NOTE: All films, green exhibits, special events and discussions take place at
Sonoma Valley Woman's Club, 574 First Street East in Sonoma, Ca.

Tickets are for individual films
$10 General

$8 Seniors (62+) and Students
Tickets go on sale day of show.

Schedule at a glance (PDF, all on one page)

FRIDAY JANUARY 22ND
1:30PM – 2:30PM

Program of four (4) short films:
The Edge of the Sea (26m, Puerto Rico, U S A)

By Bay Area filmmaker Maria Jose Calderon
majocalderon@gmail.com
Categories: Human Rights, Coastal Development, Sustainable Fishing
BAY AREA PREMIERE

In the past fifty years, 61-year old fisherman Pauco Font has seen the white sand beaches of his Puerto Rico hometown disappearing due to erosion caused by mega developments. In 2008, Pauco and members of his community began to fight back.

Awards: Grand Fest Award, Berkeley FF, Wild & Scenic Student Filmmaker Award

Followed by Gimme a Hug (14m, Netherlands)

By Geert Droppers
protectthesharks@planet.nl
Category: Fish

This short documentary shows one of the most mysterious phenomena in the animal world; sharks showing a totally different behavior then most people would expect.

Followed by 'imush q'uyatl'un (4m, Canada)

By Karolle Wall
kwall@ecuad.ca
BAY AREA PREMIERE

This is a beautiful, short art film/documentary of a nudibranch (sea snail) dancing to the drum beat and rhythm of an aboriginal, Coast Salish Song.

Followed by
When People Thrive, Gorillas Survive (7m, USA)

By Robert Holmes
info@greenlivingproject.com
Category: Sustainable Community
BAY AREA PREMIERE

Gorilla Organization's mission is to secure the survival of the world's last remaining gorillas wherever they naturally occur by promoting long-term poverty alleviation and environmental education projects around the gorilla habitats.

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FRIDAY JANUARY 22ND
2:30 – 3:45PM

Seed Hunter (52m, Australia)

By Sally Ingleton
shelley@360degreefilms.com.au
Category: Food and Agriculture
BAY AREA PREMIERE

Our planet is heating up and one of the first casualties will be the crops that supply our food. Scientists are working overtime to find solutions including going back to the ancestral origins of our staple foods. This film takes us on a remarkable journey from the drought ravaged farms of Australia, to the heart of the Middle East, to the mountains of Tajikistan where charismatic Australian scientist Dr Ken Street – a real life version of Indiana Jones - and his team of ‘gene detectives’ hunt for plant genes that will help our food withstand the impact of 21st century global warming.

Along the way we meet farmers around the world who are struggling to grow crops in a climate that’s gone haywire, as well as scientists working at the front line of gene technology to save tomorrow’s food.

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FRIDAY JANUARY 22ND
4PM- 6PM

A Pirate for the Sea

By Ron Colby
www.seashepherd.org, www.harpseals.org
Categories: Biodiversity, Oceans, Fish, Human Rights
BAY AREA PREMIERE

Captain Paul Watson’s lifelong crusade is to enforce international law and protect marine wildlife. This self-styled "Rambo" and whale-whisperer takes on the challenge of defending whale sanctuaries and biodiversity in the furthest reaches of abandoned ocean expanses. Ron Colby’s narrative tale defines the portrait of this extremist among environmentalists and explores new dimensions in personal power.

Woven throughout is actual footage from Paul’s daring confrontations with deep sea poachers, legal systems, and international publics. Having countless times looked in the eye of death and danger to be miraculously spared, Paul has been said to possess “the Paul Watson factor” - much like a life force that has kept his flame burning for decades, WARNING: graphic animal scenes.

Director Ron Colby spent eight years working on this project including participating as a crew member on voyages to Cocos Island in 2002, Antarctica in 2005 and to the Gulf of St. Lawrence in 2006. He joins us for a discussion after the screening.

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FRIDAY JANUARY 22ND
OPENING NIGHT!
6:30 - 9:30PM
$15 - General
$10 – Filmmakers, Pass-holders and Guest Speakers

This year the Opening Night film A Touch of Spice is from Greece. It is a feature length narrative with food as passion – a theme moviegoers have long observed like “Chocolat” and “Like Water for Chocolate.” Food is the lifeblood of humanity, garnishing tender moments and adding pizzazz to personal experience. Let the show begin!

