Community Cinema Screens Dirt! The Movie in Monterey, CA

Community Cinema recently hosted a screening of the Independent Lens film Dirt! The Movie in Monterey, CA. The film looks at how industrial farming, mining, and urban development have endangered soil and resulted in cataclysmic droughts, starvation, floods, and climate change. Find out what happened at the screening from Elsa Dooling of the Pesticide Watch Education Fund, who helped organize the event.

Bike powered smoothies at the Dirt! Monterey screening

Torrential rains washed over the Monterey Bay, and heavy winds ripped through the trees. But, at about 3 PM a sudden break in the storm gave me the opportunity to quickly throw on my rain gear and join our organizing team to begin the planned outdoor festivities that were to precede the April 11th screening of Dirt! The Movie. As if by design, the weather softened and welcomed the community out to enjoy smoothies made with bike power, and to get dirty as they made clay and wildflower seed balls and watched compost demonstrations. The energy and momentum of the event got into full swing as the sun peaked out and rainbows could be seen over the theater. Guests mingled and enjoyed delicious treats donated by local restaurants and bakeries, and even sipped wine donated by the Monterey County Film Commission. Table displays offered the audience a chance to learn about the partner organizations that collaborated to bring the event to life: Pesticide Watch Education Fund, Monterey Green Action, Monterey County Film Commission, and ITVS. Our good friend (and local photographer/activist extraordinaire) Michelle Magdalena Maddox, was even screen-printing recycled t-shirts with a beautifully designed calendar of all of April’s Earth Day events right on the spot. It was amazing!

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Tags: Compost, Dirt, Earth Day, environment, Green

Independent Lens Celebrates 40th Anniversary of Earth Day

Did you know that April marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day? To celebrate, Independent Lens will premiere a brand new line-up of programs, as well as offer free educational lesson plans, and an interactive game to help inspire viewers to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

First up on Independent Lens is Dirt! The Movie, airing April 20 at 10:00 PM, by Bill Benenson and Gene Rosow. Narrated by Jamie Lee Curtis, Dirt! takes viewers inside the wonders of the soil and looks at how industrial farming, mining, and urban development have led us toward cataclysmic droughts, starvation, floods, and climate change. Inspired by William Bryant Logan’s acclaimed book, Dirt: The Ecstatic Skin of the Earth, the film deftly combines science and humor as it digs into the history and current state of the living organic matter from which we come from and where we will one day return. Dirt is a part of everything we eat, drink and breathe, which is why we should stop treating it like, well … dirt.

Then on April 27 at 10:00 PM, watch Garbage Dreams. Filmed over four years, director Mai Iskander goes inside the world of Egypt’s Zaballeen (Arabic for “garbage people”) to reveal the lives of two teenage boys born into the trash trade. The film reveals how –– for generations –– the residents of Cairo have depended on the Zaballeen to collect their trash, paying them only a minimal amount for their garbage collection services. These entrepreneurial garbage workers survive by recycling 80 percent of all the garbage they collect, creating what is arguably the world’s most efficient waste disposal system. Recycling to lift themselves out of poverty, the Zaballeen have, through necessity, devised ingenious solutions to one of the world’s most pressing problems.

The broadcast of Garbage Dreams will also be accompanied by an interactive game in which players assume the role of the Zaballeen. Players will sort through trash and recycle everyday items found in Cairo –– all against a ticking clock! So put on your eco-savvy hats because you’ll have to quickly sort everything to match the 80 percent recycling rate of the Zaballeen within 12 rounds of play.

Corresponding lesson plans for grades 9-12, complement the game and the film, and further explore the issue of recycling and the globalized economy.

Learn more about Independent Lens Earth Day >>

Tags: Earth Day, environment, environmental, Maggie Gyllenhaal, recycling

Community Cinema Screens Dirt! The Movie in New York

Last night, Community Cinema hosted a screening of the Independent Lens film Dirt! The Movie in New York City’s Central Park. The film looks at how industrial farming, mining, and urban development have endangered soil and resulted in cataclysmic droughts, starvation, floods, and climate change. New York City Department of Parks & Recreation is presenting five Independent Lens documentaries this season as part of the Community Cinema line-up. Find out what happened at the event from Christina Dookwah who helped organize the event.

Community Cinema screening of Dirt! The Movie in New York City's Central Park.

The screening was packed with people eager to hear from Bill Benenson, co-director and producer of Dirt! The Movie, and William Bryant Logan, author of the book on which the movie was based.

Dirt! The Movie tells the story of Earth’s most valuable source of fertility –– its soil. Experts from around the world who study dirt –– and developed a beneficial relationship with soil –– were interviewed in the film.

We were fortunate to have two experts join us for a post-screening discussion about the critical issues highlighted in the film. Bill Benenson, who has more than 30 years of producing and directing experience, has worked on such documentaries The Marginal Way, Diamond Rivers, as well as the critically-acclaimed narrative film Mister Johnson. He gains much of his inspiration for his work from once serving in the Peace Corps and as an initial investor in Seeds of Change. He is also active in the National Resources Defense Council, Rainforest Action Network, and Ploughshares.

Our other panelist, William Bryant Logan, is founder and president of Urban Arborists, a leading tree care firm and is a certified arborist with the International Society of Arboriculture. His book, Dirt: The Ecstatic Skin of the Earth inspired the documentary.

Be sure to come out to Community Cinema screenings either in New York City or one of the 60 plus locations nationwide. It’s a great opportunity to meet others in your community and get a sneak peek of what’s coming up on Independent Lens.

