I get it! ...it's 'cause they're from iceland! Right??
i went to see Leo Di's new movie (Leo Leila & Nadia's movie; The 11th Hour. Pretty impressive. Lots of Bioneers doing what they do best -explaining the situation (or most of it- he doesn't go that deep into climate change), and examining the multi-causal planetary breakdown that is now starting to happen. And by the last third of the flick, it's peppered with solution on top of solution. And with 52 interviews, while everyone only gets a few moments here & there to push the -well structured- parts of the essay, it does present a cohesive argument for action and optimism. And it's full of archival imagery, and a total buzzclip intro (i guess if you know me, you'd know i dig that).
And cool music. At one poignant moment --a peaceful lull after a particularly tense earth-in-crisis montage, there was even some Sigur Rós with whom to fly-over ice-fields i was thinking 'Wow Ágætis byrjun, what an odd choice'... but now i get it! they're from Iceland! And at the time, the visuals were these relaxed pan-o-rama ice shots from greenland. which is a land full of (that melting) ice... cute
And just like i like it, they really looked at as wide an angle as they perhaps felt they could (Meat was shockingly absent in this movie). Which is really the best way to deal with climate change, omnilateraly, right? But they are not just looking at climate change -thought it's a big part of it, but almost everything. Almost to the point like what i was accused of back in the day (getting chewed out by a documentary legend); that you can't try to solve all of the worlds problems in one movie. And i am sure some critics will accuse these Directors/Writer/Producers of just that (if they stop harping on his flight patterns). But fuck 'em Leo, personally I agree that that is the way the story ought to be told. This is about our evolution or sticking to a lifestyle that east its young till theres nothing left... why pussyfoot around that? Why deal with CO2s and NOXs when it goes so much deeper and people really have to "get it" if they're going to commit to it. At one point someone quotes someone else (sorry for being vague but with 52 interviews in 90 minutes its hard to remember who said what, i just remember he said it was a quote: After asking what we are really looking for with all this hyperconsumption: "One can never really be full, if they're filling themselves with things that they don't really want" or something like that. And that and climate change are in as much of a dance, as emissions or cows or hurricanes...
Their view of stuff like the rainforests was obviously different than mine as there's room for hope and optimism even there, but all in all, it is a moving eye opener for anyone who is somewhat aware, and especially the ones who aren't but will be compelled to go for Leo Di (or soon to be converts) or from the soon-to-be Leo Di army (mark my words. Leo Di army). And even for the choir who wants to be preached at, by the third part you will be happy to see so many green techs you know everyone and every kid in America ought to know exists (like the Tesla, living machines...). And you may just learn a new one or two (while i dig the Fungi Perfecti guy Paul Stamets a lot, and heard him talk about those mushrooms that eat up heavy metal spills an such, i never heard the words "mycofiltration" and "mycorestoration" before. Awesome!
And again i particularly like is that it even take that extra bold step, asking the question that really lies even at the heart of the entire climate change thing. What is it that is really happening deep at the core of us that is out of whack. Because it's not just about CO2, but about what our species has become... and where we are (very able and) headed kudos to Leila Connors Peterson, Her Sister Nadia Connors and of course Mr. Leo DiCaprio (that's not him. That's Kenny Ausable founder of the Bioneers (and founder exCEO of Seeds of Change, and filmaker).
Oh heck. go see the movie when it hits your town! and in the meantime, the website they have is pretty good to see what it's all about, including everyone interviewed and much much more... go!
if you've been reading this for long you know how much i love earthships (if not, here, look), so yeah, psyched to see this movie! It's still in the festival circuit (and getting some pretty good nods) but now being made into a 35mm for theatrical release ....Keep your eyes open for Michael Reynolds, in: GARBAGE WARRIOR!
OK it's about Freud's theories, and then how his nephew Edward Bernays used them to make people do things that they normally wouldn't do. Aside from being a huge influence on goebbles, and making women smoke, this father or PR and his uncles work created a mind field where the self and pleasing the self can be transferred to the act of consumption. When we look at the mess we're in. A lot of it can be traced back to this work.
report&article>short>epic doc in procress blog OK ian and gad, sure ur prolly sick of hearing me talk about these two documentary filmakers already (unless you watched their amazing short movie alphabet soup already, 11 minutes sure to blow you away. SHOCKING!). But since they are back on the road after a brief hiatus (this time acrosss the US of A) they are a postin' like mad. Well techincally they are posting like filmakers trying to get the wifi in the hotel after a long day of shooting, so\ there is a little time lag, as they're already in Tennessee and have already been to WASTEAWAY (the people who took Bonnaroo's non recyclable noncompostable garbage and turned it into picnic tables..). Still, there is just so much awesome stuff on thir blog. Go check it out. In what i consider to be the weirdest thing ever, they meet the crew who is making plastic out of chicken feathers. Yup, thats right, chicken feathers! so what are you waiting for? go read the Cryptic Moth in Flight
Ian does Leggoland! What fun, in a way, well at least what fun footage! Over at my favorite film-in-progress; the Cryptic Moth's plastic docudrama, (which I talked about down there, the plastic wedding dresses and of course ex Daily Planet producer/eco-whipping boy...) But who knew? who knew that they re-use scrap plastics (90%), C2C thinking, no PVC, lotsa eco praise... who knew? well, now we do, and when Ian and Gads movie is done, everyone will.... The only issue i have with all of it is why is he teasing us?? i mean look at this pic: the oilrig is huge and over, waaay over on the right there's a wind turbine. OK Ian, whats with that? you holding out the best footage for your film?? well, i guess that makes sense... ok. yeah. fine. what fun all around!!
