January 4 Noon Panel Discussion: Sustainable Princeton Bring a bag lunch and meet the residents, business owners and others who are leading the charge to make Princeton more sustainable. Join a working group and join the movement. Those bringing re-usable lunch containers will win a prize.
S
ponsored by Princeton Public Library, the Princeton Environmental Film Festival uses film as a medium to encourage discussion about the environment, raise awareness “Garbage Moguls”
“So Right, So Smart”
“No Impact Man”
“Red Gold”
about environmental concerns and stimulate community action to develop and make more sustainable choices and create more livable communities.
4 p.m: “Crash: A Tale of Two Species” Produced by PBS as an episode of the “Nature” series, this film investigates the symbiotic relationship between the Red Knot and the Horseshoe Crab, and discusses the prospective ways in which human intervention could alternately bolster or destroy that connection. 55 minutes
The festival, which is planned by library staff and community members, includes screenings
7 p.m. “Fresh” The farmers, thinkers and business people who are reinventing our food system are celebrated here. Among the main characters are urban farmer-activist Will Allen, who received a MacArthur Genius Award; sustainable farmer and entrepreneur Joel Salatin; and supermarket owner David Ball. 72 minutes
of documentary films and related programs featuring filmmakers, community activists, entrepreneurs, scientists and others working on a broad range of environmental issues.
January 5
January 2
Noon “Endangered Generation” Family Program Directed by Princeton High School senior Alex Kasdin, this documentary is receiving its premiere screening. New Jersey fifth-graders, the director of the Mercer County Wildlife Center, the director of the New Jersey Chapter of the Nature Conservancy and acclaimed children’s wildlife TV show creators Chris and Martin Kratt discuss the importance of educating children about the environment and endangered species and instill in children a desire to save these animals and these habitats. Kasdin has long been devoted to helping endangered species. She views this film as a first step in her long journey through conservation. 21 minutes A post-screening discussion will feature filmmaker Alex Kasdin.
5:45 p.m. Performance: Steve Hiltner and the Sustainable Jazz Trio Festival Opening Party Princeton’s own Steve Hiltner is an environmentalist as well as a longtime jazz saxophonist and composer. His trio entertains at the opening reception for the film festival. Watch some previews of festival films and enjoy light and local refreshments while listening to Hiltner and friends. 7:30 p.m. “The Age of Stupid” This drama-documentary-animation hybrid stars Pete Postlethwaite as a man living alone in the devastated world of 2055, watching archive footage from 2008 and asking “Why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance?” Franny Armstrong wrote and directed the film, which tells six separate stories of demise caused by the effects of global warming and ignorance about its severity decades earlier. 89 minutes
Princeton Public Library
3:30 p.m. “Veer” America’s fast-growing bicycling culture, in Portland, is explored in this film through profiles of five adults whose lives are inextricably tied to bicycling and the bike-central social groups they belong to. 93 minutes A post-screening discussion will feature filmmaker Greg Fredette.
Noon “The Garden” A community garden in South Central Los Angeles, the largest of its kind in the U.S., is sold to a wealthy developer for millions less than fair market value. The farmers, mostly immigrants from Latin America, fight back. The film was nominated for an Academy Award last year. 80 minutes
January 2 – 17
10 a.m. Philly Zoo on Wheels Family Program The Philadelphia Zoo’s outreach program brings zoo staff with a lively presentation on conservation and endangered species. A few live animal friends will join them.
1 p.m. “Earth” Family Program Suitable for ages 5 and older, this film narrated by James Earl Jones tells the story of three animal families (polar bears, elephants and Humpacked whales) and their amazing journeys across the planet with rare action, unimaginable scale and impossible locations. 90 minutes
2 p.m. “The New Metropolis” Two short documentaries, one set in Pennsauken, NJ, use personal stories to highlight the efforts of some of America’s first suburbs to reverse their long decline. 53 minutes.
