EcoFocus is an exciting new environmental film festival coming to Athens, Georgia on October 23-26, 2008. The event will include world-class environmental films and relevant events and discussions, and will showcase winners of the EcoFocus Short Film Competition. EcoFocus is intended for a broad audience that includes anyone concerned about the environment and its inhabitants.
We believe that film is a particularly valuable medium for raising awareness about environmental issues. Our mission is to screen a diversity of high-quality environmental films that promote discussion and inspire our audiences into awareness and action on behalf of the environment.
EcoFocus is an initiative of the Odum School of Ecology at the University of Georgia. The Odum School has a rich history based upon more than 200 years of environmental science at the University of Georgia and the crystallization of the discipline of ecology through the research and advocacy of its namesake. By combining these strengths and the Athens community's support of film and the arts, EcoFocus is poised to have a substantial impact on environmental awareness in Athens, the Southeast, and beyond.
Films selected for EcoFocus will represent a diversity of styles and environmental subjects, and will be a unique opportunity for audiences to experience these films on a large screen. We intend to draw upon the intellectual resources of the university and other area experts, filmmakers, and special guests to engage audiences in thought-provoking discussions about both the art of storytelling on film and about the environmental issues raised by the films. Ultimately we want the films to inspire and move people, causing them to think about their relationship to the environment and how they can be part of positive environmental solutions.
Short film entries for the EcoFocus Short Film Competition should be submitted no later than August 11, 2008 through the Without A Box website. Early submissions are encouraged. Submitted films (maximum 40 minutes) should in some way relate to the environment. We are open to any genre or any style of film, and welcome a variety of environmental subjects -- climate, water, energy, agriculture/food systems, environmental restoration, biodiversity, advocacy, human impacts, policy, natural resource scarcity, natural history, etc. We seek inspiring films that promote awareness and discussion. Awards and prizes to be determined. We are open to films about domestic and international topics, but also encourage films about the southeastern US and/or made by filmmakers from the Southeast.
The EcoFocus Advisory Board is comprised of members from the Odum School, Athens Ciné, University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, filmmakers and others with interest in supporting the festival. Managing Director Sara Beresford carries out the daily operations of EcoFocus. EcoFocus is working in cooperation with the Sundance Channel. Initial financial support to launch EcoFocus was provided through the generosity of the Lyndhurst Foundation and George Fontaine.
More detailed information about the first EcoFocus Film Festival will be available in September at www.ecology.uga.edu/ecofilmfest.htm. The festival will take place on October 23-26, 2008. Most screening events will be at Cin´ in downtown Athens and on the UGA campus. Please contact Managing Director Sara Beresford at (202) 494-6669 or by e-mail at sarab@uga.edu with questions and inquiries.
EcoFocus is seeking to build relationships with organizations, businesses, and groups interested in event sponsorship. EcoFocus provides an opportunity for you to be a part of an exciting new event. Our marketing efforts will include press releases, print advertisements, e-mail announcements, the festival website, and distribution of festival posters and programs. By supporting EcoFocus, you can gain increased exposure for your support of environmental awareness and take advantage of the opportunity to share your organization's mission. We are also accepting donations from individuals who wish to support EcoFocus. Please contact Managing Director Sara Beresford at (202) 494-6669 or by e-mail at sarab@uga.edu if you would like additional information.
EcoFocus Film Festival will build upon the success of three prior screening events in 2007 and 2008. On April 26, 2007, the first EcoFocus (then called Eco-Ciné) event, representing a collaboration between the University of Georgia Institute of Ecology (since re-named the Odum School of Ecology) and Ciné was celebrated by presenting EarthDance, a selection of environmental films from the Oakland, CA event of the same name.
The second EcoFocus event occurred on October 12, 2007 with a reception, screening, and discussion of the film A Crude Awakening. Ciné hosted guest speaker Dorinda Dallmeyer, Director of the UGA Environmental Ethics Certificate Program, who gave an introduction to the film and led a discussion following the screening.
Most recently, the EcoFocus Film Festival and Sundance Channel co-hosted a reception, panel discussion, and screening of Burning the Future: Coal in America, a feature-length documentary on the coal industry, mountaintop removal, and citizen activism in West Virginia. The event, held on April 1, 2008 at Ciné in Athens, was an opportunity to increase awareness of the environmental and human health impacts of mountaintop removal coal mining, and also gave the audience a taste of what's to come at the EcoFocus Film Festival in October. Burning the Future is one of several environmental documentaries to be shown on the Sundance Channel's "The Green" weekly environmental programming season that kicked off on April 1st. Several audience members stayed on after the 7 pm screening to participate in the panel discussion. Panelists included: Scott Shelley, Burning the Future cinematographer, Dr. Bruce Wallace, UGA Professor, Odum School of Ecology and Department of Entomology, and Justine Thompson, Attorney and Executive Director of GreenLaw. Please visit the EcoFocus Film Festival.