Christina Dookwah
New York City Department of Parks & Recreation

Tags: central park, environment, environmental, New York City, soil

Community Cinema Screens Dirt! The Movie in West Hollywood

Last night, Community Cinema hosted a screening of the Independent Lens film Dirt! The Movie at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, Calif. The film looks at how industrial farming, mining, and urban development have endangered soil and resulted in cataclysmic droughts, starvation, floods and climate change. National Community Cinema Coordinator Desiree Gutierrrez gives an overview of what happened and discusses the local impact.

Tracy Fleischman, Lisa Smithline, and Andy Lipkis at the West Hollywood Community Cinema screening of Dirt! The Movie.

It’s early in the morning (okay, afternoon!) and I am still recovering from last night’s tremendously successful Community Cinema screening of Dirt! The Movie. Nearly 300 people gathered to watch the film at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, Calif. The evening started with a delicious organic, locally grown, zero-waste reception catered by Jennie Cooks Catering. As guests mingled with their glasses of California-grown, organic wine, filmmakers Bill Benenson and Gene Rosow greeted arriving guests such as Kathleen Kellogg Johnson (Kellogg Garden Products), and Denise Ritchie (Malibu Compost).

The audience was completely engaged with the film. A few audience members had to step out into the lobby to catch their breath and hold back their tears. One guest told me, “The film is amazing, but really hard to watch. We need to be simultaneously having a conversation about water rights and access to water. It’s simply not possible for everyone in the world to grow a little organic garden in their backyards if they don’t have water.”

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Tags: Andy Lipkis, environment, nature, West Hollywood

In the News: The Latest on ITVS Programs

“ITVS is best known for its financing of documentaries, many of which appear on PBS’s Independent Lens series. The organization will present [FUTURESTATES -- ] a series of brief, fictional films that cast social issues into the future, in the hopes of drawing a younger audience not necessarily interested in public television.”
Read more >>

“Toss the tea leaves; we can read our future in [Dirt! The Movie] — and the outlook is grimy.”
Read more >>

“Filmmaker Laura Poitras traveled to Yemen searching for a person who was returning from the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba… Her film, The Oath, tells Bahri’s story [Osama bin Laden’s former bodyguard] and how he now favors a pen instead of a gun. It often delves into his confused emotions — he pledged the al-Qaida oath but no longer fights.”
Read more >>

Vice President and Independent Lens series producer Lois Vossen discusses the upcoming broadcasts Lost Souls (Animas Perdidas), and Whatever It Takes.

Tags: al-Qaida, environment, fiction, Guantanamo, New York Times

Garbage Dreams Events Make People Look At Garbage Differently

Community Cinema held 37 free events for Garbage Dreams, which focused on raising awareness about recycling. From the sheer number of questions about recycling, we know that the film sparked discussion, moved people to action, and provided education on the local level. Filmed over four years, Garbage Dreams follows three teenage boys born into the trash trade and growing up in the world’s largest garbage village –– a ghetto located on the outskirts of Cairo. The film will have its television premiere on April 27 at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS (check local listings). Learn more about the local impact of Community Cinema below.

Filmmaker Mai Iskander

Filmmaker Mai Iskander sat down in January with Kojo Nnamdi on WAMU in Washington, D.C. to talk about global environmental challenges and how the “Zabaleen” — or garbage collectors — and how they’ve captured the world’s attention for their startlingly efficient, eco-friendly, and low-tech methods of recycling.
Listen to the full interview [20 minutes] >>

The New York Times‘ Jeannette Catsoulis reviewed Garbage Dreams. She said, “…this new film digs deeper into the politics of a life that few would choose but many depend on.” Read her full review >>

At one of our first events at the Saratoga Springs Public Library in New York, our partner organization for the free screening was the local chapter of The Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA). Our speaker from GAIA was Tracy Frisch, who is active in several other nonprofit organizations in the area. There were also two audience members –– a husband and wife –– who own a local Egyptian products store and were brought up in Cairo.

In sunny San Diego, Calif., at the San Diego Public Library, Garbage Dreams was the best screening of the season according to our partners. It was the biggest audience so far, and the event had an excellent speaker who kept more than half the audience in their seats for Q&A. The film presented an opportunity to discuss grassroots activism and how to mobilize now on recycling issues in San Diego. Read local coverage from the the San Diego Reader >>

Now is the time for recycling. In the video below, filmmaker Mai Iskander and Adham, one of the young subjects from the film, take us on a tour of a typical American trash dumpster:

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Tags: Cairo, Egypt, environment, recycling

Nashville Garbage Dreams Event a Homecoming After 2009 NaFF Success

Community Cinema hosted a screening of the Independent Lens film Garbage Dreams this past weekend at the Nashville Public Library. The film follows three teenage boys born into the trash trade and growing up in the world’s largest garbage village, a ghetto located on the outskirts of Cairo. Regional Outreach Coordinator Allison Inman gives an overview of the event.

Al Gore presents filmmaker Mai Iskander with the REEL Current Award for extraordinary insight into global issues at the 2009 Nashville Film Festival.

Saturday, Community Cinema welcomed more than 125 people into Nashville Public Library’s downtown branch auditorium for a screening of Garbage Dreams. The event was a homecoming of sorts; Mai Iskander and her film were the talk of last year’s Nashville Film Festival (NaFF) when Al Gore presented Mai with the REEL Current Award for extraordinary insight into global issues. Because of Garbage Dreams, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation donated $1 million to benefit the Zaballeen, the “garbage people” profiled in the film. When announcing the grant, Garbage Dreams’ producers credited Nashville Film Festival and the REEL Current Award with part of the film’s success. As NaFF Director Sallie Mayne said, “We feel like a small but important part of its journey.”

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Tags: Egypt, environment, garbage, Nashville, recycling