In our generation, going green has gone from a hippie-centric fad to a full-blown industry. From celebrity-designed reusable totes to trendy organic food stores, it seems that “saving the planet” is, to some degree, on everyone’s mind. But beyond our Sigg water bottles, what do we really know about the problems facing the environment today?
For those yearning to learn more, look no further than D.C.’s 19th annual Environmental Film Festival, which runs Mar. 15-27. With 150 events taking place in museums, libraries, theaters, and universities all over the District, the film festival invites viewers to step back and join in a “celebration of the natural world” that is both varied and thoroughly 2011-pertinent. This diverse lineup, which, according to its website, includes “documentary, narrative, animated, archival, experimental and children’s films,” is designed to engage its participants in current, pressing debates about the environment, like the impact of energy on our increasingly consumption-dominated society.
With this aim in mind, this internationally-renowned festival includes countless films worthy of recognition, including numerous world premieres. Equally impressive is the breadth of films, which highlight subjects as diverse as oceanography, nuclear wastelands, and the threats facing the wilderness. Likewise, the festival’s featured filmmakers bring a host of fresh perspectives, with works from 40 different countries by professional filmmakers and students alike.
For the plant- and food-loving naturalists, today features the “Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Wine” program, which includes the world premiere of America’s Sustainable Garden: United States Botanic Garden, and the D.C. premiers of Portrait of a Winemaker: John Williams of Frog’s Leap, and Out to Pasture: The Future of Farming. Shown at the Maret School, this program also features a discussion with Allen Moore, director of Out to Pasture and his student film crew.
Travel enthusiasts, or just those who are big fans of 3D movies, will enjoy the IMAX Arabia 3D at the National Museum of Natural history on Saturday. Arabia immerses the viewer in a story of Saudi Arabia’s rich faith, culture, and natural beauty. Filmmaker Hamzah Jamjoom, a 22-year-old Saudi film student, profiles the millions of Muslims who have taken the sacred pilgrimage of the Hajj. The film, which was a post-9/11 effort to correct the extremist stereotype that Jamjoom felt Americans had assigned to Muslims, bridges cultures through a powerful visual experience. It’s heavy, unexpected topics like this—which focus on so much more than just grass growing—that make this year’s festival such a dynamic and multifaceted event.
But if you don’t feel like taking a bike or Envirocab to an off-campus screening, Georgetown is also hosting events right on the Hilltop. This Friday, Black Wave: the Legacy of Exxon Valdez and The Sinking Ship will be shown on campus as a part of the United Nations Association Traveling Film Festival. Documenting two oil-based environmental disasters, these films draw on personal reflections of the incidents and the communities that they hit the hardest, a topic that is especially timely and pertinent in the wake of this summer’s British Petroleum oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Despite the fact that everybody seems hell-bent on being eco-friendly, our generation still faces a plethora of environmental issues that continue to define the world we live in. D.C.’s Environmental Film festival not only provides information, entertainment, and artistic value, but a forum for discussion about solutions to these issues. So pack up those Sigg bottles in your reusable tote, and go learn exactly why you put so much effort into going green.
