OPENING NIGHT: Jon Shenk's "The Island President"

Click to download 2012 Festival Program Guide [PDF]

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FESTIVAL PASSES

Avoid the lines with a Festival Pass!

Passes give entry to all festival screenings and events March 1-7, 2012, including films, panels, filmmaker brunches, and the Opening and Closing Night Films & Parties.

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THE ISLAND PRESIDENT
Jon Shenk, USA, 2011, 101 mins.

San Francisco Premiere

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Bay Area filmmaker Jon Shenk follows President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives as he confronts a problem greater than any other world leader has ever faced – the literal survival of his country and everyone in it. Witness Nasheed’s first year of office, as he influences the direction of international events in a way that few leaders have ever done, even in countries many times the size.

OPENING NIGHT PARTY
Thu 03.01 // 9:00 PM – 11:00 PM
Superfrog Gallery, 1746 Post St

Celebrate SFGFF’s 2nd Opening Night Party with flair and pizazz at the Superfrog Gallery in the New People building in Japantown. Mingle with festival filmmakers and special guests and enjoy local sustainable food & beverages, art, and live music.

$50 Screening and Party
$30 Party Only

You must be 21 or over to attend the Party.

CENTERPIECE
Sat 3.03 // 8:00 PM
SF Film Society Cinema

THE CITY DARK
Ian Cheney, USA, 2011, 83 mins.

In person: Ian Cheney

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Having moved from Maine to New York City, filmmaker Ian Cheney finds himself in an environment so flooded with artificial light that one can scarcely make out a star in the night sky. THE CITY DARK follows Cheney as he seeks to learn the true impact of light pollution on people, animals, and the environment, and shines new light on the meaning of dark.

Co-presented with the Chabot Space & Science Center.

CLOSING NIGHT
Wed 3.07 // 7:30 PM
SF Film Society Cinema

JUST DO IT: A TALE OF MODERN-DAY OUTLAWS
Emily James, UK, 2011, 90 mins.

USA Sneak Preview. In person: Emily James

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In 2009, director Emily James was given access to a group of environmental activists seeking results through direct action campaigns throughout England. What resulted was a film that gives you a unique look into the world of illegal activism, including its successes and failures, through animated, endearing characters and their interviews, all with the same goals in their hearts – to fight capitalism and raise awareness about the environment.

Co-presented with Bay Area Women in Film & Media.

CLOSING NIGHT WRAP PARTY
Wed 3.07 // 9:30 PM – 11:00 PM
Location TBD*

Join us for a nightcap in Japantown to toast our 2012 festival awards winners and mix it up with filmmakers, guests, staff, and volunteers.

$12 Film
$15 Film & Party
$10 Party Only

You must be over 21 to attend the Party.

SATURDAY, MARCH 3, 2012

1:00 PM THE FUTURE OF FILM FUNDING

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Documentary filmmaking has come of age and the ways docs are funded is changing rapidly. From bootstrapped productions and crowd-sourced micro-financed films to projects funded by traditional grants and donations to increasingly bigger budgeted productions funded using complex “hybrid” business ventures, the options available to filmmakers and opportunities available to donors and investors have exploded in recent years. Our distinguished panelists will share their experiences and offer their insights about the future of documentary film funding.

1:00 PM SUSHI: THE GLOBAL CATCH screening with SUSHI, SUSTAINABILITY, AND THE FATE OF FISH panel

Panel included with film ticket.
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Join us after the film Sushi: The Global Catch to discuss the health of sushi for humans and the oceans. Among the panelists is Mark Hall, the film’s director, who will expand on the sustainability of fishing and fish consumption around the globe. Other panelists will include sushi restauranteurs, fisherman, and advocates who will address the challenges of sustainability, fish and the future of the ocean.

Panelists include:
- David McGuire, Sea Stewards [moderator]
- Mark Hall, director, “Sushi: the Global Catch”
- Catherine Kilduff, Staff Attorney, Oceans Program, Center for Biological Diversity
- Dr. Wallace “J” Nichols, Research Associate, California Academy of Sciences and LIVEBLUE.org
- Casson Trenor, co-owner, Tataki Restaurant

4:30 PM STORYTELLING FOR CHANGE

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Socially and environmentally responsible businesses and non-profits are using film and media to inspire and motivate their customers and supporters. By telling the stories of their people, practices, products and potent issues for which they advocate, these organizations are connecting in a meaningful, human way that creates positive change. Moderated by Mischca Hedges and Iliani Matisse of TrimTab Media the panel will discuss how the use of this new medium has helped reach a new audience and better achieve the mission of their organization.

