Planet in Focus Newsflash: March 20, 2008

NEWSFLASH!

Planet in Focus: International Environmental Film & Video Festival
October 22 – 26, 2008
www.planetinfocus.org

March 20, 2008

In This Newsflash:

1. Mixed Greens – Friday, March 28, Gardiner Museum, Toronto, Ontario
2. Garbage Warrior out on DVD
3. PIF at Hot Docs, April 17-27, 2008
4. Call for Volunteers – Green Living Show

1. Mixed Greens, Friday, March 28, 2008, 6:45pm Pay What You Can

Join us at the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art, 111 Queen’s Park on the last Friday of each month as we celebrate the best environmental films from our 2007 festival! Selected straight from our 2007 festival line-up, here is your chance to experience again or for the first time this rare and note worthy collection of films from around the country and around the world!

Screening Friday, March 28, 6:45pm

-40 Degrees Celsius
Paul Davis
Canada, short, 2007
14 mins. (Beta)

It is -40 degrees and pitch dark in a small sub-arctic town. The phone rings. You bike to work up hill 9 km in temperatures where steel cracks.

Edge of Eden: Living with Grizzlies
Jeff and Sue Turner
Canada, documentary, 2007
88 mins.

In Kamchatka, the most easterly region of Russia, a little miracle with huge implications is in the works. Considered by many to be the most dangerous animal in the world the grizzly bear, an endangered species, finds a protector and defender in Canadian conservationist, Charlie Russell. As a surrogate mother he struggles to reintroduce orphaned cubs to the wild against the backdrop of a dramatic landscape filled with lurking predators and poachers. Filmed in the course of a year, this relationship is bound to fill you with awe and sure to win your hearts and minds.

For complete program details, please visit our website at www.planetinfocus.org/mixedgreens

2. Garbage Warrior, Release Date: April 8th, 2008, Mongrel Media

GARBAGE WARRIOR is a feature-length documentary film telling the epic story of maverick US architect Michael Reynolds and his fight to introduce radically sustainable housing. The DVD goes on sale April 8th, 2008 at select retailers.

Garbage Warrior
A film by Oliver Hodge

What do beer cans, car tires and water bottles have in common? Not much unless you're renegade architect Michael Reynolds, in which case they are tools of choice for producing thermal mass and energy-independent housing. For 30 years New Mexico-based Reynolds and his green disciples have devoted their time to advancing the art of "earthship biotecture" by building self-sufficient, off-the-grid communities where design and function converge in eco-harmony.

However, these experimental structures that defy state standards create conflict between Reynolds and the authorities, who are backed by big business. Frustrated by antiquated legislation, Reynolds lobbies for the right to create a sustainable living test site. While politicians hum and ha, Mother Nature strikes, leaving communities devastated by tsunamis and hurricanes.

Official trailer: http://www.garbagewarrior.com/

4. PIF at Hot Docs, April 17 – 27, 2008

Planet in Focus: Toronto International Environmental Film and Video Festival
Is pleased to co-present “Garbage: The Revolution Starts at Home”
at the 15th Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival
April 17- 27, 2008

With his first son just born, filmmaker Andrew Nisker is very concerned with the state of our planet. As the average household level of consumption rises, so does the astronomical amount of waste we collectively create. Are we turning the earth into one giant garbage can? Determined to understand the damage we are doing, Nisker enlists the average urban family, the McDonald's, to keep every scrap of garbage that they produce for three months in their increasingly smelly garage. From organic waste to dirty diapers, from plastic bottles to Christmas wrapping, the McDonald's discover that for every action there is a reaction that affects them and the entire planet. At turns hilarious, provocative, and alarming, Garbage! The Revolution Starts at Home will change the way you think about the garbage sitting out on your curb and will make you think twice before you eat on paper plates. Directed by Andrew Nisker, Canada, 76 min.

BLOOR Sat Apr 19 1:00 PM
AL GREEN Tue Apr 22 9:00 PM

Ticket info:

Daytime Screenings Tickets (before 6 pm) $10, evening screenings (between 6 pm-11 pm) are $12 each and Late Night Screenings (after 11PM) are $5. Order advance tickets and pass sales at the DOCUMENTARY Box Office (87 Avenue Road, 2 Blocks North of Bloor, upper level of Hazelton Lanes), online at www.hotdocs.ca, or by phone at 416-637-5150. On the day of the screening, all daytime screenings are FREE for students and seniors with valid ID, courtesy of the Toronto Star.

Visit www.hotdocs.ca for further information and detailed film descriptions.

4. Volunteer Opportunities – Green Living Show in Toronto

This is a unique opportunity for volunteers. PIF will be presenting films at the Green Living Show in Toronto April 25-27, 2008 at the Direct Energy Centre, Exhibition Place. There will be a more complete schedule developed in the coming weeks.

Volunteers are needed for ushering support.

We need volunteers to help guide guests to their seats and encourage them to sign up for our newsletter. Please note that there will be a uniform provided.

Volunteers who work at the Green Living Show will receive access to the show between shifts with PIF. Volunteers who also accumulate more that 6 hours worked will receive a festival pass to the 2008 festival in October! If you are interested in this opportunity, please email kim@planetinfocus.org and we will be in touch with you in the coming weeks.

416-531-1769