6:30 – Opening Night Reception - Join us for appetizers with a Greek flair! Meet attending filmmakers, Event Sponsors, and Guest Speakers who will be on hand throughout the weekend.

A Touch of Spice (103m, Greece)

By Tassos Boulmetis
WEST COAST PREMIERE

The story is a semi-autobiographical dramedy rooted in novel narratives and sweeping dreamlike cinematography, rich with culinary imagery. Compelling from the get-go, the first shot is of a mother dabbing sugar onto her breast to lure a nursing infant. The baby, Fanis Iakovides, grows into an astrophysicist and closet chef, played as an adult by George Corraface. Young Fanis spends his childhood in Constantinople, mostly in his Grandpa’s spice shop. There, he witnesses Grandpa giving customers unorthodox tips, like to use cinnamon instead of cumin in their meatballs. Grandpa teaches Fanis how everything in existence (from the galaxies to etymology) traces back to simple spices. The bond is taut, but it is later torn when riots erupt in Cyprus and the Turkish government orders all Greek citizens deported. The family is divided, as Fanis and parents unwillingly relocate to Athens.

In Greece, Fanis discovers cooking, which he does precociously. But his parents worry about his un-masculine hobby and lock him out of the kitchen. This leads Fanis on a more pragmatic, scientific track. Not until adulthood, while Fanis is working as a professor, does his soul come full circle…

Preceded by R.R.R. (10m, USA)

By Stephen Ashton
film@wcff.us
WORLD PREMIERE

This short profiles master winemaker Robert Rex of Deerfield Ranch Winery who reveals himself as a master chef as he guides us through the making of his famous red wine reduction sauce.

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SATURDAY JANUARY 23rd
8AM - 9AM Continental Breakfast $5

9AM – 10:25AM

Battle for the Xingu (11m, USA)

By San Francisco filmmaker Iara Lee
wildgoose@gg3.com
Categories: Human Rights, Biodiversity, Water. Sustainable Community

The Xingu, a tributary of the Amazon, is home to over 10,000 indigenous people who rely on the river for survival. The Brazilian government is proposing what would be the world’s third largest hydroelectric dam, threatening to destroy the biodiversity of the region and deprive these people of their rights to a sustainable future. Ms. Lee was in Altamira in 2008 for the Xingu Alive Encounter to witness the spectacular determination of the Amazon people to protect their way of life. Today, plans to build the dam continue, so do the protests.

Meltdown in Tibet (40m, Canada)

By Michael Buckley
himmies757@yahoo.com
Categories: Water, Sustainable Community, Biodiversity
BAY AREA PREMIERE

Using undercover footage and stills, this film blows the lid off China's huge and potentially catastrophic dam-building projects in Tibet. The film raises disturbing questions about a looming eco-disaster--involving dwindling water resources of the Tibetan plateau. The major rivers of Tibet are at risk from rapidly receding glaciers--due to climate change--and from large-scale damming and diversion, due to Chinese engineering projects. Tibetan nomads are being shifted off their grassland habitat to make way for these projects. Why is China building so many large dams on the Tibetan plateau? What on earth are China's engineers getting up to?

Cattle, Craft and Cold, Hard Cash (7m, U S A)

By Robert Holmes
info@greenlivingproject.com
Category: Sustainable Community

In Mozambique, CARE's SEED (Sustainable and Effective Economic Development) program offers innovative approaches to poverty relief that are built beyond the beneficiary/recipient structure of historic aide organizations.

Discussion with filmmakers Iara Lee and Robert Holmes follows the films.