...from wedding dresses made with plastic bags, to the best and worst that plastic has to offer... OK I know I've told you about my buddy Ian before. Not only have I been proud as punch by his antics over the years (way back a million years ago we had a production company together, but that's a different story). But I am now going to put on my cheerleader costume and bring it on for him, as his latest really deserves some rah-rah rahing! Yes, this is the dood i hinted about a while back in a post here when he left Discovery Channel's Daily Planet. But his new journey is going to be even more amazing! He's now traveling around the world with a very talented editor, shooting & chopping videos to assemble the Mother of all Plastic Documentaries! He's got quite an agenda here, not to protest and just show you the bad, but the good, why we needed plastic, and then of course the hundreds of eco solutions that there are for plastics.
So hats off to Ian and Gad, I am going to write up about them whenever something really stands out, but be sure to check out the blog and cheer them on. In uphill eco battles, allies always make it seem easier to cross the line... Plus he writes really well and has a great sense of humor, so laugh, cry and check out the Cryptic Moth in Flight
...and just in case you were wondering, this is a cryptic moth:
Hey y'all remember Matt Damon, the guy from Team America? We'll guess what? He's the host of the newest addition to the (apparently) neverending slew of eco tv shows! Welcome Matt! Catch it on PBS!
Back to the Future!(4 min) Nice one! Here's a documentary made in 2055 about what we seem to be going through right now. It's How the Planet was Saved (ok, it's a little heavy on the RenewUS role in the worldchanging), but I like the idea... And I like seeing the interviews they do with experts in 2055 talking about how it all happened. That's the kind of message we have to be believing in now, but it is happening....
"it's like Maguyver meets Mr. Wizard" (3min 40sec) This is a local news show from somewhere in Montana reacting to a 60 Minutes TV episode. And yet it still blows my mind, I mean it used to be that these issues would have never made it to camera. Let alone what's going on in Montana where the governor wants to turn coal into diesel to "get away from foreign oil" and the activists who are against it, for the most part would rather see biodiesel and other wind. Plus they use Montana's changing climate as a bumper. Times have changed...
Collapse! Live(74min 24sec) This one is brought to you by the good folks at the Long Now foundation. It's a lecture! 75 minutes of Jared Diamond talking about his book "Collapse". This is what Grist had to say about his book: "Through a grab bag of case studies that range from the Mayan Empire to modern China, (Author Jared) Diamond tries to distill a unified theory about why societies fail or succeed. He identifies five factors that contribute to collapse: climate change, hostile neighbors, trade partners (that is, alternative sources of essential goods), environmental problems, and, finally, a society's response to its environmental problems. The first four may or may not prove significant in each society's demise, Diamond claims, but the fifth always does. The salient point, of course, is that a society's response to environmental problems is completely within its control, which is not always true of the other factors. In other words, as his subtitle puts it, a society can "choose to fail."
To The Moon!(2min 13sec) OK, I've made fun of some of these lunatic climate modification/adaptation schemes in the past, but after watching this 2 minute vido, I'm not so sure anymore... I mean they have a good case, but also great 3d animation and cool visuals. I'm sold. (well maybe not sold) Gaia Sleene
the kids ...gotta do it for the Kids!!(30sec) This is a pretty strong little PSA. All kids no adults. Good to spread around the word... It's from fightglobalwarming.com who have lots of neat (non movie) things on their website!
...and while you're out passing links of little climate change flicks-- sure of course I'm much more into solution based stuff, but if there's anyone who needs convincing about whats happening, here's another little video (1min 34sec) it's all stats. 100% stats. good argument, but sticks to that. It's from the Climate Future group, who have a bunch of videos available online on their site... Great interviews with key climate people... They, like Thom York, and myself, claim that global warming is leading us into an Ice Age.
Shamans Of The Amazon(52min 17sec) Last, but not least here's a goody. A real treat. An Excellent documentary about the Amazonian Shamans and their use of the sacred Ayahuasca vine to communicate with the Spirits of the Forest. Includes an interview with Terence Mckenna, criticism of cultural genocides, the corruption within large oil companies and governments, many civil rights issues.... and of course the guy making the documentary tries Ayahuasca
I guess, since i decided to leak a little news to the friends here (sorry public peeps, get an lj), I am feeling like it's time to give something out on the braodercast so yes, it's time for another Exuberant Pantaphobia Mini-EcoVideo Festival So maybe you want to reread this at a later time, because within this post, there will be links to a couple of hours of movies! Most clips are short but there are a few gems that are worth spending the hour or two to watch (hint hint...) But for now, here's what you will find in the first installment:
Green Media Roundtable (57 minute); Experts (including Richard Hutton, producer of Strange Days on Planet Earth, and RX for Survival), talking about green media at a UC SantaBarbara eco roundtable. Some interesting quotes and some well thought out glimpses into our particular niche in media i.e. green videos and films. "Unless you take a multimedia approach where you scare, tie them in, and then catalyze them to do stuff in anther way (go into the backyard, read a book, go online and do green work, it's dangerous to think that this media can do more than it can do"... and; where's our mushroom-cloud logo for climate change "iconic modes of communication"? ..and "if you don't have the human story (like erin brokovitch) you have to have the cataclysm (like 'the day after tommrrow'...). Hear the experts answer audience questions and chat about a subject we love so much...
Wildlife Creations ((2min 2sec); Patrick Palumbow shows off & talks about his ingenious recycled tire horse-swings.
Vandan Shiva; Listen to your Mother!(51min 33sec); Last BUT NOT LEAST is a lecture given by the eloquent and brilliant Indian Economist/WorldChanger, Vandana Shiva. in this Mother's Day address, she gets into on of her cause celebres, colonialization and Terminator seeds, the historicity, widened perspective, and love that emanates from this woman is amazing. No camera work at all, but riveting!
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