UH Office of Sustainability presents EARTH MAGIC film series at UH Manoa throughout fall semester

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
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Posted: Aug 23, 2005

HONOLULU - The UHM/Bank of Hawaii Cinema Series continues for a second year at the UH Manoa campus starting on Wednesday, Aug. 24, with the Oahu premiere of "Oasis of the Pacific: Time is Running Out."

Filmmakers Adam Bromley and Marie Le Boeuf will be present to answer questions at both the 3:30 and 7 p.m. screenings in the HIG Auditorium (Room 110). Dinner will be offered from 5 to 7 p.m. (between screenings) at Govinda‘s open-air café in the adjacent Sustainability Courtyard.

The general public is invited to join campus students, faculty and staff for these cuisine-and-screen events every Wednesday (except Nov. 23, Thanksgiving Eve) through the end of the semester, Wednesday, Nov. 30. The films also will screen on Sundays at 5 p.m. at the Spalding Auditorium. On-campus parking is free on Sundays and $3 on Wednesdays.

Programmed by well-known film curator Don Brown, in cooperation with the UH Office of Sustainability, the series is aimed at fostering awareness and discussion of all aspects of sustainable living, including ocean and energy resources, alternative housing and transportation, food production and health, and explorations of culture and spirit.

All films are $3 for university students, faculty and staff with I.D./$5 general admission, unless otherwise noted.

The fall series includes:

Program #1

OCEANS/CONSERVATION

Wednesday, August 24 & Sunday, August 28

Oasis of the Pacific: Time is Running Out (all seats $5)

Dir. Adam Bromley, Marie LeBoeuf. U.S. 2005 58 min.


Filmmakers Marie LeBoeuf and Adam Bromley will be in attendance. One of the world¹s most unique ecosystems is in danger of being lost forever. This film takes viewers on a revealing journey through the stunning, yet endangered undersea world of the Hawaiian Islands. Striking imagery of this hidden realm is juxtaposed with the harsh reality of three major obstacles overwhelming its marine life?shoreline sprawl, pollution, and overfishing. Concerned marine biologists, experts from local environmental organizations, and residents of Hawaii examine these problems and offer practical solutions.

Program #2

ENERGY/POLITICS

Wednesday, August 31 & Sunday, Sept. 4

The Oil Factor: Behind the War on Terror

Dir: Audrey Brohy, Gerard Ungerman. U.S. 2005 93 min.


This film makes a clear assessment of today's global oil situation with skyrocketing consumption and declining production. After all the pro-war arguments have been proven wrong, is it a coincidence that Iraq sits on the second largest oil reserves in the world? Is it also a coincidence that Afghanistan is key to controlling the oil reserves of Central Asia at a time when the world's oil is dwindling? This film examines the link between oil interests and current U.S. military policy, including original footage shot over a four-month period in Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan and interviews with present administration officials. It explores the underlying motives behind the ³war-on-terror² and offers insights into why global terrorism is thriving, making the world less safe, despite assurances to the contrary.

Program #3

ECONOMICS/POLITICS/GLOBALIZATION

Wednesday, Sept. 7 & Sunday, Sept. 11

The Corporation

Dir: Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott. Canada 2003 166 min.


This groundbreaking film explores the nature and spectacular rise of the dominant institution of our time. Footage from pop culture, advertising, TV news, and corporate propaganda, illuminates the corporation's grip on our lives. Taking its legal status as a "person" to its logical conclusion, the film puts the corporation on the psychiatrist's couch to ask "What kind of person is it?" Provocative, witty, and sweepingly informative, it includes interviews with corporate insiders and critics?including Milton Friedman, Noam Chomsky, Naomi Klein, and Michael Moore?plus true confessions, case studies and, most important, strategies for change.

Program #4

MATERIALISM/CULTURE/ENVIRONMENT

Wednesday, Sept. 14 & Sunday, Sept. 18

Suzuki Speaks

Dir: Tony Papa. Canada. 2005 45 min.


Renowned scientist and visionary Dr. David Suzuki, delivers the most important message of his career in this film: what it means to be fully human in our interconnected universe. Weaving a tapestry that transforms Dr. Suzuki's wisdom into a complete sensory experience, it leads to new ways of seeing, and will leave you feeling renewed, challenged and alive.

Baked Alaska

Dir: Franny Armstrong. U.S. 2003 26 min.


Temperatures in Alaska are rising ten times faster than in the rest of the world. The present administration is ignoring the warning signs about global warming, and after pulling out of the Kyoto convention, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has now been thrown open to oil drilling. Native Alaskans are divided: the Inupiat Eskimos want the jobs and the money that drilling would bring, but the Gwich'in Indians fear it will destroy their caribou. Alaska is rich in oil?but for every barrel shipped south, damage is done to the delicate balance of Arctic life. A wake up call for action on global warming.

Program #5

OCEANS/SPIRIT

Wednesday, Sept. 21 & Sunday, Sept. 25

Ocean Odyssey

Dir: Paul Gilman. U.S. 2005 65 min.


