[caption id="attachment_3325" align="alignright" width="300" caption="DARK SIDE OF THE LENS by Mickey Smith"][/caption] September 14 // 5:30pm-8:00pm // Bently Reserve // Another chance to see many of the brilliant short films from the 2011 San Francisco Green Film Festival! Join us on Wednesday, September 14 to celebrate A Common Green at the Bently Reserve where we will be screening a selection of the festival’s short film highlights in the Farallon Room. The free film program will run throughout the event and includes: SKYLIGHT, David Baas, Canada 2009, 5 min THE HERD, Ken Wardrop, Ireland 2008, 4 min DARK SIDE OF THE LENS, Mickey Smith, UK 2010, 6 min PLASTIC STATE OF MIND, Ben Zolno, USA 2010, 3 min HOW YOUR MONEY WORKS, Tobias Knipf & Andreas Kronbeck, Germany 2010, 3 min GARBAGE ANGELS, Pierre Trudeau, Canada 2008, 6 min PLASTIC & GLASS, Tessa Joosse, France 2009, 10 min VARMINTS, Marc Craste, UK 2008, 24 min At A Common Green, San Francisco's leading nonprofits, foundations, and businesses will gather under one roof for an extraordinary chance to meet face-to-face. Sponsored by the Bently Reserve, Larkspur Hotels & Restaurants, Back to Earth Organic Catering, and the Business Council on Climate Change [BC3], A Common Green is a meeting of minds for the Bay Area's environmental communities and leaders, giving them the chance to join their efforts in improving the quality of life for San Francisco. The possibilities for new partnerships, projects, and initiatives are endless — but the goal for a greener future is common to all of the participants! More info at http://acommongreen.com/ Find our table in the Farallon Room next to the Banking Hall to meet with the festival team and pick-up a festival t-shirt or bag! NOTE The event is free but all participants must register to attend; space is limited. Please register at http://acommongreen.com/ to receive an invitation and confirmation via email a week before the event. DIRECTIONS All attendees are encouraged to take public transportation to the event. Bently Reserve is located at 301 Battery Street near the Embarcadero MUNI / Bart station.

Star in your own 60 seconds-or-less video that shows what you are doing to promote pollution prevention and see your film on the big screen at the 2012 San Francisco Green Film Festival! Video submission deadline is September 14. Entry form, rules, plus news on the latest prizes (including Grand Prize of a screening at SFGFF in March 2012!) at: http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/pollutionprevention/p2week.cfm Sponsored by Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) and Western Sustainability and Pollution Prevention Network.

*** CALL FOR ENTRIES IS NOW CLOSED FOR THE 2012 FESTIVAL *** The final deadline was October 29, 2011. If you already submitted a film, notifications will be sent out in January 2012. Call for Entries for the 2013 Festival will open in Fall 2012. Our programming team can be contacted at films@sfgreenfilmfest.org

July 23 // 4:30 pm // Castro Theatre // A huge hit at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, the kaleidoscope of clips and mind boggling animation in this wide-ranging documentary are so entertaining one could happily watch it with the sound off. But it would be a shame to miss Tiffany Shlain’s meditations on modern life and technology. The Bay Area–based filmmaker delves into everything from the honeybee crisis to her household’s weekly “technology shabbat” to her father’s struggle with brain cancer, all in an effort to understand our need to connect. The director will attend the 7/23 screening. Tickets are $12 general/$10 Jewish Film Forum Members. Screening as part of the 31st San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, taking place July 21-August 8, 2011 in theaters throughout the Bay Area. For information, tickets, and full schedule visit www.sfjff.org or call 415-621-0523

July 10 & 11 // Roxie Theater, 3117 16th Street // Harry Shearer IN PERSON after the 7:00 pm & before the 9:00 pm shows! In 2005, a disaster struck New Orleans. In THE BIG UNEASY, humorist and New Orleans resident Harry Shearer gets the inside story of a disaster that could have been prevented. Shearer speaks to the tireless investigators and experts who poked through the muck and uncovers a courageous whistle-blower from the Army Corps of Engineers. His dogged pursuit of facts reveals that some of the same flawed methods responsible for levee failure during Hurricane Katrina are being used to rebuild the system expected to protect the "new" New Orleans from future peril. Click here for more info, trailer, showtimes and tickets.

