Green Screen: Films for a Greener World (Now open for group bookings!)5 min read
Reading Time: 5 minutesSinema Old School highlights a series of award-winning four green-themed films that will get you to sit up and take notice of the ever-changing environment around us. The feature documentaries- Tapped (2009), Plastic Planet (2009), Bag It (2011), Carbon Nation (2011) – examine the impact of human consumption of the Earth’s resources on the environment today, serving as a wake-up call to the world- before it’s too late…
If you are a filmmaker, these are some tips for you and your team.
Full film synopses and information are available below.
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1. Tapped
Stephanie Soechtig | 2009 | USA | English (no subtitles) | 76 mins
– Gold Kahuna Award, Honolulu International Film Festival 2010
– Best of Fest, Colorado Environmental Film Festival 2009
– Best Documentary, Anchorage International Film Festival 2009
– Best Documentary, Eugene International Film Festival 2009
– Indie Fest Award of Excellence 2009
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?
TAPPED takes a behind-the-scenes look into the unregulated and unseen world of an industry that aims to privatize and sell back the one resource that ought never to become a commodity-water.
From the process of plastic production to the vast ocean in which so many of these bottles end up, this documentary trails the path of the bottled water industry and the communities which were the unwitting chips on the table. TAPPED paints a portrait of the lives affected by the bottled water industry and those caught at the intersection of big business and the public’s right to water.
Official website: https://streamingmoviesright.com/us/movie/tapped/
2. Bag It
Suzan Beraza | 2011 | USA | English (no subtitles) | 78 mins
– Monterey Blue Oceans Film Festival “Best of Festival Award”
– Wild & Scenic Film Festival “Special Jury Award”
– Port Townsend Film Festival “Special Jury Award”
– Flagstaff Mountain Film Festival “Audience Choice Award”
– Hawaii Waimea Ocean Film Festival “Audience Choice Award”
– Sedona International Film Festival “Best Environmental Film”
– Durango Independent Film Festival “Best Documentary”
Did you know that Americans use 60,000 plastic bags every five minutes-single-use disposable bags that we mindlessly throw away? But where is “away?”
Where do the bags and other plastics end up, and at what cost to our environment, marine life and human health? BAG IT follows “everyman” Jeb Berrier as he navigates our plastic world.
Jeb is not a radical environmentalist, but an average American who decides to take a closer look at our cultural love affair with plastics. Jeb’s journey in this documentary film starts with simple questions: Are plastic bags really necessary? What are plastic bags made from? What happens to plastic bags after they are discarded?
He also goes further to discover that virtually everything in modern society-from baby bottles, to sports equipment, and even dental sealants-is made with plastic or contains potentially harmful chemical additives used in the plastic-making process. When Jeb’s journey takes a personal twist, we see how our crazy-for-plastic world has finally caught up with us and what we can do about it, right here, right now.
Official website: www.bagitmovie.com
3. Carbon Nation
Peter Byck | 2011 | USA | English (no subtitles) | 82 mins
CARBON NATION, a compelling and relevant film, nips the problem in the bud and illustrates how solutions to climate change also address other social, economic and national security issues.
A film that celebrates solutions, inspiration and action, CARBON NATION shows how tackling climate change boosts the economy, increases national and energy security, and promotes a healthy and clean environment.
It is an optimistic discovery of what people are already doing, what we as a nation could be doing and what the world needs to do to prevent (or slow down) the impending climate crisis.
The filmmakers interviewed over 200 people; audiences will meet a host of entertaining and endearing characters along the way, including characters such as Richard Branson (CEO, Virgin Group), Thomas L. Friedman (New York Times) and many other climate change pioneers.
Official website: http://www.carbonnationmovie.com
4. Plastic Planet
Werner Boote | 2009 | Germany, Austria | English (with English subtitles) | 95 mins
– Romy TV Award for Best Documentary
– Special Mention, Turin Cinemamiente Film Festival
We live in the age of plastic. It’s cheap and practical, and it’s everywhere. But is it a danger to us? The plastic industry annually generates hundreds of billions of dollars. Every industrial sector in the world today is dependent on plastic.
The amount of plastic we have produced since it was invented would be enough to cover the entire globe six times over. But this inexpensive and convenient substance comes with a hefty price.
Plastic stays in the ground and water system for up to 500 years. It is found on every beach in the world. Numerous studies have proven that the chemicals it releases (such as Bisphenol A) migrate into the human body and may contribute to or cause grave health problems, from allergies to obesity to infertility, cancer and heart disease.
For Austrian German director Werner Boote, plastic is personal. His grandfather was one of the early manufacturers of plastic and he introduced Boote at a young age to the magic substance that would change the world. Many years later, after reading about the global threat posed by plastic, he decides to embark on a quest to discover the truth about this pervasive substance.
Traveling to fourteen countries, he boldly and humorously confronts manufacturers, scientists, government officials and consumers to ask questions that concern all of us: Why don’t we change our consumption behavior? Why is the industry not reacting to apparent dangers? Who is held accountable for hills of garbage mounting in deserts and seas? Who wins in this game? And who loses?