Musician Paul Gilman has spent the past 10 years researching ocean mammals and their responses to music generated by electronic keyboard and Native American flute. Some of the country¹s noted cetacean biologists accompanied Gilman on his expeditions and were astounded to note unique behaviors in response to Paul's compositions played underwater?from Orca whales in the San Juan Islands to dolphins and humpbacks in the Hawaiian island channels.

Pororoca: Surfing the Amazon

Dir: Bill Heath. Brazil 2003 26 min.


This film tells the story of the extraordinary expedition by two world-class surfers Ross Clarke-Jones and Carlos Burle into the delta of the Amazon to experience the exceptional natural spectacle of a two-story tidal wave, born hundreds of miles away in the Mid-Atlantic. Under the full moon it penetrates deep into the flow of the Amazon River, and the surfers set off to meet this frightening wall of water, surfing inland for several miles, dodging tree trunks, crocodiles, and piranha.

Program #6

GLOBALIZATION/POLITICS

Wednesday, Sept. 28 & Sunday, Oct. 2

Darwin¹s Nightmare

Dir: Hubert Sauper. France/Austria/Belgium 2004 107 min.


A parable of what globalization has done to our world. The dusky blue waters of Lake Victoria stretch lazily across the Tanzanian plains, but beneath the placid surface, a massacre has taken place. In the 1960s, the Nile perch, an enormous variant of the American variety, was experimentally introduced into the lake and wiped out practically all other species. Disastrous for local communities, the situation is a bonanza for the multinational factories that process and ship tons of perch abroad. Thus does globalization feed its lucrative foreign markets while the locals are left to starve.

Program #7

ECONOMICS/ CULTURE

Wednesday, Oct. 5 & Sunday, Oct. 9

Ring of the Buddha

Dir: Jochen Breitenstein. Germany 2002 92 min.


This true story of Swiss geologist Toni Hagen, advisor to Nepalese kings and confident of the Dalai Lama, was filmed in original locations assisted by the now 85 year-old personally. It is a detailed account of the adventurer's pioneering years in the 'forbidden kingdom¹ and his return 40 years later, with the breathtaking images of Nepal's fascinating landscapes and culture. In 1950, following an invitation from the Maharaja of Nepal and in order to search for mineral resources, he became the first European to travel to the mountain state. Journeying through the eternal ice of the 20,000 ft. peaks, through torrential monsoons and the tropical heat of the malaria-infected Terai, the geologist covered 12,000 miles on foot in 8 years.

Program #8

HEALTH/CULTURE

Wednesday, Oct. 12 & Sunday, Oct. 16

The Magic Mountain

Dir: Pat & Baiba Morrow. Canada. 2005 50 min.


This compelling story follows Cynthia Hunt, founder of the Health, Environment and Literacy in the Himalayas. With an aesthetic blend of high mountain adventure and the colorful Tibetan Buddhist culture, the film portrays Cynthia¹s metamorphosis from an adventure-seeking climber to an artist, book publisher and tireless educator as she struggles to foster change in the ancient society of Ladakh in the northwestern corner of India.

Journey Inside Tibet

Dir: Tom Vendetti. U.S. (Hawaii) 2005 80 min.


Maui resident Lama Tenzin led a pilgrimage to Tibet to visit his family after leaving his homeland 39 years ago with world-renowned flutist Paul Horn, whose dream was to record music in the Potala Palace. After Tenzin passed away on in 2001, the story continued with Paul Horn and filmmaker Tom Vendetti returning to Tibet to trek around Mount Kailash to release the Lama's ashes at the kora's summit.

Program #9

FOOD/ECONOMICS

Wednesday, Oct. 19 & Sunday, Oct. 23 (With Slow Food Hawaii)

Deconstructing Supper

Dir: Marianne Kaplan. U. S. 2002 48 min.


Renowned chef John Bishop leads viewers on an eye-opening journey into the billion-dollar battle to control global food production. Starting with a gourmet meal in his five-star restaurant, Bishop travels the world?from farmer's fields to biotech laboratories to supermarket aisles on a personal quest to find out what our food choices are. Exploring the politics and ethics of food, he discovers that 70% of processed foods on supermarket shelves in North America contain genetically modified ingredients. But are these foods safe? Are there other, less risky ways to feed ourselves? Our chef finds answers to these compelling questions and more from North America to Great Britain to India and back.

Field of Genes

Dir: Janet Thomson. U.S. 1998 44 min.


Technology has quietly slipped into the food chain. Multi-national chemical companies have created genetically altered potatoes, corn, soybeans, and canola that variously are toxic to pests, herbicide tolerant, and dependent on chemical inputs. The biotech industry claims that its new foods have great potential for everyone, including the world's hungry. But will the hungry, the family farmer, or even the consumer benefit from this high-tech, heavily capitalized new mode of production?

Program #10

ENERGY/CONSUMPTION/CONSERVATION

Wednesday, Oct. 26 & Sunday, Oct. 30

Go Further

Dir: Ron Mann. Canada 2004 89 min.


