Saturday, May 12, 2007

GREENLIGHT Film Festival

Student Filmmakers Express Concern – and Hope – about the Environment through Films, PSAs, and Documentaries for 2nd Annual GREENLIGHT Earth Day Film Festival, Thursday, May 24
The public is welcome to attend, and admission is free

WHO: Student filmmakers from Redwood City to Mountain View stepped up to the challenge of this year’s Greenlight Film Festival with fresh creativity and technical know-how, producing dozens of new films, documentaries, public service announcements, and other original works about changes in the global environment. Using animation, comedy, music, and other special effects, the works reflect an increasing culture shift in which today’s youth fully expect to experience an improved global environment within their lifetime.

The field of competition combines playfulness, technical expertise, and knowledge about serious environmental issues and includes clever titles such as A Convenient Truth, The Tell Tale Wrapper, and Another Fine Mess. Student filmmakers tackle saving the rain forest, handling electronic waste, and recycling construction debris. A claymation hybrid vehicle dukes it out with a polluting pick-up. Carelessness is observed from a gopher’s-eye view. One tongue-in-cheek PSA shows how polar bears can be helped until evolution adapts them to global warming. The young filmmakers advise the average citizen on what to do, and a sassy film team of fifth graders educates older kids about how to stop pollution at their middle school. One teacher described entries as “odes to the planet.”

WHAT: The Film Festival competition explores environmental citizenship through film. While emphasizing student-produced work, filmmakers of all ages participate from cities across South Bay. This year’s competition reveals “very impressive” technical talent, in the words of one judge.

WHEN: Thursday, May 24, 2007, 6 pm to 9:30 pm, concluding with an Academy Awards style ceremony.

WHERE: Cubberley Theatre, 4000 Middlefield Road (between East Charleston Road and San Antonio Avenue), Palo Alto.

VISUALS: Beginning at 6 pm, entrants and their entourages – glam attire encouraged! – will walk the “green carpet.” All nine "Best Of" Film Festival entries will be shown, beginning at 7pm. Following the Festival, clips from winning entries will be available to electronic media along with still images at www.city.palo-alto.ca.us/earthday/. Entries will later be shown on cable TV and online.

MORE DETAILS:
– Prizes total nearly $5,000, including a “Best of” cash award of $500.
– This year’s Festival features environmental information resources, with local organizations on hand to demonstrate how to reduce your impact on the earth.
– Judges include: Bruno Borello, Bruno Borello Productions; Michael Closson, Executive Director, Acterra; Dan Dippery, Director, Dan Dippery Communications. Many bring extensive backgrounds in professional film, video and environmental policy. Three high school students were added to the judging panel this year.
– Entry categories include: students in grades 6 through 8; students in grades 9 through 12; and all other individuals. The deadline for submitting entries has passed.
– The City of Palo Alto, Midpeninsula Community Media Center, and other community-minded sponsors and supporters established the Film Festival in 2006 through monetary and in-kind donations.

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