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SATURDAY JANUARY 23rd
10:40AM – 12 noon – FREE – No Admission for this program

Numen, The Nature of Plants (95m, USA)

By Terrence Youk and Ann Armbrecht
www.numenfilm.com
Categories: Sustainable Medicine, Well Being, Web of Life, Herbology
WEST COAST PREMIERE

This film focuses on the healing power of plants and the natural world. Filmmakers Terrence Youk and Ann Armbrecht traveled the U.S. to speak with doctors and herbalists, ethnobotanists and others about how our disconnection from nature affects human and environmental health, and to discover how healing is made possible by embracing our place in the wider web of life. Numen features stunning footage of medicinal plants and thought-provoking interviews advocating a re-awakening of traditional knowledge about plants and their uses. It provides viewers with a sobering view of conventional healthcare and the dangers of environmental insults as well as a new vision of safe, effective and sustainable medicine. Interviewees include herbalists Rosemary Gladstar, former owner of Sebastopol’s Rosemary’s Garden, Sonoma County herbalist David Hoffmann, Phyllis Light, Drs. Tieraona LowDog, Larry Dossey and Martha Herbert, and Kenny Ausubel founder of Bioneers, among others.

Discussion with Leslie Gardner, Director of Sonoma County Herb Exchange, Lynda LeMole, Executive Director of United Plant Savers, and David Hoffmann who is in Research & Development at Traditional Medicinals Tea Company after the film. There will also be an herbal tincture preparation demonstration.

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SATURDAY JANUARY 23rd 12:30PM – 3:20PM
$10 general
$8 students and seniors
This program includes a cooking demo, New Orleans inspired lunch/buffet two films and discussion.

Cooking Demo with Chef Maria Vieages

LIFE CAN CHANGE……………….EAT DESSERT FIRST

A VERY FITTING MOTTO FOR CHEF MARIA VIEAGES AFTER SURVIVING HURRICANE KATRINA. MARIA WILL TEACH YOU HOW TO MAKE BANANAS FOSTER IN HER FUN AND EASY GOING MANNER-COMPLETE WITH PYROMANIA.
BE PREPARED TO LAUGH, LEARN AND EAT!

followed by Lunch/Buffet (included in price of admission)

NEW ORLEANS MEETS SONOMA COUNTY

SONOMA BEET SALAD WITH CREOLE VINAIGRETTE AND LAURA CHENEL GOAT CHEESE
BAYOU SMOTHERED GREEN STRINGS FARM CABBAGE
LEEK AND POTATO SOUP WITH ANDOUILLE
CREOLE GLAZED CARROTS
CHICKEN AND SAUSAGE JAMBALAYA

Out Here in the Fields: Quail Hill Farm (10m, USA)

By Alec Hirschfeld
alec@easternlifefilms.org
Categories: Community Supported Agriculture, Land Trust success
BAY AREA PREMIERE

Quail Hill is a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm located in Amagansett, New York. The farm has over 200 member families, with 30 acres of land in production. This prime, resort area land is part of 192 acres, donated to the Peconic Land Trust by Deborah Ann Light in 1995. The inspirational story of this donation and the success of the farm is told through the voices of Ms. Light, Scott Chaskey (manager/farmer) and noted landscape photographer Kathryn Szoka

Followed by
Nourishing the Kids of Katrina: The Edible Schoolyard (31m, USA)

By Sacramento filmmaker Robert Lee Grant
NourishingTheKids.com
Categories: Edible School Gardens, Sustainable Urbanism, Healthy Food
BAY AREA PREMIERE

This compelling story follows the story of how renowned Chez Panisse Restaurant chef Alice Waters' Berkeley 'edible schoolyard' program - centered around the caring for children - is replicated and contributes to the rebirth of the New Orleans uptown Green Charter School after its devastation from Hurricane Katrina flood waters.

Discussion with filmmaker Robert Grant, Sonoma resident Kathleen Hill who is working on Sonoma Valley’s Edible School Garden Project, and Chef Maria Vieages, among others.

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SATURDAY JANUARY 23rd
3:30PM – 5:30PM

Urban Sustainability 101 (3m, USA)

By Robert Holmes
info@greenlivingproject.com

The Global Environment Facility's (GEF) Small Grants Programme aims to deliver global environmental benefits in the GEF Focal Areas of biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation, protection of international waters, prevention of land degradation, and elimination of persistent organic pollutants through community-based approaches.

Join us for a discussion with Dennis King of Solar Craft, Elizabeth Olcott and Bob Massaro of Healthy Buildings and a representative from Friedman's Home Improvement.

