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.

http://www.coveritlive.com/index2.php/option=com_altcaster/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=45dda00ce1/height=550/width=470

Become a Founding Donor and help us launch! The San Francisco Green Film Festival needs your participation. Your support directly underwrites our program costs and helps us bring films, filmmakers, and content experts to the festival and year-round events. All donors will receive recognition on the festival website, printed materials, and on-screen at our screenings and events. ~ Donate up to $25 and get a 1st Festival poster! (see bottom right of this page). ~ Donate over $25 and get the poster PLUS a limited edition SF Green Film Festival ChicoBag! ~ Donate over $50 and get the poster, the ChicoBag, PLUS a limited edition 1st Festival T-shirt! (Please include your shipping address and shirt size M, L or XL with the donation instructions). Tax-deductible donations can be made through SFGFF's 501(c)3 fiscal sponsor, Green Planet Films, a non-profit distributor of nature and environmental films from around the globe. As fiscal sponsor, Green Planet Films provides the non-profit status and back office support for SFGFF operations. Click the "Donate" button to donate any amount!
Donations can also be mailed to: Ninth Street Independent Film Center 145 9th St, Ste.101 San Francisco, CA 94103 ATTN: SF Green Film Festival Please make checks payable to "Green Planet Films". For further information or to discuss your contribution, please call Rachel Caplan at (415) 742-1394, email rachel@sfgreenfilmfest.org.

FILMS – IDEAS – ACTION! Join the San Francisco Green Film Festival, the first-ever festival of its kind on the West Coast. • Over 90 Film Premieres + “Festival Hub” Parties and Events • Panels and workshops with filmmakers and content experts • Appearances and talks by filmmakers and guests • Interactive and new media projects • Free screenings • Live music • Parties, galas, and networking Happy Hours The first-ever San Francisco Green Film Festival, March 3-6, 2011 – the Bay Area’s new, leading festival for innovative film, television, and digital media that explore green and sustainability issues. The Festival presented screenings of over 90 premieres from around the globe during four days of film showcases, panels, workshops, networking and special events. Highlights included: Live satellite Q&A with iconic writer and environmentalist Margaret Atwood; the West Coast premiere of Werner Herzog’snew feature documentary Happy People: A Year in the Taiga; a special screening of Home presented by Yann Arthus-Bertrand; visiting filmmakers from Sweden, UK, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Fiji, France, and across the USA; spectacular Opening Night Green Carpet Gala, and more.

CLICK HERE TO BROWSE THE 2011 PROGRAM

Photos: Rachel Caplan, Festival Executive Director, with Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi (photo by Tommy Lau); Rock the Bike at Opening Night Gala (photo by Tommy Lau); Festival volunteers

HIGHLIGHTS

~ A Spectacular Opening Night: The 1st San Francisco Green Film Festival launched on March 3, 2011 with the Bay Area premiere of BAG IT at the Landmark Theatres Embarcadero Center Cinema. Following the film, the festivities continued with the festival’s Opening Night Green Carpet Gala at the beautiful and historic Bently Reserve. The evening had a "plastic pollution theme" and included a bicycled-powered DJ set, local sustainable food and beverages, live music, art, and special guests!

~ San Francisco premiere screenings of over 90 world-class international films that explore living sustainably on this planet. The inaugural line-up included award-winners and audience favorites from Sundance, Berlin, SXSW, Venice, Tribeca, Toronto, Telluride and HotDocs.

HAPPY PEOPLE – A YEAR IN THE TAIGA West Coast Premiere. Werner Herzog presents a picturesque documentary about the life of the indigenous people living in the heart of the Siberian Taiga. “A mesmerizing 'Walden'-like ode to wilderness life.” ~ Variety

IN THE WAKE OF THE FLOOD West Coast Premiere. Spend 100 days on the road with author and environmentalist Margaret Atwood on her recent eco book tour. Screening will be followed by a live satellite audience Q&A with Margaret Atwood.

BANANAS!* Bay Area Premiere. The film Dole Food Co. doesn't want you to see!  Filmmaker Fredrik Gertten sheds new light on the global politics of food.

THE 4th REVOLUTION: ENERGY AUTONOMY Bay Area Premiere. “Possibly the most inspirational, solutions-based environmental film out there” ~ Vancouver International Film Festival.

GREEN Bay Area Premiere. Multi-award winning film exploring the ecological impact of the palm oil industry on Orang-utan habitat in Indonesia.

HAULING USA Premiere! A recycling adventure in Sao Paulo, Brazil, with Claudines  - and his 27 children.

SOLA: LOUISIANA WATER STORIES Personal stories from the Gulf of Mexico examining the fragile relationship between man, wildlife and water - a balance disrupted by the 2010 BP oil spill.

