

Alejandro Ramirez Anderson/2014/60 min/Social Justice

Saturday, March 11, 12 p.m. [Pilsen]
Lincoln United Methodist Church, Pilsen

SPANISH SOUNDTRACK WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES: In the district of Alamar, a 26-acre farming co-op provides employment for dozens of workers, while producing vegetables and medicinal plants for the local community and beyond. What began as necessity—farming without pesticides and chemical fertilizers—has become a source of provision to coop members. They fertilize with compost and cow manure, raise their own insects for biological pest control, and have even created a fully biodegradable alternative to the plastic bag for use with seedlings.