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SATURDAY JANUARY 23rd
6:30PM – 9:30PM
$12.50 general
$8 Filmmakers, Pass-holders and tonight’s Guest Speakers
This program is sponsored by Leland Fly Fishing Outfitters and Whole Foods of Sonoma. It includes a reception, two films and discussion.

6:30PM
Celebrate the Bounty of the Ocean!

Join us for an intimate reception/buffet of sustainable seafood and appetizers. Mingle and mix informally with Film Festival sponsors, special guest speakers and filmmakers.

7PM
Red Gold (55m, USA)

By Travis Rummel and Ben Knight
Categories: Sustainable Community, Water, Ocean, Fishery, Biodiversity
Red Gold premiered at Telluride Mountainfilm and won the “Audience Award” along with standing ovations for Telluride local filmmakers, Travis Rummel and Ben Knight, producers of fly-fishing films.
WINE COUNTRY PREMIERE:

In Bristol Bay, Alaska, a controversial copper and gold mine is proposed at the headwaters of Talarik Creek and Koktuli River, the world’s largest salmon fishery where tens of millions of trophy-size salmon spawn each year.

The film tells a story of remote Native American sustenance-users, Alaskan commercial fisherman, sport fisherman, and locals that all share the commonality of salmon fishing at the core of their existence. For the first time, all user groups come together in opposition of Pebble Mine development. And to be fair everyone in the film tells their own story the way they want to be heard, including the gold mine reps.

Followed by
Terra Antarctic:
Discovering the Seventh Continent (48 m, USA)

By Jon Bowermaster
jonbowemaster@yahoo.com
Categories: Ocean, Adventure, Sustainability
BAY AREA PREMIERE:

Filmmaker and adventure writer Jon Bowermaster has traveled around the world by sea kayak during the past ten years. His latest film, a National Geographic-sponsored exploration, is a one-of-a-kind look at Antarctica from a unique perspective - sea level.

For six weeks Jon and his team explored the Antarctic Peninsula by sea kayak, sailboat, foot and small plane, observing the fast changing evolution of this most remote place. Impacted by climate change - temperatures have warmed along the Peninsula faster than anywhere on the planet during the past 50 years - this part of Antarctica is also experiencing a boom in tourism and nations fighting over who owns what as its ice slowly disappears.

Terra Antarctica recently won best “Ocean Issues” film at the 1st Blue Ocean Film Festival as the film “that most effectively raises awareness and increases understanding about environmental and sustainability issues facing the oceans and its inhabitants.”

Discussion with Jon Bowermaster (see his bio under Special Guests) and Eddie Schoenbein of Leland Fly Fishing Outfitters after the films.

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SUNDAY JANUARY 24th
8:30AM – 9:15AM – Continental Breakfast
9:30AM – 10:45AM

Real McCoys (21m, USA)

By Melissa Thompson
melissa@tallgirlshorts.net
Categories: Water, Wildlife, Ecosystems, Human Rights
NORTH COAST PREMIERE:

Meet Nina and Mickey McCoy, school teachers from Inez, KY, as they take their fight against King Coal to Washington. This 20-minute video documents some of the disastrous impacts of coal mining on Central Appalachia. Twenty five percent of the McCoys' county has now been strip mined. In addition to the destruction of these historic landscapes, the process of mountaintop removal wreaks havoc on the ecosystem. The leftover material is dumped into 'valley fills,' which have thus far killed over 1,000 miles of streams. The cleaning of the coal brings still more problems: the sludge left over from the process is stored in enormous ponds, one of which broke in Inez, sending 350 million gallons of toxic waste into the McCoys' community. Since the sludge spill in 2000, residents of Inez have not been able to drink the town's water. 'How can anybody claim that if we don't have coal, we'll be worse off?' asks Nina. 'I don't think we could be any worse off.' The film also documents the McCoys' journey into activism. Tired of writing letters to congress people and getting no response, they decide to take their fight to the next level: they will risk arrest, along with hundreds of others, at the Capitol Climate Action in Washington…

What Would Darwin Think?
Man v. Nature in Galapagos (26m, USA)

By Jon Bowermaster
jonbowemaster@yahoo.com
Categories: Eco Biodiversity, Tourism, Sustainable Community BAY AREA PREMIERE

After Charles Darwin first visited the island archipelago of Galapagos in 1839, it took him another twenty years to decipher the scene he’d witnessed, the most perfectly preserved biodiversity on the planet. His theory of evolution – published 150 years ago – pulled back the curtain on a debate that had been simmering for years, and still percolates.