BUTTERFLIES & BULLDOZERS Bay Area Premiere. The global dilemma of economic growth versus species preservation seen through the fight over San Bruno Mountain.

BACK TO THE GARDEN Bay Area Premiere. A time-lapse view of back-to-the-land "hippies" — living off-grid, insulated and isolated from mainstream culture — and their moving personal stories of non-conformity and political activism, with lots of freedom but little cash.

Many of the film directors were in attendance for Q&As after their screening.

~ Inspiring and informative panels and workshops with leading filmmakers and green experts focusing on science,technology, conservation, and the arts. Highlights include discussions around green film production, new media, and the United Nations International Year of Forests 2011.

~ A green-activist hub for audiences to discuss, share, and get involved with our partner organizations, with each film to include a special Q&A with leading experts and a call to action on how you, as a filmgoer, can get involved and make a difference.

~ Special arts programs, exhibitions, demonstrations, and installations to take place throughout the festival venues.

~ Free sessions for educators and middle and high school students.

~ Professional networking opportunities in our festival lounge, filmmaker brunches, and evening events for exhange of ideas, skills, and connections.

CLICK HERE TO BROWSE THE 2011 PROGRAM

Join us at the 1st San Francisco Green Film Festival, March 3-6, 2011 for the West Coast premiere of Werner Herzog's feature documentary HAPPY PEOPLE: A YEAR IN THE TAIGA, the film that Variety calls "a mesmerizing "Walden"-like ode to wilderness life... Herzog's philosophical narration -- enchanted by this outpost free from phones, taxes and all the trappings of modern life -- elevates "Happy People" above most nature docs." (read full review). Herzog teams with director Dmitry Vasyukov for this observant look at life along the river Yenisei in northern Russia, where the industrious inhabitants of a rural village truly live off the land. With virtually no interference from the modern world -- and no taxes or government to regulate their behavior -- the happy residents of Bakhta preserve their increasingly rare society. The film screened at the 2010 Telluride Film Festival and this will be its first screening on the West Coast.

Happy People - Promo May 14, 2010 from Kay Mode on Vimeo.

SFGFF will screen the West Coast premiere of veteran Canadian documentarian Ron Mann's IN THE WAKE OF THE FLOOD, a film about iconic Canadian writer and environmental activist Margaret Atwood. Atwood will join the festival audience for a live satellite Q&A after the screening. On the eve of her 70th birthday, Canadian writer Margaret Atwood set out on an international tour criss-crossing the British Isles and North America to celebrate the publication of her new dystopian novel, The Year of the Flood. Rather than mount a traditional tour to promote a book’s publication, Atwood conceived and executed something far more ambitious and revelatory—a theatrical version of her novel. Along the way she reinvented what a book tour could (and maybe should) be. But Atwood wasn't selling books as much as advocating an idea: how humanity must respond to the consequences of an environmentally compromised planet before her work of speculative fiction transforms into prophesy. Atwood's odyssey is now captured in Ron Mann's new film, In The Wake of the Flood. Rendered as a fly-on-the-wall cinéma vérité, In The Wake of the Flood mixes new footage, archival materials and evocative animation in featuring Atwood on the road and at home as an aging but buoyant literary rock star spreading a message of warning and hope as she staged and participated in the novel production. In each community she visited, Atwood joined volunteer performers in a loose-knit, grass roots production drawn from the text of her novel. With its mystical, Blakean overtones, Atwood’s theatrical dusplay acts as a neo-pagan ritual that seeks to shake the human race into an awareness of the fragile natural world and our vital connection to it. To bring her novel into a live setting, Atwood collaborated with Los Angeles composer Orville Stoeber to write a new style of devotional music influenced by the related genres of country ballads, gospel, jazz and folk. Each performance included a cast of local readers and singers taking the roles of different characters in key scenes from the novel. The events were primarily staged in cathedrals, adding a grand visual element to the proceedings and a layer of ceremonial gravitas. From Edinburgh and London to New York City, Toronto and Vancouver, Atwood emerges as an earthy sentinel whose rare sensibility is always in the foreground: a life and art coalesced into a unity of medium and message. The film will be co-presented at the festival in partnership with the Golden Gate Audubon Society

In the Wake of the Flood (Teaser) from filmswelike on Vimeo.