SUNDAY, MARCH 4, 2012

1:00 PM GAMING FOR GOOD

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Gaming for Good will feature an introduction to the gamification of sustainability – the use of gaming techniques in non-game environments to promote fun, engage participants, and incentivize the adoption of sustainable behaviors. The panel will explore the ways that businesses, government, and non-profits have used gaming techniques to achieve their sustainability goals through community activities such as contests and reward systems. Join us for an exciting discussion on the future of gamification and how it can help your organization achieve its sustainability targets.

1:00 PM CAFETERIA MAN screening with CHEW THE FAT: REINVENTING SCHOOL LUNCHES panel

Panel included with film ticket.
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After watching Cafeteria Man please just us and filmmaker Richard Chisolm for a panel discussion around agriculture and the challenges of eating locally and sustainably within our current system. We will talk with panelist who are meeting those challenges while dealing with the established norms of institutions and systems geared in the opposite direction. We hope to provoke a conversation that will motivate those in their community to ignite or flame the movement around food security, health, and sustainability.

3:00 PM BLOOD IN THE MOBILE screening with CRADLE-TO-CRADLE panel

Panel included with film ticket.
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Join leading experts for a discussion on electronics and green cradle-to-cradle design. The panel will be driven by questions from the audience but will include consumer actions and solutions including: consumer campaigns, emerging green labels, supply chain responsibility, and innovative breakthroughs in the sustainable design community.

MONDAY, MARCH 5, 2012

7:45 PM URBANIZED screening with OUR FUTURE IN URBAN SUSTAINABILITY panel

Panel included with film ticket.
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In a world where we are dealing with economic instability, climate action plans, and water and fuel stresses building upon the urban environment is more than just function. The triple bottom line is now a part of the process of urban development and the choices a community and government has to make when considering growth and development. Panelists will discuss the thought process and methods they use and feel are integral when meeting all the goals and initiative for the future of a sustainable urban plan and environment.

Panelists include:
- Lee Schneider, DocuCinema [moderator]
- David Baker, David Baker + Partners Architects
- Michelle Kaufmann, Michelle Kaufmann Studio
- Raquel Rivera Pinderhughes, Professor of Urban Studies, San Francisco State University
- William Shutkin, President & CEO, Presidio Graduate School

Tamara Badgley Horowitz, San Francisco Film Society
David Baker, David Baker+Partners Architects
Anthony Baxter, Director, You’ve Been Trumped
Ian Cheney, Director, The City Dark
Darryl Cherney, Producer, Who Bombed Judi Bari?
Richard Chisolm, Director, Cafeteria Man
Ann & Steven Dunsky, Directors, Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time
Kevin Gordon, Director, Tuned In
Mark Hall, Director, Sushi: The Global Catch
Mischa Hedges, TrimTab Media
Jamie Henn, 350.org
Mario Herger, Senior Innovation Strategist and Global Head of Gamification Initiative, SAP
Emily James, Director, Just Do It
Cara Jones, Storytellers for Good
Chris Jordan-Bloch, Director, An Ill Wind
Elyse Katz, Executive Producer, Who Bombed Judi Bari?
Michelle Kaufmann, Michelle Kaufmann Studio
Catherine Kilduff, Staff Attorney, Oceans Program, Center for Biological Diversity
Gayla Kraetsch Hartsough, Producer, Slap
Justin Krumb, Director, Minds in the Water
Sheila Laffey, Co-Executive Producer, Who Bombed Judi Bari?
Gary Marcuse, Director, Waking the Green Tiger
Mark MacInnis, Director, Urban Roots
Iliani Matisse, TrimTab Media
David McGuire, Sea Stewards
Willa Murphy, student activist
Dr. Wallace “J” Nichols, California Academy of Sciences
Summer Rayne Oakes, model-activist, co-founder of Source4Style
Erica Priggen, Executive Producer, Free Range Studios
Heidi Quante
Kerry Reynolds, Videographer, Who Bombed Judi Bari?
Raquel Rivera Pinderhughes, Professor or Urban Studies, San Francisco State University
Lee Schneider, Executive Producer, DocuCinema
William Shutkin, President and CEO, Presidio Graduate School
Bob Silvestri, Environmental Media Fund
Student winners of the 2011 Pollution Prevention Video Contest
Mary Liz Thomson, Director, Who Bombed Judi Bari?
Kyle Thiermann, 2011 Brower Youth Award winner
Casson Trenor, co-owner, Tataki Restaurant
Dona Turner, Director, Dig It!
Michael Watts, Professor of Geography and Development Studies, UC Berkeley
Jonny Vasic, Director, Minds in the Water
Katy Yan, International Rivers

This is a free event for Middle and High School students and teachers.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012
1:30 PM to 3:00 PM

San Francisco Film Society Cinema
1746 Post Street, San Francisco, CA 94115
MUNI: 2, 3, 22, 38, & 38L

SFGFF’s mission is to organize and present forward-thinking programs of films and discussions that inspire environmental action and advocacy. Our annual Student Education Program aims to educate and inspire Bay Area youth to become active participants in protecting our planet and to encourage youth interest and involvement in documentary filmmaking.