July 5-18 // San Francisco Public Libraries (various locations) // Another chance to see our popular 2011 Opening Night film BAG IT. We are partnering with SFPL GreenStacks and SF Department of the Environment to present five neighborhood library branch screenings and a grand finale screening at the Main Branch at Civic Center. Follow “everyman” Jeb Berrier as he travels through our entangled plastic world. Jeb is not a radical environmentalist, but an average American who decides to take a closer look at our cultural love affair with everything plastic. What he learns quickly grows far beyond plastic bags in this humorous and insightful film. The FREE screenings will include intros and experts. July 5 // 7:00 pm ~ West Portal Branch Library July 9 // 2:00 pm ~ Portola Branch Library July 13 // 6:30 pm ~ Mission Bay Branch Library July 18 // 7:00 pm ~ Western Addition Branch Library July 26 // 6:30 pm ~ Anza Branch Library July 28 // 5:45 pm ~ Main Branch Library

July 15-21 // Landmark’s Lumiere Theatre, San Francisco and Landmark’s Shattuck Cinemas, Berkeley // On December 7, 2005, federal agents conducted a nationwide sweep of radical environmentalists involved with the Earth Liberation Front (ELF)—an organization the FBI has called America’s “number one domestic terrorism threat.” A hit at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, IF A TREE FALLS follows the remarkable story of the ELF’s rise and fall, told through the transformation and radicalization of one of its members, Daniel McGowan. Part coming-of-age tale, part cops-and-robbers thriller, the film interweaves a chronicle of McGowan facing life in prison with a dramatic investigation of the events that led to his involvement with the ELF. Showtimes and tickets will be available by July 12 at landmarktheatres.com/tickets/ and theatre box office.

The SFGFF 2011 Centerpiece film is now available to watch online HERE. (Please don't forget to rate the film too!) In 1988, filmmaker Kevin Tomlinson filmed & interviewed a group of back-to-the-land "hippies"—living off-grid, insulated from mainstream culture. In 2006 he tracked down his subjects again to find out what had become of their families’ utopian plans and dreams. The film captures a time-lapse view of these back-to-the-landers told with moving personal stories of dedicated tribal families— lots of freedom but little cash, unflinching grass-roots activism and hippie kids who today ask whether free love was really free. Watch online at cultureunplugged.com

June 29 // 6:15pm // San Francisco Public Library Main Branch // Here’s your opportunity to see 2011 festival film GREEN by Patrick Rouxel one more time. This multi-award winning film explores the devastating impacts of logging and the palm oil industry on Orang-utan habitat in Indonesia.

DIVE! by Jeremy Seifert is now available on DVD and will be on Netflix from July 19. Follow filmmaker Jeremy Seifert and friends as they dumpster dive in the back alleys and garbage bins of Los Angeles’ supermarkets. In the process, they salvage thousands of dollars worth of good, edible food – resulting in an inspiring journey that is equal parts entertainment, guerilla journalism and call to action about food waste in America. There are some bonus goodies on the new DVD edition including short vignettes featuring each of the dumpster bros. Click here to order DVD at 30% off. The Festival’s 2011 Green Tenacity Award winner BANANAS!* by Fredrik Gerrten is now available on DVD here. In this suspenseful courtroom drama, Fredrik Gertten, Sweden’s pre-eminent documentarian and investigative journalist, courageously examines a highly controversial legal case pitting a dozen Nicaraguan plantation workers against Dole Food Corporation. GOOD FORTUNE by Landon Van Soest is now available on Netflix to watch instantly. Jackson, Silva, and Okech fight against the odds as they confront massive international development projects threatening to destroy their homes and livelihoods in rural Kenya. Though the West spends trillions of dollars in charitable aid, many of our best intentions have actually undermined the communities they aimed to benefit.

On March 3-6, 2011 the first ever San Francisco Green Film Festival premiered, with a goal to inspire environmental action through media arts. Another important aspect to a Green Film Festival is that the event itself was Green.

So, what does it mean to be a Green Event?

Dominican University of California GreenMBA Candidates Robin Carew, Angela Bohl, Sasha Fedulow attended the SF Green Film Festival to find out more: “We were very curious to learn the festival’s greening efforts, especially since this is the first film festival in San Francisco to target green-minded audiences over the course of four days. What were some of the considerations to choose the event locations? How do they integrate technology? Do they practice green choices in their offices? What model do they set for other events? To help understand the answers, Rachel Caplan, the Founder and Executive Director of the SF Green Film Festival, shared their green practices in this Greening Report.”