Today Darwin would be surprised by the tourist mecca Galapagos has become; 200,000 visitors a year, 40,000 permanent residents. The impact on the most unique collection of endemic wildlife in the world has been heavy; too many people bringing too many of their ways (and invasive species) from the outside world threatening the future of this one-of-a-kind place. What would Darwin think of how Galapagos has evolved in the twenty-first century?

Low Impact, High Style (5m, U S A)

By Robert Holmes
info@greenlivingproject.com
Categories: Alternative Energy, Green Building, Sustainable Community

A safari lodge adjacent to Lake Mburo National Park in Uganda, Mihingo Lodge leverages green and sustainable practices, operating almost entirely off the grid.

Q&A with Jon Bowermaster, Melissa Thompson, Mickey McCoy and Robert Holmes after the films.

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SUNDAY JANUARY 24th
10:45AM – 12:45PM

Obvious Luxury Rife with Responsible Subterfuge
(6m, USA)

By Robert Holmes
info@greenlivingproject.com

A luxury safari lodge and working farm, Gibb's Farm is located on the forested slopes of the wildlife rich 3,200 square mile Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

Followed by
What’s “Organic” About Organic? (75m, USA)

By Shelley Rogers
rogersshelley@yahoo.com
Categories: Food and Agriculture, Water
BAY AREA PREMIERE

This film is a headfirst dive into the challenges that arise when a grassroots agricultural movement evolves into a booming international market. The organic dairy industry’s access to pasture issue and the consolidation of the organic marketplace illustrate the conflicts that result when organic agricultural principles are compromised to fit within the industrial food system. The film provides insight for certification systems taking root across our society––from green building to fair trade––showing the pitfalls that can arise when idealism is formalized into a label.

Followed by
BK Farmyards: Growing More Than
Just Produce in NYC Backyards (5m, 2009, U.S.A.)

By Liza deGuia
lizadeguia@gmail.com

BK Farmyards is a Brooklyn based decentralized farming network providing local food to reduce the city’s reliance on fossil fuels and offering local jobs to boost the economy. They partner with homeowners, developers, schools, and city agencies to provide affordable produce to neighborhoods that lack access to fresh foods. Their strategy is to stay nimble, growing food between the cracks of urban development.

BK Farmyard's first growing season started May 2009: a 6-member CSA out of Ditmas park backyards. In 2010, they plan to expand the backyard farming and start some new types of land sharing. They are partnering with the High School for Public Service in Crown Heights to start a 1-acre farmyard. The site will feature a student run CSA, and teaching entrepreneurship to youth, helping them to start garden-based value added businesses. They are also are working with New York Restoration Project to rejuvenate community involvement in two under-utilized community gardens: on one of those sites we will be raising 30 hens.

BK Farmyards mission is to bring communities together around the dinner table, aiming to build a local food network that enhances the health of our culture, our people, and our environment.

Discussion with Trathen Heckman of Daily Acts Organization, Robert Holmes and other guest speakers follows the films.

The screening of Homegrown Revolution and Q & A session with the Dervaes family has been canceled

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SUNDAY JANUARY 24th
1PM – 3PM
FREE ADMISSION

A Sea Change: Imagine a World Without Fish (86m, USA)

By Barbara Ettinger
www.aseachange.net, www.onesky.org
Categories: Ocean Acidification, Fish, Oxygen, Climate Change
BAY AREA PREMIERE:

After reading Elizabeth Kolbert’s The Darkening Sea, retired history teacher Sven Huseby becomes obsessed with the rising acidity of the oceans and what this “sea change” bodes for mankind. Deeply concerned about what his grandson will inherent, he uncovers a worldwide crisis that most people are unaware of – ocean acidification, the so-called “evil twin” of climate change.