The Princeton Environmental Film Festival is organized by library staff with the help of a community planning committee: Susan Conlon, Karla Cook, Liz Cutler, Jeff Domanski, Carol Dreibelbis, Jaime Ewalt, Chad Fath, Margaret O’Gorman, Alex Kasdin, Lindsey Kayman, Kai Marshall-Otto, Diane Landis Hackett, Janice Hall, Janie Hermann, Steve Hiltner, Wendy Kaczerski, Fran McManus, Herb Mertz, Dorothy Mullen, Karen K. Nathan, Martha Perry, Elyse Pivnick, Jamie Quirk, Athena Sarafides and Palmer Uhl.
4 p.m. “Bhutan: Taking the Middle Path to Happiness” Imagine a country where happiness is the guiding principle of government, people see all life as sacred and the source of their happiness, and there is an abundance of clean and renewable energy. This is Bhutan. Can it really exist? 57 minutes. A post-screening discussion will feature Karen Mintz, a filmmaker who is finishing production on a feature-length documentary about Bhutan, writer Sonam Ongmo and Princeton geosciences professor Lincoln S. Hollister.
Support
The festival is made possible through funding provided by The Nathan Cummings Foundation, Church & Dwight Co., Inc., Bert G. Kerstetter and Highsmith. Thanks to the following for their support American Jewish Committee of Central New Jersey bent spoon ice cream Boys and Girls Club Bike Exchange Community Green Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey The D&R Greenway Farmer Steve’s Popcorn Hometown Princeton The Hopewell Project Isles John Witherspoon Middle School Environmental Club
Labyrinth Books The Nassau Inn OASIS (Organizing Action on Sustainability In Schools) Olives Olivine Princeton Day School EnAct Club Princeton Environmental Commission Princeton Environmental Institute Princeton High School Environmental Club Princeton Living Well The Princeton Record Exchange
Princeton Regional Schools Princeton Tour Company - Biking and Walking Tours Princeton University Office of Sustainability Sierra Club, Central New Jersey Group Small World Coffee Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association Suppers Program Sustainable Princeton TerraCycle Terra Momo Restaurant Group Whole Earth Center of Princeton
Festival Contact: Susan Conlon / 609.924.9529, ext. 247 / sconlon@princetonlibrary.org
January 3 1 p.m. “Deep Down: A Story From the Heart of Coal Country” As America’s energy consumption rises, the extraction and burning of coal has dramatically altered the Appalachian landscape, economy and culture. This film, a work-in-progress, follows a town in Eastern Kentucky as the community and landscape begin to change dramatically through mountaintop removal mining. 60 minutes A post-screening discussion will feature filmmaker Sally Rubin and Terry Ratliff, who is featured in the film.
All Princeton Environmental Film Festival events are free and open to the public
2 p.m. “Ingredients” Bebe Neuwirth narrates this 2009 feature-length documentary directed by Robert Bates about the American food crisis. From the urban food deserts of Harlem to the diversified farms of the Hudson River and kitchens of celebrated chefs, the journey reveals the people behind the movement to bring good food back to the table and health back to communities. 73 minutes
3:30 p.m. “Woven Ways” Filmed amid the dramatic landscapes of Navajo lands in eastern Arizona and western New Mexico, this multifaceted documentary incisively explores the profound relationships between the Navajo, their land and livestock and illustrates how their environment sustains their traditional culture. The film also examines the deadly uranium mining and dirty coal power plants that pose serious problems for Navajo health and well-being. 49 minutes. A post-screening discussion will feature filmmaker Linda Helm Krapf, pictured above right, Pam Frank of Sun Farm Network, and Matt Elliott of Environment New Jersey.
