Wild & Scenic Film Festival
Agriculture
films
July
30th - Columbia Center for Arts
Against The Current
– 19min.
Kathy Kasic
Growing towns and cities, sustained drought, the quest for national energy independence, and climate change are all putting new pressures on dwindling water supplies. In the face of such water demand, fish and wildlife are often left out. And there is one simple fact: fish need water. Told through the wisdom of four people, two ranchers, a biologist, and an environmental lawyer, this film brings together unexpected partners restoring a river. Silver Telly, Bronze Telly (USA, 2007, 19 min)
Ladies of the Land – 29min.
Megan Thompson
As small family farms continue to disappear, and large, mechanized farms dominate American agriculture, a new kind of farmer is sprouting up across the land: women. Although women have always been involved in farming, it has long been thought of as a “man’s job.” Traditionally, farm women have often identified themselves as something other than the “farmer.” This film follows four women who never thought they’d be farmers, but now who are dedicated to goats, grains, and green beans. (USA, 2006, 29min)
Owens Lake – 4min.
Channel G
In 1913 water diversions by the city of Los Angeles, 250 miles away, turned the largest lake in California into an alkali dry lakebed and dust bowl; last year the city of L.A. was forced to control the dust for violating the federal Clean Air Act and as a result of water being released onto the lake bed, thousands upon thousands of migratory birds have returned, some traveling from southern South America to Arctic breeding grounds; 62 miles of the Lower Owen River has also been restored; quite possibly the largest (and certainly unintentional) restoration project in North America and the world. (USA, 2007, 4min)
Intermission and Raffle
Fish and Cow – 17min.
Rick Smith
The Big Hole Valley lies in the southwest corner of Montana. High, cold, and remote, it is home to one of the last surviving populations of a unique and sensitive species of fish, the fluvial Arctic grayling. This film is a story about a group of dedicated ranchers and biologists finding common ground, not only to try and save this fish, but also to try and preserve the ecological health of the Big Hole Valley itself. Newcomer Finalist Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival (USA, 2007, 17min)
Fridays at the Farm – 19min.
Honorable Mention – Wild & Scenic Film Festival 2008
Richard Power Hoffman
Feeling disconnected from their food, a photographer/filmmaker and his family decide to join a community-supported organic farm. Moving from passive observer to active participant, the filmmaker photographs the natural processes of food cultivation. Featuring lush time-lapse and macrophotography sequences compiled from nearly 20,000 still images, this personal essay is a meditation on the miracles of life. Best Short, Green Film Festival, Seoul, Korea. Best Documentary, Sapporo Short Film Festival, Japan. (USA, 2006, 19min)
Pollen Nation – 26min.
Singeli Agnew and Joshua Fisher
Pollen Nation follows one migratory beekeeper and a semi-load full of honeybees from Minnesota to California. It's a science documentary disguised as an American road movie, and also the first film to take a look at the phenomenon of industrialized pollination, and the way it is beginning to unravel with dire consequences for all of us. The simple transaction between bee and flower remains a necessity in our complex, modern food system. As any beekeeper will tell you, bees pollinate one out of every three bites we eat. But today the bee population is in peril, threatened by factors both known and unknown. The number of hives in the US is nearly half of what it was thirty years ago. (USA, 2007, 26min.)
