American Conservation Film Festival: 65 ways to celebrate the world
By Maggie Wolff Peterson
SHEPHERDSTOWN, West Virginia.
[dropcap]L[/dropcap]issa Cobetto has seen all 65 films that comprise this year’s American Conservation Film Festival, taking place today through Sunday, November 3, in Shepherdstown.
Cobetto, executive director of the festival, has seen the one-minute, ultra-short “A Road Through the Woods,” which describes the reclamation of an unused roadway by deciduous forest, that was inspired by the poetry of Rudyard Kipling.
She’s seen “The Lost Bird Project,” the festival’s Green Fire Award-winning film that tells the story of five breeds of bird driven to extinction in modern times, and a sculptor’s work to memorialize them in bronze.
She’s seen the sweetly kooky and definitely adults-only “Goodbye Gauley Mountain: An Ecosexual Love Story.”
Cobetto said “Goodbye Gauley Mountain” is “funny and explains mountaintop removal really, really well.”
But her favorite is “Rebels With A Cause,” the tale of city dwellers in San Francisco who began fighting in the 1950s to preserve public access to green spaces, and helped launch the environmental movement.
“Now people can walk along the coastline without someone owning it,” Cobetto said. “They fought. They fought for years.”
About 170 films were considered for this year’s festival, the 11th since 20 films were screened at the first festival in 2003.
“Filmmakers send films to us and we also look for films,” Cobetto said. “Almost anyone can suggest a film to us.”
Two panels of five screeners select the films for the festival. Cobetto said the theme of conservation goes beyond preserving the earth. “It could be conservation of cultures,” she said.
For example, the film, “The Hungry Tide,” describes the plight of 105,000 Pacific Islanders spread across 33 atolls, where climate change and rising ocean levels are obliterating the nation of Kiribati.
Or a film could be about creating a new culture. “TINY: A Story About Living Small” chronicles two people building a 130-square-foot house. With the size of the average American home having doubled since the 1970s, a movement has emerged to downsize homes to the dimensions of the average parking space.
In addition to screenings, the festival offers other events, including Frack Night and Nuke Night — evening film screenings that include panel discussions that highlight energy issues facing the region, nation and world. Additionally, throughout the festival, 23 filmmakers will introduce their films and stay to participate in post-film discussions.
And at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown on Saturday and Sunday, a filmmaking workshop called Producers Campus will provide learning opportunities for seasoned and aspiring filmmakers. Faculty and panel members from across the documentary film industry will lead workshops on story development and scriptwriting, use of imagery in storytelling, camera technique and film distribution.
Festival venues include the Shepherdstown Opera House Theater, Shepherd University, the National Conservation Training Center and the restaurants Blue Moon Café and Domestic. At the Bridge Gallery in Shepherdstown, an installation of recycled and found-object art and nature photography reflects the themes of the festival.
The festival, a nonprofit organization, is dedicated to promoting conservation through film, while offering filmmakers a place to both improve their craft and reach audiences.
“We know a picture is worth a thousand words,” Cobetto said. “A film is worth a billion words.”
Cobetto said people leave the festival with a changed attitude.
After learning about a giant area near Midway Atoll in the Pacific Ocean that collects plastic refuse from around the globe due to natural ocean currents, Cobetto said viewers reported, “they’ll never look at a plastic bag the same way again,” Cobetto said.“They switched to canvas.”
[information]If You Go
WHAT: American Conservation Film Festival
WHEN: Today through Sunday, Nov. 3; various times
WHERE: Five venues in Shepherdstown, W.Va.
COST: Full Festival Pass is $40, Students and Military with ID, $36; Block tickets are $10 for admission to a block of films at a specific time. $5 matinee tickets available for specific films.
CONTACT: Call (304) 876-7373
MORE: For a complete schedule, go to conservationfilm.org
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