The 2012 program includes the award-winning film Cafeteria Man, as well as selected short student films and guest speakers.

Cafeteria Man (USA, 2011, 60 mins)

Follow Tony Geraci, a charismatic chef from New Orleans, on his passionate and tenacious journey to kick-start school lunch reform serving 83,000 students in Baltimore’s public schools. As the new food-service director, Geraci goes on a food crusade to change the face of child nutrition and proposes a completely different paradigm from what existed in the Baltimore school system. Battling bureaucracy and a system resistant to change every step of the way, the film explores the daunting task of making healthy and nutritious meals available to all Baltimore students. With unstoppable passion and commitment, Geraci and his team work with these inner city youth to harvest vegetables at the school’s 33-acre teaching farm nearby, to prepare and create student-designed menus and meals. His bold vision introduces meatless Mondays into the school menu, nutrition education in the classroom and a citywide culinary vocational training program. “It’s about trying to help a city heal itself using food as a vehicle,” says Geraci in the film. Voices and images of students, parents, teachers, administrators and farmers are woven throughout the film. With appearances by food activist and best-selling author Michael Pollan, First Lady Michelle Obama and Assistant White House Chef Sam Kass. cafeteriaman.com

**This is a FREE event but please RSVP as space is limited**

To register student groups please contact Elise DuFour at 415-609-4359 or elise@sfgreenfilmfest.org with “SF Green Film Festival/Schools” in the subject line.

This film is recommended for grades 6-12.

Anthony Baxter
UK, 2011, 95 min.

San Francisco Premiere. In person: Anthony Baxter

Special Double Bill Presentation with LOCAL HERO!

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A rare and interesting combination of investigative journalism and activist filmmaking, You’ve Been Trumped adds a few drops of celebrity notoriety to really put matters on the line. With a courageous approach, this film risks life and limb to penetrate the ongoing operation of Donald Trump and his designs to turn precious sand dunes and people’s homes into a destination golf course north of Aberdeen, Scotland. Full of awesomely awkward moments between the filmmaker, Trump and entourage, who bat at Baxter like an increasingly annoying fly, this mano a mano exhibition is full of bravado and competitive spirit, with echoes of Bill Forsyth’s Local Hero (the classic 1983 film was made just here and scenes from the film are interspersed throughout Baxter’s documentary).

Winner of numerous prizes including the social justice award at the Hamptons International Film Festival, Special Jury Prize at Michael Moore’s Traverse Film Festival, and the Green prize at the Sheffield Doc Festival, the film has provoked a range of commentary and discussion. Recently winning the Maysles Brothers Best Documentary prize at the Starz Film Festival in Denver, Colorado, the jury called the film “deeply troubling, amusing and rousing all at the same time…” This film is a constant juggle of humor, confrontation, espionage and strange, compelling characters (Trump included). - Soumyaa Kapil Behrens

www.youvebeentrumped.com

Local Hero

Bill Forsyth
UK, 1983, 111 mins.

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Bill Forsyth’s whimsical tale of sweet-natured corporate rapacity features standout performances by Burt Lancaster and Peter Riegert. Lancaster plays Texas billionaire Felix Happer, who would rather gaze at the stars than worry about his multi-national oil company. Happer dispatches Mac MacIntyre (Peter Riegert) and Danny Oldsen (Peter Capaldi) to the small Scottish fishing village of Ferness (in reality the village of Pennan in You’ve Been Trumped) to negotiate buying the entire town so Happer can drill for oil in the North Sea. Much to Mac’s surprise, the entire town is happy to sell itself for big money, and the local innkeeper, Gordon Urquhart (Denis Lawson) — who is also the town’s accountant and mayor — works with Mac on the negotiations. But a wrinkle appears in the deal when Ben Knox (Fulton Mackay), an old man who lives in a shack on the beach which has been owned by his family for centuries, refuses to sell. His reasons? “Who’d look after the beach then? It would go to pieces in a short manner of time.” The deal stalls so seriously that Happer travels to Ferness to oversee negotiations as Mac and Danny are seduced by the charm of the Scottish town. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

ANIMAL BEATBOX

Damon Gameau, Australia, 2011, 2 mins

“This film was a joy to make. It involved my girlfriend and my mother and 3 days of being children again building sets and cutting out animal pictures. It cost 80 Australian dollars to make and has now screened at over 20 festivals around the world and used in children’s classrooms everywhere. Its intention was to wake people up for a second and embrace their spirit again. And also to lovingly appreciate the wonderful world we live in in a fun, insignificant way.”

