Special Opening Events February 18th & 19th
Sedona AZ (February 1, 2012) – Every year, the Sedona International Film Festival keeps getting better and better. And 2012 is no exception. Among the nearly 150 wonderful films are special works that focus on the challenges facing the human condition. This is the Sedona Green Film Series. This year, there are more than a dozen films highlighting sustainability issues in the festival. In addition, the festival kicks off with two Sedona Green film and community conversation events on the afternoons of Saturday and Sunday, February 18 and 19, at the Sedona Performing Arts Center.
The Revenge of the Electric Car will kick off the program on Saturday, February 18 at 3pm. Narrated by Tim Robbins, this lively film goes behind the closed doors of Nissan, GM, and the Silicon Valley start-up Tesla Motors to chronicle the story of the global resurgence of electric cars. Without using a single drop of foreign oil, this new generation of car is America’s future: fast, furious, and cleaner than ever. In a way, this film gives us a look at the near future unfolding around us.
Following the film at 4:30pm, Sedona Green and Sustainable Arizona will host a community conversation: The Power of Film to Move Hearts and Minds. The panel will feature filmmakers, sustainability experts, educators and a specialist in the study of neuroscience. In addition, there will be displays including electric and biofuels vehicles.
Sunday at 2pm, it’s The Big Fix, a film that begins with an expose of the events that lead to the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling disaster and delves deeply into the corruption surrounding the powerful in the halls of government and business. While this film is a well-documented indictment of the status quo, the community conversation which follows the film at 4:00pm will be anything but negative.
Our panel of experts will look at some of the challenges we are facing in Sedona and the country and talk about ways each of us can take positive action to improve our own quality of life. “We know about the doom and gloom. We see it in the media everyday,” said Matthew Bonnstetter, founder of the Sedona Green Film Series. “What we want to concentrate on are the positive things that are happening all around us…to make our communities, our businesses and our lives better and more secure.”
Among the panelists will be Michael Nash, award-winning Irish-American filmmaker best known for Climate Refugees and Fuel; Dr. Stefan Sommer, professor of sustainability at NAU and producer of A River Reborn; Andrea Houchard, leader of philosophy in the public interest from NAU; Amy Coplan, professor of philosophy of film at UC Fullerton; John Neville, president Sustainable Arizona and former film producer; Stephanie Smith, sustainability specialist for Flagstaff. The sessions will be led by Matthew Bonnstetter, Vice President at SolarWorks and board member of Sustainable Arizona.
The SPAC lobby will host displays of nonprofits and green businesses from the area. Learn what is happening in sustainability at Keep Sedona Beautiful, Sedona Recycles, Value the Verde Ecotourism, Sustainable Arizona, Sierra Club plus see the latest in solar and clean energy technologies. There will also be a concession stand will feature delightful foods provided by the Heartline Café.
For tickets to the film, please visit the Sedona International Film Festival website: www.SedonaFilmFestival.com. The community conversations which begin after the films each day are free and open to the public.
For more on sustainability, visit www.SustainableArizona.org.