The inaugural 2012 Earth Port Film Festival, featuring short films focused on inventing, discovering, inspiring, catalyzing, or documenting environmental action through the media of film and video, took place on May 12, 2012 at the Firehouse Center for the Arts. Thank you to all the filmmakers who submitted entries to the festival.
2012 AWARD WINNERS
Youth Film:
Lights Out, Devon Halliday, RubyCube Entertainment
Adult Very Short Film:
River of Dreams, John Antonelli, Mill Valley Film Group
Adult Short Film:
Second Hand, Isaac King
Audience Choice:
Chasing Water, Brick + Mortar Productions
We journeyed from a family’s mission to save the California condor, to the depths of the Stellwagen Bank, from a community-owned solar power company in Germany to a Massachusetts garage built of recycled tires, from a delightfully quirky animation about waste to the amazing cinematography following the Colorado River from source to sea.
Two separate blocks of films were shown. A listing of the films for each screening and film details are below:
2:00 PM Matinee Films
(Matinee Tickets: $5 for students, $12 for adults)
5:30 PM Reception
Light Refreshments and Cash Bar
7:00 PM Evening Films – Audience Choice Winner to be selected by attendees
(Evening Tickets: $7 for students, $15 for adults)
EVENING FILMS
River of Dreams (John Antonelli)
Winner Adult Very Short Film
Prigi Arisandi, a charismatic teacher in Indonesia, leads the cleanup of the Surabaya River from a flood of industrial chemicals and sewage that are causing severe health issues. His work to get youth involved is one of the keys to the future success of the venture.
The Grid (Will Parrinello)
Community activists in the mountain village of Schonau, Germany, decide to promote sustainable energy after the Chernobyl accident. They boldly purchase the local power grid and become a cooperative citizen-owned power company, successfully supplying and selling their own renewable energy.
Second Hand (Isaac King)
Winner Adult Short Film
This delightfully quirky animated film examines the imbalance and waste created by the modern obsessions of time and stuff.
The term “second hand” refers to the ticking hand on a clock; it also describes re-used items. Would you rather save time? Or save stuff?
My Toxic Reality (Tom Dusenbery)
Activist and local entrepreneur Hilton Kelley, returned home to his environmentally damaged Port Arthur, Texas, to fight a major industrial polluter and to help to rebuild his struggling coastal community.
Chasing Water (Brick+Mortar Productions)
Follow the Colorado River, source to sea, with photographer Pete McBride, who takes an intimate look at the watershed as he attempts to follow the irrigation water that sustains his family’s Colorado ranch, down river to the sea. The beautifully filmed 1500 mile journey documents the stresses on the river.
The Last Kankan of Nakhchivan (Chaim Litewski, UN 21st Century)
Water scarcity has become one of the world’s greatest challenges. In less than 20 years, nearly two billion people could face shortages. But Azerbaijan, which sits between Europe and Western Asia, has come up with an ingenious solution to its water crisis by looking to its past for inspiration.
Lights Out (Devon Halliday)
Youth Winner
A film that encourages green living by showing teens turning out lights around the house to save energy.
Anna, Emma and the Condors (Katja Torneman)
In a world of climate change and environmental challenge, two sisters Anna, Emma and their compassion stands out as a beacon of hope. Together with their father Chris Parish, Director of the Condor Project at Vermillion Cliffs and their mother Ellen Parish, they fight for the survival of the condors.
Stellwagen Sweep: Restoring Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (Ben Cowie-Haskell, Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary)
This documentary raises awareness about the problem of lost fishing gear in the Stellwagen Bank, National Marine Sanctuary. Lost fishing gear, also called ghost gear continues to fish when it is lost on the seafloor, unnecessarily killing fish and other wildlife. The film’s message is that when conservationists and fishermen join forces, good things can happen.
Rhino’s Flight (John Antonelli)
Roal du Toit leads a group of dedicated environmentalists protecting Zimbabwe’s rhino population from poachers by using their experience, professional skills and the latest technology. They work to also bring the local community together for this cause.
The Coral Gardener (Elizabeth White & Emma Robens)
Coral reefs are like underwater gardens, but who would have thought you could garden them the same? Austin Bowden-Kerby is a coral gardener. He has brought together his love of gardening and passion for the underwater world, to do something very special that might just save the coral reefs of Fiji.
MATINEE FILMS
Lights Out (Devon Halliday)
A film that encourages green living by showing teens turning out lights around the house to save energy.
Second Hand (Isaac King)
The term “second hand” refers to the ticking hand on a clock; it also describes re-used items. Would you rather save time? Or save stuff? This film examines the imbalance and waste created by these modern obsessions.
Anna, Emma and the Condors (Katja Torneman)
In a world of climate change and environmental challenge, two sisters Anna, Emma and their compassion stands out as a beacon of hope. Together with their father Chris Parish, Director of the Condor Project at Vermillion Cliffs and their mother Ellen Parish, they fight for the survival of the condors.
The Coral Gardener (Elizabeth White & Emma Robens)
Coral reefs are like underwater gardens, but who would have thought you could garden them the same? Austin Bowden-Kerby is a coral gardener. He has brought together his love of gardening and passion for the underwater world, to do something very special that might just save the coral reefs of Fiji.
Honey for the Maya (Stephen Buchmann)
Share a glimpse of millennia-old Mayan bee craft among temples and tropical forests. Deep in the rainforest of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, in the shadow of his ancestors’ great stone pyramids, one of the last Mayan beekeepers guards an ancient secret. It was passed on to him directly from his fathers in the Mayan language, from long before the time of Cortez. Don Pedro Cahun is one of the last modern Maya upholding the bee craft skills needed for keeping stingless bees. All is unveiled as Emmy Award-winning cinematographer Keith Brust (Planet Earth) takes us inside a bee log, into the bees’ world, and this sacred Mayan tradition, for the first time.
Green Waste (Denise Stilley)
What if every person could actually make an impact on the world? “Green Waste” takes an in-depth look at the process of recycling and waste management in the community of Flagstaff. From recycling plastic bags, to re-using glass bottles, from recycling hazardous waste to the efforts of local businesses, the film shows how every contribution, no matter how small, can collectively make the difference for a better tomorrow