Michelle Coomber, Bangladesh/UK, 2010, 12 mins.

Thousands of Bangladeshis rely on the Buriganga river for a living. Yet as this film reveals, a shocking level of pollution and misuse, is threatening this economic and cultural life force.

“We used to drink this water many years ago. We don’t any more”, says Mohammad, who left school to work at the boathouse. Impoverished city dwellers have filled the river with plastic and rubbish. Yet those who live around it feel a spiritual, life-affirming connection with the river: “because the river is here, we are here. It’s allowed us to move forward in life”.

Kirsten Lepore, USA, 2011, 5 mins.

Animated on location at a beach, in snow, and underwater, this stop-motion short details a transoceanic conversation between two characters via objects in a bottle.

Simon Robson, UK, 2010, 16 mins.

Coalition of the Willing is crafted by a network of 24 artists from around the world using varied and eclectic film making techniques. Collaborators include some of the world’s top moving image talent, such as Knife Party, Decoy, World Leaders and Parasol Island.

The film offers a response to the major problem of our time: how to galvanize and enlist the global publics in the fight against global warming. This optimistic and principled film explores how we could use new Internet technologies to leverage the powers of activists, experts, and ordinary citizens in collaborative ventures to combat climate change. Through analyses of swarm activity and social revolution, Coalition of the Willing makes a compelling case for the new online activism and explains how to hand the fight against global warming to the people.

Dona Turner, USA, 2010, 7 mins.

A documentary on urban agriculture in the East Bay.

First Prize in the 2010 Documentary Category at the Laney College, Oakland.

Clayton Haskell, USA, 2011, 5 mins.

Summer Rayne Oakes breathes fervent passion into this visually stunning journey through space and time. eXtinction reveals that the most pressing environmental issues are not happening thousands of years from now, but are in fact happening within our lifetime — and specifically, on the timeline of one young woman’s life, from birth to death.

Gaby Bastyra & Joe Churchman, UK, 2010, 4 mins.

A dark fairytale that follows the meteoric rise of plastic from its inception in Leo’s gloomy laboratory 100 years ago. Told like a Brother’s Grimm fable, Gloop offers a poignant and lasting message about the price we pay for the convenience of plastic.

Marty Cooper, USA, 2011, 3 mins.

A humorous story by students of San Jose State University of how a man’s feet grow to a gigantic size due to the large carbon footprint of his home. Green Ninja to the rescue!

Chris Jordan-Bloch, USA, 2011, 8 mins.

The Moapa River Indian Reservation, tribal home of a band of Paiute Indians, sits about 30 miles north of Las Vegas—and about 300 yards from the coal ash landfills of the Reid Gardner Power Station. If the conditions are just wrong, coal ash picks up from Reid Gardner and moves across the desert like a sandstorm. An Ill Wind tells the Paiute Indians’ story.

Hungry Beast, Australia, 2011, 2 mins.

In the media landscape there are climate change deniers and believers, but rarely those speaking about climate change are actual climate scientists… until now.

Student film winners of the 2011 Pollution Prevention Video Contest, sponsored by the Department of Toxic Substances Control.

Zacharias Kunuk, Canada, 2011, 10 mins.

Against the arresting backdrop of Nunavut’s blue skies and majestic glacial expanses, filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk (Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner) explores how climate change is impeding the local Inuit community’s ability to predict weather patterns. Sirmilik features the music of Andrew Whiteman (Broken Social Scene), Dean Stone (Apostle of Hustle) and Yellowknife throat singer Tanya Tagaq.

Gabriela Quiros, USA, 2011, 11 mins.

KQED’s Quest series has won many awards, and this film shows why. QUEST follows a group of UC Berkeley scientists to the top of a 320-foot redwood in Mendocino County. Only 5 percent of these ancient redwoods survived our voracious desire for their hardy and plentiful wood. Now scientists are trying to predict how the remaining ones and their descendants might fare in the face of climate change in the decades to come.

