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Dreaming of a Vetter World

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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.

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Holy (un)Holy River

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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?  

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Opening Night Parties

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Opening Night Parties

Friday, March 1
DIRTT, 325 N. Wells St.
#1000 (10th Floor), Chicago

Opening Night Launch Party
5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
$20, includes reception

Opening Night After Party
8:30 to 10 p.m.
$20, includes reception

Perfect for a date night or night out with friends! Come out and celebrate the launch of our 8th season at one of the city’s most unique spaces overlooking the Chicago River. Enjoy savory heavy hors d'oeuvres, wine and beer, as you mix and mingle with friends. Then take the opportunity to linger longer in a smaller, more intimate gathering at the After Party. Join us for a dessert and champagne reception. Open to all, non-members and members.

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RiverBlue

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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.

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Sea of Hope

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Sea of Hope

Robert Nixon/2017/48 min/Water

Wednesday, March 6, 5:30 p.m. [Central]
Reception at 5:30 p.m., Film at 6:30 p.m.
Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago

FILM DESCRIPTION: “Sea of Hope” is a stunningly filmed action adventure documentary that follows ocean legend Sylvia Earle, renowned underwater National Geographic photographer Brian Skerry, and writer Max Kennedy. Joined by their crew of teenage aquanauts, the team embarks on a year-long quest to deploy science and photography to inspire President Obama to establish new Blue Parks to protect essential habitats across an unseen American wilderness.

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The Carnivore's Dilemma

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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.

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Why We Cycle

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Why We Cycle

Gertjan Hulster, Arne Gielen, Marco te Brömmelstroet and Jeroen Dirks/2017/57 min/Transportation

Saturday, March 2, 1 p.m. [W Suburbs]
Oak Park Public Library, Oak Park

Saturday, March 9, 7 p.m. [Central]
Patagonia Chicago, Chicago
OEFF After Hours Event
BIKE RIDE CANCELED
Admission $20, includes reception & after party

FILM DESCRIPTION: There are more bicycles than people in the Netherlands, but the Dutch don’t seem to notice what a special bike culture they have. Going beyond the obvious health and economic benefits of cycling, “Why We Cycle” explores the egalitarian nature of cycling, as well as its less-obvious effects on a city’s planning and development, its residents, and society as a whole.

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Young Filmmakers Contest Winner Screenings + Awards

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Young Filmmakers Contest Winner Screenings + Awards

Saturday, March 2, 11:30 a.m. [Central]
Screenings + awards at 12 p.m.
Gene Siskel Film Center, Chicago

This year’s theme is “All In,” which means that we all need to contribute our passion and voices to make meaningful changes in the fight for our climate. That’s why, for the last seven years, we’ve given motivated and inspired young people from ages 8–25 the opportunity to research, produce, and show their original films as part of our Young Filmmakers Contest. We invite you to join us at the contest winners’ screenings, to be inspired by their creativity and dedication, and to learn more about the non-profit organizations who will benefit from matching grants the winners receive.