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2015 Films (Archive) | Return to Current Films
All the Time in the World | Bluebird Man | Elephant Seals | Emptying the Skies | Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story | A Line in the Sand | Monsoon | Nobody's River | Old Fangs | Paper City | Sand Wars | A World Beyond the World | Wrenched |
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All the Time in the World | Black Bart Playhouse | March 14, 2015 | sponsored by OARS
In this deeply personal documentary, a family searches for a new perspective by leaving the comforts of home and taking their three children to live in the Yukon wilderness for nine months. They live remotely over the long Yukon winter in a small cabin with no road access, no electricity, no running water, no internet, no TV and not a single clock or watch. allthetimeintheworld.ca
Suzanne Crocker | 2014 | 89 min. | Canada
Bluebird Man | Black Bart Playhouse | March 14, 2015
Bluebird Man is the story of 91-year-old Al Larson, a self-taught conservation hero who has committed the last 35 years of his life to saving North America’s bluebirds. Breathtaking scenery, intimate conversations and stunning footage of all three species of bluebird create a powerful film with the goal of inspiring our next generation of citizen scientists.
Neil Paprocki and Matthew Podolsky | 2014 | 27 min. | USA
Elephant Seals - California's Coast | Columbia College | November 7, 2015
Off the shores of the Pacific Ocean, Massive northern elephant seals battle like gladiators to become kings of the beach. Each year, the seals are forced to fight their way through towering waves to migrate to California's central coast. They arrive for one purpose. To breed. As the beach is filled with 5 ton bulls, they clash, bite and brutally attack each other to win a harem and claim themselves to be California's "Beach Masters".
Alex Jones | 2013 | 8 min. | USA
Emptying the Skies | Black Bart Playhouse | March 14, 2015 | Sponsored by Dr. Dorit Eliou
Based on a magazine essay written by noted best-selling novelist Jonathan Franzen for 'The New Yorker' and widely republished around the world, 'Emptying the Skies' chronicles the rampant poaching of migratory songbirds in southern Europe. Songbird populations have been drastically declining for several decades, and a number of species face extinction imminently. The film explores the wonder of these tiny globe-flying marvels, millions of which are unlawfully slaughtered each year for large sums on the black market, and follows an intrepid squad of pan-European bird-lovers who risk their lives waging a secret war against poachers, disrupting illegal trapping and freeing as many birds as possible. Jonathan Franzen is executive producer of and featured in the film.
Douglas Kass, Roger Kass| 2013 | 78 min. | USA, Italy, Germany, France, Cyprus
Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story | Columbia College | November 7, 2015
We all love food. As a society, we devour countless cooking shows, culinary magazines and foodie blogs. So how could we possibly be throwing nearly 50% of it in the trash? Filmmakers and food lovers Jen and Grant dive into the issue of waste from farm, through retail, all the way to the back of their own fridge. After catching a glimpse of the billions of dollars of good food that is tossed each year in North America, they pledge to quit grocery shopping cold turkey and survive only on foods that would otherwise be thrown away. In a nation where one in 10 people is food insecure, the images they capture of squandered groceries are both shocking and strangely compelling. But as Grant’s addictive personality turns full tilt towards food rescue, the ‘thrill of the find’ has unexpected consequences. Featuring interviews with TED lecturer Tristram Stewart and acclaimed author Jonathan Bloom, Just Eat It looks at our systemic obsession with expiry dates, perfect produce and portion sizes, and reveals the core of this seemingly insignificant issue that is having devastating consequences around the globe. Just Eat It brings farmers, retailers, inspiring organizations, and consumers to the table in a cinematic story that is equal parts education and delicious entertainment.
Grant Baldwin| 2014 | 75 min. | Canada
A Line in the Sand | Newsome Harlow | May 9, 2015
Description: Edward Abbey’s words have always been deliberately provocative–especially when said in defense of the desert landscape he loved so much. The words in this film are a mash-up of quotes from speeches to articles, to interviews and books. Abbey was willing to say things that no one else would, and his sentiment is relevant now more than ever. What will we stand up for? What will be lost if we chose not to stand at all?