Isaac King, Canada, 2011, 7 mins.

An animated story of two neighbors trying to get along, despite their extremely different lifestyles. One man is ruled by a ticking clock as he speeds through life, creating tons of waste in his quest for efficiency. Across the fence live a slow elderly couple, re-using trash they find and collecting it in a dangerously huge pile. Balance is the ultimate theme in this modern parable about time, stuff, stress, hoarding, and slippers.

Grant Barbeito, USA, 2009, 7 mins.

This story of two friends who routinely challenge each other with every political argument in the book, punctuated only by a loud slap every time one of them feels he wins a point, is a wry and witty commentary about the world we live in and the course of politics in America today.

Kevin Gordon, USA, 2010, 5 mins.

Naturally produced radio signals surround us all the time but are invisible to the human ear. This film takes us on a sonic journey into the world of one natural radio pioneer and his efforts to capture these mesmerizing sounds.

Joaquin Baldwin, USA, 2010, 5 mins.

A nurturing farmer in is danger of losing his crop of windmills when he struggles against the cyclical forces of nature. A winning film in the 2011 Possible Futures Film Contest.

Tiffany Shlain, USA, 2011, 3 mins

Technology can be addictive. In a tribute to Allen Ginsberg’s classic 1956 poem, we created a short film lampooning the addictions of our generation. Peter Coyote narrates.

Mary Liz Thomson and Darryl Cherney
USA, 2012, 93 mins.

World Premiere, commemorating the 15th anniversary of Judi Bari’s death on March 2, 1997. In person: Mary Liz Thomson & Darryl Cherney, filmmakers; Elyse Katz, Exec. Producer; Sheila Laffey, Co-executive producer.

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This is a raw, personal and at times abrupt film, with a protagonist and story vitally important to American justice and the struggle for the environment. Judi Bari was an environmental and social justice activist who popularized protests against clear-cutting (ie. Headwater Forests) together with the organization EarthFirst! in the 1980′s and ’90′s. At times, she (and others) proceeded despite threats of death and violence. Then, on May 24th, 1990 in Oakland, CA, a bomb explodes in Judi’s car and she suffers debilitating injuries along with confident, and the film’s producer, Darryl Cherney. In the aftermath FBI and local police accuse the team of bombing themselves. It chronicles the rise of a powerful movement as well as the circuitous court cases that followed the blast. Chock full of archival news footage, interviews and statements by Bari, viewers follow a path from non-violent eco protests to an ostensible assassination attempt on Judi’s life with an associated cover-up – ending with a surprising resolution. ~ Misha Antonich

http://whobombedjudibari.com

Gary Marcuse
Canada, 2011, 78 min.
In English and Mandarin with English Subtitles.

USA Premiere. In person: Gary Marcuse

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Waking the Green Tiger is a raw and electrifying account of ordinary people in rural China standing up to a juggernaut to try and preserve their homes and native culture in its spectacular setting close to Tiger Leaping Gorge, a UNESCO heritage site. It traces a small group of villagers and older farmers from the upper Yangtze River on the verge of losing everything to a massive dam project. To remarkable effect, their struggle merges with a new and growing concern about environmental degradation and a revolutionary law enabling citizens to voice their standpoints. Banding together with plainspoken activists and earnest journalists, the film taps into a broadening sense of community and environmentalism that grows beyond their single issue. It’s exhilarating to see the inhabitants of the valley meet their neighbors on the opposite hillside to inform them of the impending danger by means of footage from this very film. While gains are made, none are easily acquired as underscored by chilling attempts to bully activists and journalists. Winner of the Jury Prize for Best Canadian at Film in the 2011 Planet in Focus Film Festival, Toronto and voted among the top ten Canadian films at the 2011 Vancouver International Film Festival. ~ Misha Antonich

www.facetofacemedia.ca

Screening supported by the Consulate General of Canada in San Francisco & Silicon Valley.

Co-presented with the Center for Asian American Media, International Rivers, and Pacific Environment.

Get your tickets early to avoid disappointment – screenings will sell out fast! ***

Join us on Tuesday, January 31st at CompoClay’s stylish downtown showroom to celebrate the official launch of the 2012 festival. Be the first to pick up a festival program, see a sneak peek of some of our most inspiring films, hear about the great line-up of films and guests, and make new festival friends!

Transportation:
The showroom is situated in the Crocker Galleria on Post Street between Montgomery/Kearny, half a block from Montgomery BART and Market Street MUNI lines.

The Program Launch Party is presented with the generous support of CompoClay .