QC Film Blog

Augustana 6th Annual Environmental Film Festival - Saturday!

The sixth annual Environmental Film Fest

10 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturday, March 19, 2011, at

Olin Auditorium at Augustana College
733 35th St. Rock Island, Ill.
Admission is FREE
Doors open at 10 a.m. Movies roll at 10:30 a.m.
Healthy snacks and drinks provided.

The event is sponsored by the Eagle View Group of the Sierra Club, Augustana College and Radish Magazine.

 

Carbon Nation

10:30 a.m. (82 min.) (view trailer)

"A climate change solutions movie that doesn't even care if you believe in climate change."

Through a cast of engaging and endearing characters from across the country, in towns big and small, this film introduces us to the new wave of American ingenuity and makes clear that the creative solutions needed to combat climate change are already being created.

 

Living Downstream

12:15 p.m. (55 min.) (view trailer)

"Handsomely photographed and powerfully argued. . . . Steingraber's scientific cool and unflagging sense of mission make for an arresting portrait of a self-styled modern-day Rachel Carson."
                     ~ Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post
Based on the acclaimed book by ecologist and cancer survivor Sandra Steingraber, the is movie follows her during one pivotal year as she travels across North America, working to break the silence about cancer and its environmental links. The movie follows toxic chemicals as they migrate through some of the most beautiful places in North America, how they enter our bodies, and how they may be working to cause cancer. Steingraber's story begins in a nearby watershed, along the Illinois River in Pekin, Illinois where she grew up.

 

Bag It...is your life too plastic?

1:50p.m. (65 min.) (view trailer)

"Gripping, funny, intelligent and sure to change your life."

 "What happens when an everyday guy starts looking into seemingly innocuous single use plastic bags and discovers genetically altering chemicals in his everyday life?

Jeb Berrier, an average American guy who is admittedly not a "tree hugger", makes a pledge to stop using plastic bags. This simple action gets him thinking about all kinds of plastic we use. Bag It focuses on plastic as it relates to our society's culture of convenience and our throw away mentality when there really is no more "away".

Tapped

3:20 p.m. (54 min.)(view trailer)

"I quit drinking bottled water years ago, but now I have the perfect teaching tool with this film to convince my friends to give up the bottle. Tapped is a must see!" --Ed Begley Jr.

Is access to clean drinking water a basic human right, or a commodity that should be bought and sold like any other article of commerce? Stephanie Soechtig's debut feature is an unflinching examination of the big business of bottled water, from the production of plastic, to the communities where water is being pumped, to the oceans in which so many bottles end up.

Truck Farm

4:50 p.m. (48 min.) (view trailer)

 "A simple concept with a big impact."

The makers of the movie King Corn, Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis, turn an '86 Dodge truck into an urban vegetable garden with bumper crops os arugula, lettuce, broccoli and herbs. The truck also sprouts a steady supply of interested neighbors who pull weeds, add water, and sneak in some toy cows and chickens that graze contentedly among the nasturtiums. The truck creates high quality produce that can travel less than 50 feet from farm to table, and supplies the food system with a healthy dose of fun.

More festival information: 309.762.9588

Online: http://www.augustana.edu/x12049.xml

The Hardacre Film Festival Runs August 6-7, 2010 in Tipton, Iowa

TIPTON, Iowa—Stuck elevators, foul balls and the world’s largest lava lamp are among the filmed subjects of this year’s Hardacre Film Festival. Iowa’s longest-running film festival, celebrating its 13th year, will be held Friday and Saturday, August 6 and 7, at the historic Hardacre Theater in Tipton.

“We’re really excited about this year’s lineup—a terrific variety of subjects and filmmakers to present them,” said Will Valet, festival director. “Many of our films have shown at the world’s most prestigious film festivals, while others are premiering at the Hardacre. It’s a world-class festival that gives movie lovers in our region a great opportunity to experience them and meet the people who made them.”

The 2010 festival will feature dozens of feature-length and short films from all over the world, including two feature-length narrative films, six documentaries, seven animated films and more than a dozen short live-action films.

Among this year’s highlights:

Features
American Grindhouse—This documentary (from Iowa-raised director Elijah Drenner) covers the history of the American exploitation film. The movie examines this often-overlooked category of U.S. “shock” cinema in an informative and amusing way.

Ballhawks—This documentary tells the story of Cubs fans who chase baseballs—and dreams—outside the ivy-covered walls of Wrigley Field.  Filmed in 2004, when Wrigley announced plans to expand the bleachers and change “ballhawking” forever.

Between Floors—This funny, claustrophobic and arresting film examines the human condition through five stuck elevators and the people trapped inside them.  Each elevator forces its occupants to confront their isolation, themselves and each other in varied and unexpected ways.

Cleanflix—This documentary explores the companies that make R-rated films “clean” for families and religious groups and the unhappy film directors whose work is going under the knife.

My Vietnam, Your Iraq—This heartbreaking and inspiring documentary tells the stories of Vietnam veterans and their children who have served in each generation’s war. This looks at the pride, challenges, fears, prejudices and emotions they have gone through during and after deployment.

World’s Largest—Shot partially in Iowa, this documentary captures the changing landscape of small-town America. Desperate for tourism, hundreds of small towns claim the “world’s largest” objects, from 15-foot fiberglass strawberries to 40-foot concrete pheasants. This film visits 58 such sites and profiles one Washington town’s four-year struggle to build the world’s largest lava lamp.

Shorts
The Cow Who Wanted to Be a Hamburger—In this animated film from animation legend Bill Plympton, a bovine is mesmerized by a marketing billboard and chases the goal of being the best hamburger he can be.

Heartland Transport—This short documentary, shot partially in Iowa City, concerns 17 gay and lesbian couples who define marriage equality as they take a chartered bus from St. Louis to Iowa City to be legally married.

Mind the Gap—In this hilarious short from Canada, a beautiful young woman sits next to a sweet elderly man on a train. The ride is anything but boring in this sweet comedy about first and last impressions.

Patient—In this short, a man and a woman meet at a coffee shop for the first time. As if on an awkward date, they exchange timid pleasantries. But as their conversation unfolds, the horrifying truth behind their meeting is revealed.

Plastic Bag—This timely short film by hot indie filmmaker Ramin Bahrani (Man Push Cart, Goodbye Solo) traces the existential journey of a plastic bag (voiced by legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog) searching for its lost maker, the woman who took it home from the store and eventually discarded it.

Trophy Wife—This short film (from Marion, Iowa) concerns a husband who struggles with failure and rejection in his hobby and in his marriage. When everything finally falls apart, Frank finds a way to resolve his taxidermy hobby and come to terms with his wife.

The complete list of films and a schedule for the 2010 festival is now available online at:

www.hardacrefilmfestival.com.

Filmmakers are regularly in attendance, present their films, and take questions from audience members following screenings. The festival takes place during Tipton’s Ridiculous Days sidewalk sale event.

The Hardacre will give out awards including Best Feature Film, Best Documentary, Best Short Film, Best Student Film, Best Animated Film, Best Experimental Film, and the Audience Award, which is voted on by audience members during the festival.

Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival to Showcase Films with Iowa Connections

The 2010 Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival will feature dozens of independent films with Iowa connections at the Collins Road Theatres in Marion, Iowa (Cedar Rapids area) on April 9 and 10, 2010.

You'll find a list of films here:
http://www.crifm.org/aboutfilms2010.html

And a schedule here:
http://www.crifm.org/2010schedule.html