OPENING NIGHT GALA: 1st San Francisco Green Film Festival THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2011

A night to remember! Join us to celebrate the launch of San Francisco's newest, 'greenest' Arts event! Following the Bay Area Premiere screening of "Bag It", mix and mingle with festival filmmakers and special guests at the beautiful Bently Reserve. Enjoy local sustainable savouries and sweets courtesy of local restaurants and food purveyors, sample local wine, beer and zingy cocktails, take in art from Recology and Surfrider Foundation, and dance the night away to Brazilian samba funk from the Bay Area's Tropicali! Opening Night is presented in partnership with the Plastic Pollution Coalition, a global alliance of individuals, organizations, and businesses working together to stop plastic pollution and its toxic impacts on humans, animals, and the environment. EVENT DETAILS 7:00PM ~ "Bag It" Premiere Landmark Theatres Embarcadero Center Cinema One Embarcadero Center, Promenade Level 9:00pm-Midnight ~ Green Carpet Gala Bently Reserve 301 Battery Street (across from the Cinema at the Promenade Level). TICKETS Opening Night Film Premiere & Party ~ $100 Includes "Bag It" film premiere, party entrance, entertainment, beverages and light hors d'oeuvres. Opening Night Party only ~ $75 Includes party entrance, entertainment, beverages and light hors d'oeuvres. VIP Festival Pass ~ $250 Access to all screenings and events March 3-6, including the Opening Night Premiere & Party. Space is limited so purchase your tickets soon! You must be 21 or over to attend the gala. Festive attire. All proceeds benefit the programs of the San Francisco Green Film Festival, linking film and media arts with environmental action and advocacy to build a greener future. OPENING NIGHT SPONSORS Plastic Pollution Coalition Tropicali Blue Heron Catering | One Big Fish Green Events Aidells Sausage Company | Bison Brewing Company | Chilayo | Choice Catering | Eel River Brewing Company | Frey Vineyards | Mixt Greens | Pretzel Crisps | Save Our Young Culinary Academy | Specialty's Cafe & Bakery | Straus Family Creamery | Trinity Oaks | Veev ABOUT THE FILM "BAG IT": 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…  http://www.bagitmovie.com/ “A powerful and deceptively simple movie that is sure to change the way you look at everyday objects. I didn’t expect a movie about plastic bags to change my life in such a deep and profound way. Gripping, funny, intelligent, and sure to change your life” ~ Louie Psihoyos, Director of "The Cove".

Bag It Intro from Suzan Beraza on Vimeo.

Festival information at http://sfgreenfilmfest.org/ Films & Schedule at http://sfgreen.slated.com/2011/schedule/week Want to be involved and get your company, event or product in front of our large festival audience? Call us about Festival sponsorship!

Don't miss the official pre-parties for both the SF Green Festival and Noisepop at the California Academy of Sciences "Nightlife" on Thursday, February 17 - with live music, films, and DJs! Catch a sneak peek of the 2011 film festival line-up, dance to some of San Francisco's most popular DJs, enjoy food and cocktails, and mingle while you delve into the world-class exhibits and get up close and personal with aquarium critters. 21+. Info and tickets at calacademy.org/events/nightlife

Keep posted for details of the festival's Bay Area Premiere of Fredrik Gertten's documentary, BANANAS!*, a suspenseful, layer-peeling, court room drama 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. The film has recently screened to sold-out crowds at the Berlinale, Los Angeles Film Festival, EcoFilm Rodos, and IDFA Amsterdam, to name a few. In a further twist to the BANANAS!* story, Dole Food Co. filed a defamation lawsuit against filmmaker Gertten on July 8, 2009, and additional claims of Fraud against the original ruling. On November 20, 2010, a Los Angeles Superior Court ruled against Dole and in favor of the filmmaker's “right of free speech”. For further information on the film and the incredible legal drama which has happened since visit: www.bananasthemovie.com Please sign up for our mailing list to receive details of the screening!

We're thrilled to be hosting the Bay Area Premiere of filmmaker Patrick Rouxel's multi award-winning documentary, GREEN, following 'Green', a female orang-utan which is the victim of deforestation and and resource exploitation in Indonesia. The film is an emotional journey with Green's final days. It is a visual ride presenting the treasures of rainforest biodiversity and the devastating impacts of logging and land clearing for palm oil plantations. GREEN has won the 'Best of Festival' awards at the two most prestigious wildlife film festivals worldwide - the Golden Panda at the 2010 Wildscreen Film Festival and the Grand Teton at the 2009 Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival. Other notable award wins include Festival International du Film Animalier à Albert, Missoula International Film Festival, Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival, Durango Film Festival, Amazonas Film Festival, Japan Wildlife Film Festival, and many more. The film will be co-presented at the festival in partnership with the Rainforest Action Network.
Please sign up for our mailing list to receive details of the screening at the 1st San Francisco Green Film Festival! For more information on the film, please visit: www.greenthefilm.com

Green The Film - Trailer from Patrick Rouxel on Vimeo.