Woody Harrelson goes on a 21st century road trip worthy of Ken Kesey, out to save the earth. This film documents his trek down the Pacific coast in a bio-diesel and hemp oil-fueled bus with an assortment of characters. Along the way they tackled various stretches by bike, did a lot of yoga, spoke in front of college crowds about environmental awareness, ate avocado-based delicacies prepared by the on-board raw foods chef, and encountered rock stars like Bob Weir, Natalie Merchant, and Anthony Kiedis. Your run of the mill road trip?right.

Program #11

CULTURE/SPIRIT

Wednesday, Nov. 2 & Sunday, Nov. 6

Spirit of the Himalayas

Dir: Will Parrinello. U.S. 2002 30 min.


Director Will Parrinello and producer John Antonelli will be in attendance. The Himalayas encompass spectacular mountains and cultures, but amidst great beauty the indigenous people face uncompromising hardships and many live without even the basic necessities. This film leads us into this remote and spectacular corner of the world, shot in the ancient city of Katmandu and the Himalayan Mountains. Featuring interviews with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, New Zealand's legendary mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary, and Norbu Tenzing (son of Tenzing Norgay Sherpa, who first stepped onto the summit of Everest with Hillary in 1953).

Dreaming of Tibet

Dir: Will Parrinello. U.S. 2005 56 min.


In isolated communities around the world, particularly in India, Nepal and the United States, Tibetan exiles have created a 'virtual Tibet,' where they have endured and even flourished in the face of overwhelming adversity. This film follows their arduous journeys from Tibet into exile over a 19,000-foot Himalayan pass. It's a flight that the Dalai Lama took in 1958 and over 150,000 of his followers have taken since then. Most have only minimal clothing and meager provisions to make the life-threatening trek. This intimate documentary is about the resilience of the human spirit under the most dire circumstances, looking at the lives of three extraordinary Tibetan exiles who have survived in exile and are deeply involved in working for the survival of their culture. Narrated by Peter Coyote.

Program #12

ENVIRONMENT/EDUCATION (with the Sierra Club)

Wednesday, Nov. 9 & Sunday, Nov. 13

Monumental: David Brower¹s Fight to Protect Wild America

Dir: Kelly Duane. U.S. 2004 88 min.


From the moment David Brower first witnessed the extraordinary beauty of the Yosemite Valley, his life was tied to the fight to preserve the American wilds for future generations. Not since John Muir had an American fought so hard, or been more successful, in protecting our natural heritage. This film explores the dramatic and lyrical story of Brower and his colleagues' unrelenting campaigns?fought through lobbying, art, and hard-hitting advertising to protect and establish some of our most treasured National Parks. At the center of the film are the very themes that absorbed Brower throughout his life: the threatened beauty of the American earth, the spiritual connection between humans and the great outdoors, and the moral obligation to preserve what is left of the world's natural wonders.

Program #13

CULTURE/SPIRIT

Wednesday, Nov. 16 & Sunday, Nov. 20

Mana: Beyond Belief

Dir. Peter Friedman and Roger Manley. U.S. 2005 92 min.


In this fascinating documentary, a Maori priest says any object contains ³mana² if it has the ability to inspire awe in people: a rock ?a wall?Buddhist statues?crosses and shrouds. People around the world embrace in visually kinetic rituals, with death and life inspiring the same need to feel connected to something bigger. Communicating without words, one of the film's strengths is that it lets the rituals and interviews speak for themselves.

Program #14

HOUSING/ENVIRONMENT (with the American Institute of Acrchitects)

Wednesday, Nov. 30 & Sunday, Dec. 4

The Next Industrial Revolution

Dir: Chris Bedford & Shelley Morhaim U. S. 2003 55 min.


Shot in Europe and the United States, this film explores how businesses are transforming themselves to work with nature and enhance profitability. While some environmental observers predict doomsday scenarios in which a rapidly increasing human population is forced to compete for ever scarcer natural resources, Bill McDonough sees a more exciting and hopeful future. In his vision humanity takes nature itself as our guide reinventing technical enterprises to be as safe and ever-renewing as natural processes. It's already happening...at Nike, at Ford Motor Company, at Oberlin College, at Herman Miller Furniture, and at DesignTex. Narrated by Susan Sarandon.

The Mystery of Chaco Canyon

Dir: Anna Sofaer. U.S. 2001 56 min.


This film examines the deep enigmas presented by the massive prehistoric remains found in Chaco Canyon in northwestern New Mexico. It reveals that between 850 and 1150 AD, the Chaco people designed and constructed massive ceremonial buildings in a complex celestial pattern throughout a vast desert region. Aerial and time lapse footage, computer modeling, and interviews with scholars show how these this early indigenous culture designed, oriented and located its major buildings in relationship to the sun and moon, perhaps as a center of astronomy and cosmology designed to be integral parts of a celestial patterning. Modern Pueblo Indians regard Chaco as a place where their ancestors lived in a sacred past.