Monday, September 12, 2011

films

Arctic Tale (2007)

Fox Searchlight
Arctic Tale, an animal-centric documentary, uses unadulterated authentic footage to capture close up impressions of of a walrus pup and polar bear cub. With these lovable tykes leading the way, the film swims directly and deeply into disturbing environmental issues like global warming and pollution and, most especially, the shrinking arctic ice.

The Cove (2009)

Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions

Filmmaker Louis Psihoyos follows animal rights activist Richard O'Barry in this shocker of a documentary that effectively exposes the annual secret slaughter of thousands of dolphins by a greedy community of Japanese fishermen, supported by a complicit Japanese government and international whaling commission.

Crude (2009)

First Run Features

Filmmaker Joe Berlinger exposes the Texaco/Chevron toxic waste contamination of thousands of square miles of the Ecuadorian Amazon and rain forest, and chronicles the efforts of local tribes and international conservation and human rights organizations to get remediation.

Disarm. (2005)

IndiePix
The past placement of landmines in battle zones around the globe has made Earth a trecherous place for entire populations of people who can neither till the soil nor walk across a field for fear of stepping on and triggering an explosive device that will surely maim if not kill them. It's a real problem that indicates one way in which we disrespect and undervalue our environment and one that actually alters the way in which we relate to Mother Earth.

The 11th Hour (2007)

Warner Independent Features
Actor Leonardo DiCaprio produced and anchors this impressive documentary in which expert commentators like Stephen Hawking, James Woolsey and others explain how hurricanes, earthquakes and other natural disasters are the result of negative climate and environmental changes that are spiraling out of control. A recent release, the film is still playing theatrically and is not yet available on DVD.

Empty Oceans, Empty Nets: The Race to Save Marine Fisheries

A project of Habitat Media, this film reveals environmental dangers that arise from current commercial fishing practices that threaten the ocean's healthy environments worldwide by depleting populations of fish. Unless the harvest is managed in the present, future nets will come up empty. Peter Coyote narrates.

FLOW - For Love Of Water (2008)

Osilloscope Laboratories
Irena Salinas' documentary is about the global crisis we face as Earth's fresh water supply constantly diminishes. The film presents top experts and advocates to show us that every aspect of human life is effected by pollution, wastefulness, privatization and corporate greed as it relates to a natural resource that's more valuable than oil. The film shows in no uncertain terms that if we continue to abuse our water supply, Earth will become uninhabitable and humankind will become extinct. The investigation points fingers at water companies such as Nestle, Vivendi, Thames, Suez, Coca Cola and Pepsi.

Food, Inc. (2009)

Participant Media

'Food, Inc.' investigates the industrial production and distribution of food in the United States by large multinational corporations such as Monsanto and Tyson, to the detriment of small independent farmers and to the overall quality of nutrition.

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