2012-2013 THE IMAGINATION FILM FESTIVAL: A YOUTH LED COLLABORATIVE GREEN FILM FESTIVAL

The mission of the Imagination Film Festival (IFF) is to empower young leaders to create and organize green film events that inspire and mobilize their communities to action.

IFF recognizes the power of local community action, and gives young leaders the tools they need to connect to specific campaigns that address environmental issues. We offer critically acclaimed films to educate and engage audiences to take action. Youth leaders engage their audiences to move from passive citizens to active participants in local sustainability campaigns and programs, such as community gardening projects, restoration efforts, climate action campaigns and green energy cooperatives.

NEW MODEL CREATED BY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT IN SAN FRANCISCO: Schuyler Schwartz (a passionate high school student in San Francisco, CA) spearheads the IFF program in her school. See June 2011 article about Schuyler’s work with IFF. http://www.bohemian.com/bohemian/06.08.11/greenzone-1123.html

Schuyler created her own unique model for screening IFF films by approaching the green club student heads of 3 other high schools. The four high schools worked together, along with IFF staff and volunteers to launch the Imagination Film Festival. University High School, Drew HS, International HS and Urban HS are working collaboratively to screen critically acclaimed documentaries.

GO TO OUR WEBSITE http://www.imaginefilmfest.com

Imagination Film Festival (IFF) is designed to inspire and engage people to participate in a great social movement – the movement to live more sustainably. We support youth leaders to present films with important, heartfelt themes to diversified audiences in communities throughout the nation. IFF’s intention is to encourage people of all ages to become involved in local campaigns and projects, to further awareness and understanding of critical issues and their impact, and to develop and apply the skills, knowledge and community resources needed to live more sustainably.

For this effort Natural Capitalism Solutions and Reel Community Action have teamed up to bring films about grassroots heroes to a wide audience, to help facilitate sustainability projects, green jobs and other programs nationwide. Our “Film Festival in a Box” format will enable us to deliver all of the materials and organizational information communities need to easily host a film festival – including a list of appropriate local partners, marketing materials, films, schedules, guest speakers and potential sponsors.

Climate Protection Campaign’s Cool Schools

Reel Community Action and the Climate Protection Campaign’s Cool Schools produced a film with Santa Rosa High School students in October 2009. This short film is about spreading the rumor of 350! To view it, click here.

Director/Producer – Carolyn M. Scott
co-Director – Bruce Kunkel
Director of Photography – Jay Masonek
Editors – Kevin Beaty and Clay Atchison

Film: ARUNDO NATION!

This is the story of two friends who hit upon a novel way to try to stop an herbicidal spraying campaign in their bucolic canyon: They found a green company to make the spraying’s target, an invasive cane species called Arundo donax, into a commercially viable crop. If they succeed, Monsanto, makers of the herbicide used in the campaign (Roundup®), might just back down. This alternately light-hearted and hard-hitting documentary captures real-life quest in an amusing tale that also lays bare the perils of pesticide use and corporate rule. Patty Pagaling, an Ojai valley resident finds out that Monsanto’s legendary glysophate (a derivative of RoundUp) is being sprayed in her pristine Matilija Canyon to kill the “devil weed” Arundo donax. Problem is glysophate is known to cause serious health problems including lymphatic cancer with impacts to wildlife and water systems.

Patty, who has a background in Native American culture and education decides to take on one of the largest chemical corporations in America. She forms a local group, Pesticide Free Ojai Valley and pretty soon they find themselves in broiled in a series of random “sprays” for apple & gypsy moths and other pests the county and state of California has deemed deleterious. Patty takes her case to the county supervisors but finds political ineptitude and indifference, with a long standing insidious relationship to the chemical giant. Deciding it’s better to fight fire with fire, Patty and her activist friends decide to harvest the Arundo reed and turn it into everything from perfume, bread to couture underwear. Going from her hippy digs to Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills on a quest to find the best product ideas for Arundo, along the way her journey exposes Monsanto’s chemical treadmill and the revolving door between the chemical giant and the EPA, as well as the viability and beauty of Arundo and it’s incredible history as a cure all with multiple uses. The film uses humor, adventure and the personal courage of it’s activists to engage the audience.

PFOV Campaign Leader: Patricia Pagaling
Producer: Patricia Pagaling
Consulting Producer: Carolyn Scott

Status: In production summer 2009. We will be producing a promo to raise funding.

For a full treatment contact: Patricia Pagaling clairdeluna333@yahoo.com

Pesticide Free Ojai WEBSITE:  http://www.pesticidefreeojaivalley.org/
contact Patty Pagaling:  pesticidefreeojaivalley@gmail.com

Film: DREAM OF A GREEN AFRICA

A Feature Documentary that follows the work of Hammer Simwinga in Africa who has been saving 98% of the Elephants and wildlife in his region. For an overview of the project, please click here.

To see a short film clip narrated by Robert Redford, please click here.

Director/Producer – Brent E. Huffman  http://www.germancamera.com/brent.html
Producer – Carolyn M. Scott and Turtle Island Films  http://www.turtleislandfilms.com

Status – pre-production and fundraising

For more information and a PDF with the film treatment and how you can be involved contact: Carolyn Scott carolyn@reelcommunity.net

The film will be used as a fundraiser for Hammer Simwinga and his non-profit Foundation for Wildlife and Habitat Conservation – Zambia.