Winona LaDuke (Anishinaabe) is an internationally renowned activist working on issues of sustainable development, renewable energy and food systems. She lives and works on the White Earth reservation in northern Minnesota, and is a two time vice presidential candidate with Ralph Nader for the Green Party. As Program Director of the Honor the Earth, she works nationally and internationally on issues of climate change, renewable energy, and environmental justice with Indigenous communities. In her own community, she is the founder of the White Earth Land Recovery Project, one of the largest reservation based non-profit organizations in the country, and a leader in the issues of culturally based sustainable development strategies, renewable energy and food systems. (Her keynote will be preceded by a Native American Drum Circle and will be followed by a screening of Lighting the Seventh Fire and a panel on native peoples' resource issues)
Bringing Tales from Planet Earth's global explorations home to Wisconsin, Lighting the Seventh Fire takes up the issue of the Chippewa Indians' struggle to revive traditional methods of spearfishing against fierce oppposition from other Wisconsin residents fearful of the loss of the walleye resource. Director Sandra Osawa reveals how a seemingly simple question of "resource management" is intertwined with issues of racism, historical obligations of treaty rights, and how people choose to define natural "resources." Behind it all, she explains the Chippewa prophecy of the seven fires that encompass seven eras of time for the Chippewa people. Still to come is the time of the seventh fire, when the Chippewa's lost traditions will be restored. (The film plays as part of a series of events related to native peoples' resource issues - preceding the film will be Winona LaDuke's keynote and following the film will be a panel discussing resource issues)
Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis created one of the most engaging environmental documentaries in years with their 2007 triumph King Corn about the environmental ramifications of America's agribusiness system. Now they are turning to the question of environmental impacts of construction with The Greening of Southie, the story of the construction of a green-certified building on the south side of Boston. Funny and poignant, the film follows the construction workers accustomed to decades of standard construction practices and now suddenly confronted with the "building of tomorrow" and all the unique challenges it brings. One of the more popular screenings at the 2009 Wisconsin Film Festival, we are bringing this film back by popular demand! Filmmaker scheduled to be in attendance.
Set in the near future, A Drop of Life is the story of two women ¿ a teacher in a rural Indian village and an African American corporate executive, whose lives intersect as they both confront a lack of access to clean drinking water. Mirabai, the teacher, notices that since a privatized well has come to her village the number of children getting sick has dramatically increased. Nia, the executive, wants nothing more than to prove to her investors that this pilot project is profitable and safe. Ultimately, each woman will have to make the choices that serve her best - their own lives may depend on it. This science fiction film raises global questions about the impact of water privatization. A winner of the Audience Choice Award at the Rain Bird Intelligent Use of Water film competition, director Shalini Kantayya has used A Drop of Life as a teaching and advocacy tool worldwide to promote water conservation. (Showing with Restoring the Mauri of Lake Omapere)
Although its subject is halfway around the world from Wisconsin, the themes of Simon Marler's beautiful film Restoring the Mauri of Lake Omapere will resonate strongly with people living in the Yahara River watershed. Agricultural runoff, toxic algae, mechanical weed harvesting - these issues have a familiar ring for anyone acquainted with the history of Lakes Mendota, Monona, Waubesa, and Kegonsa. Marler adds to these issues the story of the Maori people and their struggle to restore the mauri, or life spirit, of a small New Zealand lake. This is a film that leaves you with hope that grassroots efforts worldwide really can make a difference. (Showing with A Drop of Life)
Northern Ice, Golden Sun explores the Inuits¿ deep attachment to the natural world. They hunt, fish, dance, care for their young and make art in tune with the seasonal cycle of the Arctic. During the fearsome winter months, they rely on the mysterious powers of the Shaman. The new threat of industrial invasion looms over their land and their culture. But, the Inuit survive. The land reawakens, and all the people and animals rejoice under the glowing sun. One of several animated shorts by Faith and John Hubley being shown as part of a retrospective celebration of their work. (Showing with Saving Luna)
Saving Luna cuts across many of the major debate in modern conservation - from wildlife management to the resource rights of native peoples. But more than any didactic debate or polemic, this film is simply a beautiful portrait of a living being - an orca whale named Luna - who touches hundreds of intersecting lives. Filmmakers Suzanne Chisholm and Michael Parfit initially journeyed to Vancouver Island in Canada on a three-week magazine assignment to cover a charming anecdote about an orphaned whale that played with boaters and loggers. Their journey ended up lasting more than four years, as they found themselves at the heart of a complex and emotional struggle involving issues of anthropomorphism and whether humans have the ability, right, and responsibility to transcend the human-animal barrier to try to understand another species. One of the highlights of Tales from Planet Earth and a winner of audience and jury prizes at 22 film festivals! (Showing with Northern Ice: Golden Sun)
Mother Earth and Father Time examine the state of the planet Earth. Humankind has divided itself into a system of nationalistic boxes. Father Time projects twenty years of horror. Mother Earth and Father Time discuss the foolish choices humans have made in the past. The humans realize their plight and begin to imagine their preferred worlds. One of several films by John and Faith Hubley being shown as part of a retrospective celebration of their work. (Showing with Yes Men Fix the World)
Following up on their smash success from 2003, The Yes Men, professional rabble-rousers Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno are back in a sequel, Yes Men Fix the World. The mission of The Yes Men is to produce razor-edged satire that exposes corporate hypocrisy and the institutions of power around the globe that lock us into unsustainable lifestyles without our knowledge or consent. In their first film, the target was the World Trade Organization. This time around, they are taking on a variety of corporate targets - Dow Chemical Company and its refusal to acknowledge responsibility in the Bhopal disaster, Exxon-Mobil, contractors cleaning up after Hurricane Katrina, and more. Come see the only film at our festival that opens with a rousing water ballet and that managed to knock $2 billion off the stock value of a single corporation! A selection of the 2009 Sundance, Berlin, and Hot Docs Film Festivals and winner of the Audience Award at the Berlin Film Festival!