Good food made with natural ingredients grown on local, family-run farms and served using biodegradable products A portion of sales at Dispensa benefit Princeton Public Library
Open for your dining pleasure during the Princeton Environmental Film Festival For more information about all Princeton Environmenal Film Festival events, visit www.princetonlibrary.org/peff
7 p.m. “So Right So Smart” This documentary shows how businesses that have begun to take steps toward a positive future have experienced success. An inspirational story of leadership and hope, the film opens a dialogue between some of the world’s most reputable environmental experts and the country’s brightest minds in business in order to explore the connection between economy and environment. From Wal-Mart to Patagonia, Stonyfield Farm to New Belgium Brewery, several institutions are making an effort toward sustainability with the goal of becoming restorative in nature. 93 minutes A post screening discussion and booksigning will feature Gary Hirshberg, president of Stonyfield Farm, pictured at left; Guy Noerr, executive producer and co-director; Justin Maine, producer and co-director; Leanne Robinson Maine, producer, writer and co-director; and Michael Swantek,editor and co-director.
January 6 Noon “Hot Spots” The work of Russell Mittermeier, president of Conservation International and known as “the Indiana Jones of natural science,” is featured in this film about areas of the planet populated by the largest number of unique plant, animal and insect species at risk of extinction. 109 minutes
January 6 4 p.m. “Liquid Assets” Penn State University’s broadcasting department produced this film that tells the story of essential but aging infrastructure systems: water, wastewater, and stormwater. Locations range from Atlanta to Los Angeles. 90 minutes 7 p.m. Panel Discussion: Approaches to Green Building and Remodeling at Home A panel of professionals in green building discusses opportunities for living comfortably while improving energy efficiency. Karen K. Nathan moderates; panelists are homeowner David August, home insurance adviser Chad Fath, Greenstreet NJ Director of Operations Richard Felmann, NJRenewableEnergy.com founder Ed Haemmerle, Sustainable Princeton’s Diane Landis, Ewing Township resident Athena Sarafides and architect Joshua Zinder.
January 7 Noon “Dirt! The Movie” Jamie Lee Curtis narrates this film about the wonders of the soil, bringing to life its environmental, economic, social and political impact through interviews with experts from all over the world. 90 minutes 2 p.m. “What’s Organic About Organic?” This 2009 film rings the alarm for the need to develop an ecological consciousness, showing that the organic food debate extends well beyond personal choice and into the realm of social responsibility. 85 minutes A post-screening discussion will feature filmmaker Shelley Rogers. 4 p.m. “A Sense of Wonder” This documentary-style film explores environmentalist Rachel Carson in the final year of her life. Struggling with cancer, she recounts with humor and anger the attacks on her by the chemical industry, government and press after she published her famous book “Silent Spring.” 55 minutes 6 p.m. “Earth Days” This film by Princeton native Robert Stone tells the story of the modern environmental movement through the eyes of nine Americans who took the movement from its beginnings in the 1950s to its moment of triumph in the 1970s: the original Earth Day. Stone uses eyewitness testimony and lots of archival footage to tell the story of how the green movement started and arrived at where it is today. 102 minutes. Screening at the Garden Theatre, 160 Nassau St., Princeton. A post-screening discussion at the library will feature filmmaker Robert Stone, pictured at right.
January 8 Noon “Call it Home: Searching for Truth on Bolinas Lagoon” This beautiful, slowly disappearing lagoon is the subject of a decades-long community debate. The film is in part a legacy for the local Northern California coastal communities and their commitment to saving their environment. The story took many twists and turns during the four years of filmmaking. 50 minutes 2 p.m. Talk: Oceans in Crisis by Margo Pellegrino In coastal communities all across America, one woman from Medford Lakes is paddling by on her mission to educate people and rally support for policy to address and correct the looming crisis facing our oceans. She has paddled the Eastern Seaboard and plans to cover the Pacific Coast next summer. 4 p.m. “Secrets of the Reef” This beautiful film immerses us into the metropolis of a Pacific coral reef as seen through the eyes of a sea turtle, a hermit crab, and a reef fish. Their struggle for survival is set against a backdrop of incredibly vivid color. The film’s ending is surprising and sobering. 78 minutes 7 p.m. “No Impact Man” The film follows New York-based author Colin Beaven, his wife and daughter, pictured at right, as they try to live a year substantially reducing their impact on the environment. 90 minutes A post-screening discussion will feature filmmakers Justin Schein and Eden Wurmfeld.