Dreaming of a Vetter World

Dreaming of a Vetter World

Bonnie Hawthorne/2018/77 min/Sustainable Food & Agriculture

Saturday, March 2, 7 p.m. [W Suburbs]
Good Earth Greenhouse, River Forest

Monday, March 4, 6 p.m. [Central]
Great Central Brewing Company, Chicago
OEFF After Hours Event
Admission $20, includes reception

Wednesday, March 6, 6:30 [South]
Beverly Arts Center, Chicago
Admission $6

CHICAGO-AREA PREMIERE. FILM DESCRIPTION: Donald Vetter grew up in Nebraska, farming 800 acres with horses. When he came back from WWII and learned about the new agricultural uses for wartime chemicals, Don enthusiastically embraced the Chemical Age. In 1953, he quit spraying, after realizing the chemicals didn’t deliver on promises and they were damaging his soil and killing farm wildlife. Since then, the Vetter farm’s most important “crop” was its soil. “Dreaming of a Vetter World” comes at a time when interest in regenerating soil has exploded worldwide. Others are realizing what the Vetters have known for decades: Soil is key to our very survival.

Holy (un)Holy River

Holy (un)Holy River

Peter McBride & Jake Norton/2016/60 min/Health & Environment

Saturday, March 2, 1 p.m. [Central]
First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple, Chicago

Tuesday, March 5, 7 p.m. [Central]
Patagonia Chicago, Chicago
OEFF After Hours Event
Admission $20, includes reception

CHICAGO-AREA PREMIERE. FILM DESCRIPTION: This film takes you on an dramatic adventure to Ma Ganga (“Mother Ganges”), a waterway that is divine and defiled, revered and reviled. Once celebrated for its purity, India’s Ganges River now carries contaminates from its glacial headwaters, where freshly fallen snow contains zinc from industrial emissions. Water is diverted from the river for agriculture and other uses, and the 500 million people in the Ganges basin further pollute the river. “Holy (un)Holy River” asks the essential question: Can the Ganges survive?  

Home

Home

Yann Arthus-Bertrand/2009/90 min/Conservation

Saturday, March 2, 3 p.m. [South]
Jackson Park Fieldhouse, Chicago

FILM DESCRIPTION: 10 Year Anniversary screening of “Home,” featuring breathtaking photography of our planet by award-winning photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand! In the past 200,000 years, humans have upset four billion years’ worth of evolutionary balance on planet Earth. Humanity has little time to reverse the trend and change its patterns of consumption. Through visually stunning aerial footage from over 50 countries, Yann Arthus–Bertrand shows us a view most of us have never seen. He shares with us his sense of awe about our planet and his concern for its health. With this film, Arthus-Bertrand hopes to provide a stepping-stone to further the call to action to take care of our “Home.”

Living in the Future's Past

Living in the Future's Past

Susan Kucera/2018/86 min/Climate

Saturday, March 2, 10 a.m. [W Suburbs]
Classic Cinemas Lake Theatre, Oak Park
Admission $8

Saturday, March 2, 1 p.m. [Lake County]
Prairie Crossing School, Grayslake

Monday, March 4, 6 p.m. [South]
Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago

CHICAGO-AREA PREMIERE. FILM DESCRIPTION: In this beautifully photographed tour de force of original thinking, Academy Award® winner Jeff Bridges shares the screen with scientists, profound thinkers, and a dazzling array of Earth’s living creatures to reveal eye-opening concepts about ourselves and our past, providing fresh insights into our subconscious motivations and their unintended consequences.

RiverBlue

RiverBlue

David McIlvride & Roger Williams/2017/52 min/Water

Wednesday, Feb. 20, 7 p.m. [North]
Loyola University, Chicago

Saturday, March 2, 3 p.m. [Central]
Columbia College, Music Center, Chicago

Thursday, March 7, 7 p.m. [South]
U. of C. Green Line Performing Arts Center, Chicago

Saturday, March 9, 1 p.m.. [Lake County]
Catlow Theater, Barrington

CHICAGO-AREA PREMIERE. FILM DESCRIPTION: Following international river conservationist, Mark Angelo, “RiverBlue” spans the globe to infiltrate one of the world’s most pollutive industries, fashion. Narrated by actor and clean water advocate Jason Priestley, this groundbreaking documentary examines the destruction of our rivers, the effects on humanity, and the solutions inspiring hope for a sustainable future. Through harsh chemical manufacturing processes and the irresponsible disposal of toxic chemical waste, one of our favorite iconic clothing items has destroyed rivers and impacted the lives of people who count on these waterways for their survival.

The Carnivore's Dilemma

The Carnivore's Dilemma

Benoît Bringer/2018/71 min/Sustainable Food & Agriculture

Saturday, March 2, 12 p.m. [West]
Loretto Hospital, Chicago

Sunday, March 3, 6 p.m. [South]
St. Paul & the Redeemer, Chicago

Sunday, March 10, 12:30 p.m. [Central]
Old St. Patrick's Church, Chicago

U.S. PREMIERE. FILM DESCRIPTION: Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Benoît Bringer questions what we give our children to eat. To feed a growing population, the world has embarked on a race to frenetic productivity that generates cruelty against animals, but also major health and environmental issues. Bringer reveals the terrible excesses of industrial breeding and meets women and men who invent another way of farming, respectful of nature and animals. “The Carnivore’s Dilemma” puts together positive and concrete initiatives that are already working and that could be our way of consumption tomorrow.

The Devil We Know

The Devil We Know

Stephanie Soechtig/2018/88 min/Environmental & Social Justice

Saturday, March 2, 2 p.m. [North]
Wilmette Theatre, Wilmette
Admission $8

FILM DESCRIPTION: “The Devil We Know” is the story of how one synthetic chemical, used to make Teflon products, contaminated a West Virginia community. But new research hints at a much broader problem: Nearly all Americans are affected by exposure to non-stick chemicals in food, drinking water, and consumer products, yet there is very little oversight of the chemical industry in the United States. “The Devil We Know” invites you to learn more about the issue and how you can protect yourself and your family.

The Human Element

The Human Element

Matthew Testa/2018/76 min/Climate

Saturday, March 2, 6:30 p.m. [North]
St. Clement Parish School, Chicago

Sunday, March 3, 3 p.m. [South]
Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago
Admission $10

Sunday, March 3, 5 p.m. [Lake County]
Gorton Community Center, Lake Forest
Admission $10, Students $5

Monday, March 4, 6 p.m. [Kane County]
Action Fair 6 p.m., Film 7 p.m.
Waubonsee Community College, Aurora

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY CELEBRATION with WOMEN IN GREEN
Friday, March 8, 5:30 p.m.
[West]
Malcolm X College, Chicago
OEFF After Hours Event
Reception 5:30 to 6:45 p.m., $20
Film screening 7 p.m. free to all

Saturday, March 9, 10 a.m. [W Suburbs]
Classic Cinemas Lake Theatre, Oak Park
Admission $8

CHICAGO-AREA PREMIERE. FILM DESCRIPTION: Renowned photographer James Balog (prominently featured in “Chasing Ice”) uses his camera to reveal how environmental change is affecting the lives of everyday Americans. Following the four classical elements—air, earth, fire and water—to frame his journey, Balog explores wildfires, hurricanes, sea level rise, coal mining, and the changes in the air we breathe. He takes it further by examining the effects of the fifth element—the human element—to tell an urgent story while giving inspiration for a more balanced relationship between humanity and nature.