UNITY COLLEGE SPONSORS ENVIRONMENTALLY INSPIRED ‘GREEN DAY’

ON SUNDAY, JULY 19 at the Maine International Film Festival 2009

Green Themed Films Include

FRESH: A New Way of Looking at What We’re Eating

NUMEN: The Nature of Plants

DIRT: The Movie

WHO: 12^th Annual Maine International Film Festival & Unity College

WHAT : All those attending the Noon screening of FRESH: A New Way of Looking at What We're Eating will receive a complimentary, eco-friendly Unity College tote bag.

Fresh, the new film from Ana Sofia Joanes, is the latest in the recent line of great documentaries taking a look at our food system. The movie opens with farmer Joel Salatin giving us a tour of his farm in Swoope, Virginia, where he produces beef, chicken, eggs, turkey, rabbits, and forestry product. Joel’s rotational grazing system allows the animals to behave the way they were meant to – as in expressing their “chicken-ness” or “pig-ness”, as Joel would say. Next the film follows 6 ft. 7″ former professional basketball player, Will Allen, who is now one of the most influential leaders of the food security & urban farming movement. His farm and not-for-profit, Growing Power, have trained and inspired people in every corner of the US to start growing food sustainably. With the of rise big chains, David Ball saw his family-run supermarket dying, along with a once-thriving local farm community. So he reinvented his business, partnering with area farmers to sell locally-grown food and specialty food products at an affordable price. The film concludes more intelligent words from Michael Pollan, the author of In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto and The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. 

Sponsored by Messalonskee Nutrition Education Center & Unity College.

USA 2009 Digital Projection 90 Minutes In English

WHERE: Railroad Square Cinema 1, Waterville, Maine

WHY: To support MIFF’s environmentally themed ‘Green Day’ of films that raise awareness about impactful environmental issues.

WHEN: Sunday, July 19 at 12PM.

OTHER GREEN DAY FILMS AT MIFF:

NUMEN: The Nature of Plants

3:30PM at Railroad Square Cinema 1
Vermont filmmakers Terry Youk and Ann Armbrecht quote Ken Ausubel, founder of the Bioneers Conference: “Our relationship with plants and our knowledge of those plants is perhaps the most important collective heritage we have…That knowledge is ultimately what is going to sustain us.” Numen: The Nature of Plants focuses on the healing power of plants and the natural world. Numen, defined as the animating force in nature, brings together innovative thinkers, from herbalists (including Maine's own Deb Soule) and doctors to visionaries and healers, to discuss how our disconnection from nature affects human and environmental health and the healing made possible by embracing our place in the wider web of life. Numen inspires viewers to think deeply about the source of their medicine and the impact of healthcare systems on their health and the earth. Numen bridges the disparate worlds of plant conservation and human health, advocating for a re-awakening of traditional knowledge about plants and healing in order to conserve those plants, improve our health, and increase the resilience of our healthcare system. 

Sponsored by Fedco Seeds

DIRT: The Movie (With Closing Night Reception)

Sunday, July 17 at 7PM – Waterville Opera House

“Possessing both a cosmic perspective that reaches into the vastness of time and space, and the kind of warm, earnest energy that inspires small revolutions inside human hearts, Dirt! the Movie offers an important and timely look at the vital relationship between those of us on Earth and something that is easy to take for granted—the soil upon which we tread. Inspired by William Bryant Logan’s acclaimed book Dirt, the Ecstatic Skin of the Earth, directors Bill Benenson and Gene Rosow employ a colorful combination of animation, vignettes, and personal accounts from farmers, physicists, church leaders, children, wine critics, anthropologists, and activists to learn about dirt—where it comes from, how we regard (or disregard) it, how it sustains us, the way it has become endangered, and what we can do about it. Benenson and Rosow find answers everywhere: in tiny villages that dare to rise up to battle giant corporations to trendy organic farms; from prison horticultural programs to scientists who discover connections with soil that can offset the damage from global warming. The fresh and generous spirit of Dirt! the Movie is simple and energizing. You may walk into the theatre on asphalt, carpet, and cement, but you will likely walk out with a rekindled connection to the living, dark, rich soil that lies beneath you and a mind set on cultivating a new future.”—Sundance Film Festival. 

Sponsored by Skowhegan Farmers’ Market, Open Saturdays from 9am to 1pm

Unity College is a small private college in rural Maine that provides dedicated, engaged students with a liberal arts education which emphasizes the environment and natural resources. Unity College graduates are prepared to be environmental stewards, effective leaders, and responsible citizens through active learning experiences within a supportive community. More info at www.unity.edu.

The Maine International Film Festival is Online at http://www.miff.org/