Speaking with oceanographers, marine biologists, climatologists, and artists, Sven discovers that global warming is only half the story of the environmental catastrophe. Ocean acidification is possibly a graver threat to our ecosystems - and to life as we know it - than climate disruption. Why? Because 70% of the oxygen we breathe comes from the ocean (from plankton and the process of photosynthesis). But with rising levels of CO2 in the ocean, the shells of these tiniest of sea creatures are eroding, killing them. Plankton is also at the bottom of the ocean’s seafood chain. No plankton = no fish = no oxygen….

Discussion with Barbara Ettinger and Sven Huseby who were recently in Copenhagen spreading the word about ocean acidification follows the screening.

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SUNDAY JANUARY 24th
3:15PM – 4:30PM

A Return to Dry Farming (12m 2009)

By Sonoma County filmmaker Kate Wilson
kate@russianriverkeeper.org
WORLD PREMIERE

This work in progress takes a look at the history and techniques of dry farming vineyards in Sonoma County. Interviews with local vintners and environmentalists explain how dry farming can be one solution to the current water shortages we face.

Followed by
A Simple Question: The Story of STRAW (35m, USA)

By Bay Area filmmakers David Donnenfield and Kevin White
david@ddpro.com
Categories: Watershed restoration, Water conservation, Habitat biodiversity
WINE COUNTRY PREMIERE:

Narrated by Peter Coyote, this film tells the story of STRAW-Students and Teachers Restoring a Watershed – from its modest origins in the 1992 as a fourth grade class project in a Sonoma County elementary school, to its growth into a remarkable program run by The Bay Institute, that has restored over 20 miles of habitat in the Stemple Creek drainage, and galvanized the local community.

Currently the program continues significant educational innovation about watershed restoration in Sonoma and Marin counties.

Followed by
Watershed Revolution (30m, USA)

By Rich Reid
rich@richreidphotography.com
Category: Watershed Preservation
WINE COUNTRY PREMIERE

This film asks the question “What is a Watershed?” The answer is explored through interviews with concerned citizens working to protect and preserve the Ventura River watershed while stunning high definition cinematography highlights the beauty of the river. The unique challenges faced by a river that is the sole source of water for a thirsty community are brought to life and will change forever your definition of a watershed.

It highlights the need for open space and floodplain protection, sustainable agriculture, and community awareness of our most precious resource: water.

Discussion with filmmakers Kate Wilson, David Donnenfield and Kevin White, and Sonoma residents John Parodi and Emily Allen of The Bay Institute after the films.

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SUNDAY JANUARY 24th
5PM – 7PM

Call of Life: Facing the Mass Extinction (129m, USA)

By Bay Area filmmakers Chera Van Burg
and Monte Thompson
cherav@earthlink.net
Category: Mass extinction, Biodiversity
BAY AREA PREMIERE

Can we create enough change in our minds, culture, and hearts to save the Earth? The first feature length film to investigate the growing threat from mass extinction, this film brings together leading scientists, social scientists, historians, environmentalists, activists, and visionary thinkers. They look beyond technological solutions and into humanity’s thoughts and behaviors that are inextricably linked to the factors driving mass extinction.

Discussion with Chera Van Burg and Professor Mary Gomes who teaches ecopsychology courses at Sonoma State University after the film.

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SUNDAY JANUARY 24th
7:30PM – 9PM – CLOSING NIGHT FILM

In keeping with a tradition set by our past two Film Festivals, we close this one with a stunning, inspirational feature film.

Blue Heavens (Tengri: Le Bleu Du Ciel) (France)

By Marie Jaoul De Poncheville
BAY AREA PREMIERE

Tengri is the oldest known Turkic word, meaning the God of Blue Sky. It is the incarnation of the infinite possibilities of life, if one is willing to risk everything.

This film is a visually stunning love story and a work of passion for a land and its people. Into the fertile green steppes of Kyrgyzstan, surrounded by cool pristine mountains and a wide blue sky, comes the vagabond Temur in search of his father and a place to start over. He arrives in a small farming village where he meets the beautiful Amira who suffers from an abusive marriage. A forbidden romance soon develops between them, but will their love survive the persecution of a traditional nomadic Kyrgyz and Muslim society? Only the heavens know.

SAVE THE DATE:
4th Annual Sonoma Environmental Film Festival
January 21 – 23, 2011