April 26-30 // KQED // Festival Opening Night film BAG IT hits the airwaves April 26-30! Mark your calendars - and don't forget to tell your friends too. This film will change your life! Americans use 60,000 plastic bags every five minutes, disposable bags that they throw away without much thought. But where is “away”? Where do the bags and other plastics end up, and at what cost to the environment, marine life, and human health? “Bag It” follows “everyman” Jeb Berrier as he navigates our plastic world. What he learns quickly grows far beyond plastic bags… Click here for other local PBS station showtimes throughout April.

Many congratulations to Festival Advisory Board member Roz Savage for launching her historic solo row across the Indian Ocean from Fremantle, Australia to Mumbai, India (approx. 6,500km!). Roz is an ocean rower and environmental campaigner, whose previous solo rows include the Atlantic in 2005-6 and the Pacific in 2008-10. Before departure, she shared these thoughts: "What we need is more consciousness. We've got some big (environmental) challenges ahead. A lot of people feel like they can't do a lot, but we all have to do our best. It's not just about raising awareness, but to take some action too". The Festival is sponsoring mile #57! Please pledge your support and follow the journey at www.rozsavage.com

May 27 // Roxie Theater // Did you miss our SF Premiere of "Into Eternity", a terrifying look at our efforts to find solutions to the radioactive waste issue? Don't miss the opportunity to catch the film again at San Francisco's Roxie Theater in May. Go to the "Nuclear Facts" tab at http://www.intoeternitythemovie.com to get the nuclear 101 - and read this message from director Michael Madsen in response to the dire emergency in Fukishima after the Japan earthquake.

(March 6, 2011, San Francisco, CA) – The 1st San Francisco Green Film Festival (SFGFF), which made its debut March 3-6, 2011, announced today the recipient of the festival’s inaugural Green Tenacity Award. The award, to be given annually to a filmmaker who shows great tenacity in exploring crucial environmental issues in their work, was presented to director Fredrik Gertten for his film BANANAS!* which screened at the festival. The festival’s 25-person Screening Committee, including international filmmakers, environmentalists, journalists, industry executives, and content experts, selected the award. BANANAS!* is a suspenseful, layer-peeling, court room drama chronicle contextualized within the global politics of food and First vs. Third world dynamics. Directed by Fredrik Gertten, Sweden’s pre-eminent documentarian and investigative journalist, BANANAS!* focuses on a slippery fact trail and a landmark and highly controversial legal case pitting a dozen Nicaraguan plantation workers against Dole Food Corporation and its alleged usage of a deadly banned pesticide and its probable link to generations of sterilized workers. For further information visit http://www.bananasthemovie.com Rachel Caplan, Executive Director of the San Francisco Green Film Festival said, “In BANANAS!* Gertten has shown great courage, integrity and dedication in bringing to light the plight of agricultural banana workers in Nicaragua. This is an important story to bring to global audiences and his commitment to the project deserves our highest honor.” The 1st San Francisco Green Film Festival ran March 3-6, 2011 with over 70 films representing 21 countries that were selected from over 300 submissions. FESTIVAL SPONSORS The 1st San Francisco Green Film Festival sponsors include: Lead Sponsors: East Bay Regional Park District, Zhangjiang Apartment; Supporting Sponsors: Dominican University Green MBA, Farallone Pacific Insurance Services, New Resource Bank; Venue Partners: Bently Reserve, Landmark Theatres, Nightlife at the California Academy of Sciences; Media Sponsors: The Bay Citizen, Bay Nature, Earth Island Journal, Ecofabulous, New America Media. The participation of these organizations supports costs associated with the 4-day festival and SFGFF’s year-round programs. ABOUT SFGFF SFGFF is the Bay Area’s new, leading festival for innovative film, television, and digital media that explore green and sustainability issues. The first festival (March 3-6) screened over 70 premieres from around the globe during four days of film showcases, panels, workshops, networking and special events. Highlights included a live satellite feed Q&A with iconic writer and environmentalist Margaret Atwood; the West Coast premiere of Werner Herzog’s Happy People: A Year in the Taiga; a special screening of Home presented by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, and visiting filmmakers from Sweden, UK, Canada, Brazil, Fiji, France, Germany and across the USA, spectacular Opening Night Green Carpet Gala, and more. For more information, visit http://sfgreenfilmfest.org or contact info@sfgreenfilmfest.org or (415) 742-1394.

A live event blog from the Festival's work-in-progress screening and panel discussion around Soumyaa Kapil Behren's "My Garbage, My Neighborhood" on March 6, 2011.

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