Justin Clifton & Chris Cresci | 2014 | 3 min. | USA
Monsoon | Collumbia College | November 7, 2015
Monsoon is a feature documentary from multiple award-winning filmmaker Sturla Gunnarsson. Filmed over the course of India’s 2013 monsoon season in ultra high definition, the filmmakers chased the monsoon on its annual journey from the southern state of Kerala, where it first makes landfall, to India's north-eastern state of Meghalaya (Place of the Clouds), where the clouds go to die. Along the way, they meet a remarkable group of individuals whose lives are in different ways entwined with the phenomenon that some call 'the soul of India'. A cinematic journey into the terrain where nature, science, belief and wonder converge in one of the most astonishing and breathtaking landscapes on earth, Monsoon is a film that captures the timelessness and rich human drama of our engagement with the natural world.
Sturla Gunnarsson | 2014 | 108 min. | Canada
Nobody's River | Black Bart Playhouse | March 14, 2015 | Sponsored by Holly and Rodger Orman
Over 70 days, from Mongolia to Russia, and traveling 5,000 kilometers along the Amur River, a team of four women documented the challenges, triumphs, and often hilarious adventures of an incredible journey. Their tales are of misadventures, pristine river valleys, Mongolian Moonshine, Siberian train rides, the Russian industrial complex, and a river as big as the ocean. This film, from NRS and Wazee Motion Pictures, documents their trip along one of the few remaining free-flowing rivers of the world and through the complexities of love and loss. From their hilarious antics to deeply human struggles, these ladies shine a light on the soul of internal and external exploration. nobodysriver.org
Skip Armstrong | 2014 | 31 min. | USA
Old Fangs | Columbia College | November 7, 2015
A young wolf decides to confront his father. He had not seen him since he was a child.
Adrien Merigeau, Alan Holly | 2010 | 12 min. | Ireland
Paper City | Black Bart Playhouse| March 14, 2015
The streets are paved with paper. This delicate animation follows the charming rise and fold of a fragile metropolis. Captured by an unseen helicopter, the narrative unfolds through winding roads, erupting forests and emerging mountains. Paper City grows in one fluid take, with skyscrapers rising from the page – only to crumble, wrinkle and gently crease back into the ground.
Maciej Janicki | 2013 | 2 min. | UK
Sand Wars | Columbia College | November 7, 2015
Sand Wars is a surprising investigation into one of the most consumed natural resources on the planet. Due to the high demand for sand, the planet’s reserves are being threatened. Three-quarters of the world’s beaches are in decline and bound to disappear as victims of erosion, or of sand smuggling. Triggered by building construction, smuggling bands, or “sand mafias,” plunder beaches and rivers for this highly prized commodity. Sand Wars will take us around the world to witness this new gold rush firsthand. Film in France, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Morocco, Singapore, USA, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom.
Denis Delestrac | 2013 | 52 min. | France
A World Beyond the World | Black Bart Playhouse | March 14, 2015
Using text adapted from Robert Marshalls “Alaska Wilderness: Exploring the Brooks Range” (1929) and images from Expedition Arguk (2013), “The World Beyond the World” aims to celebrate that most ancient and sublime of human pleasures: moving through a mysterious, beautiful, and unknown landscape.
Paxson Woelber | 2014 | 3 min. | USA
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Wrenched | Newsome Harlow | May 9, 2015 | Sponsored by Sol Sierra
The film Wrenched captures the passing of the monkey wrench from the pioneers of eco-activism to the new generation which will carry Edward Abbey's legacy into the 21st century. The fight continues to sustain the last bastion of the American wilderness–the spirit of the West.
ML Lincoln | 2014 | 93 min. | USA
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