More and more documentaries about the fallout of the "Great Recession" are now surfacing. "American Winter" is a HBO documentary that "follows the personal stories of families struggling in the aftermath of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression." Continue reading

"A Fierce Green Fire: The Battle for a Living Planet," the 2012 documentary that has been billed as the video history of the environmental movement is now hitting theaters across the country. Visit the film's website for more info on screenings in your area. Inspired by the book of the same name by Philip Shabecoff and informed by advisors like Edward O. Wilson, "A Fierce Green Fire" chronicles the largest movement of the 20th century and one of the keys to the 21st. It brings together all the major parts of environmentalism and connects them. It focuses on activism, people fighting to save their homes, their lives, the future – and succeeding against all odds. Continue reading

The National Film Board of Canada is a big player when it comes to social issue documentaries. They're also leading the way forward with interactive and web based documentary exhibition. Their recent documentary "GDP: The Human Side of the Canadian Economic Crisis" incorporates 100 photo essays and 150 short films into an in depth look at the toll the economic downturn of the last few years has impacted Canadians. Continue reading

The 2013 "Wild and "Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival" just wrapped and has announced its winners. The film that took the "Best of Fest" award is "Cafeteria Man," a film about providing better school lunches to children in urban areas. Continue reading

There are a lot of environmental documentaries about water, but "Watershed" stands out as one of the best of 2012. The film premiered at the "Environmental Film Fest in the Capital" early last year and is now making its way around the environmental film festival circuit. "Watershed" is narrated by long time environmental advocate Robert Redford, and was produced by James Redford -- Robert's son. The film focuses on the Colorado River, and makes the alarming claim that overuse of the river now prevents it from reaching the sea. Continue reading

The Sundance Film Festival is just around the corner and there's a lot of buzz surrounding the political documentaries that will be featured. One such documentary, 99% (The Occupy Wall Street Collaborative Film), is sure to garner some attention. The film is unique in that it is "crowdsourced," or created collaboratively, by 60+ independent filmmakers across the country. Continue reading

Michael Apted's newest installment in the "Up" series-- "56 Up", is now hitting theaters across the country! The film is unique in that it offers a longitudinal look at the lives of multiple characters from the age of 7 to the age of 56. Apted's "Up" series showcases the impact social class has on life opportunities while exploring the twists and turns of each character's life. "56 Up" is not to be missed. Continue reading

Green Earth Cinema recently talked with the folks at ML Lincoln Films about their upcoming documentary "Wrenched." "Wrenched" profiles radical environmentalist Edward Abbey (who is becoming very popular in the world of film lately-- see this previous post). This is what the crew at "Wrenched" had to say about their upcoming film: Continue reading

A lot of people like wildlife films. Films that showcase the wild existence of lions, tigers, and bears. The problem is that many wildlife films simplify the complexity of nature. They "anthropomorphize" nature by explaining it in human terms (think: "March of the Penguins"), or alternately, turn nature into a spectacle (think: "Shark Week"). Only a very few wildlife films transcend this sensationalism. Karearea: The Pine Falcon (2008) is amongst those few wildlife films that avoid cliches, exagerations, and manufactured drama. Continue reading

The Sundance Film Festival released a list of its competition lineup for the 2013 festival today. Amongst the documentaries is the film, "Inequality for All." Inequality For All features former Secretary of Labor Rober Reich in an "Inconvenient Truth" style documentary on the problem of inequality. Continue reading

Green Earth Cinema recently caught up with documentary director Lindsay Jaeger. Her new film, "Everett Ruess: Wilderness Song" chronicles the life of the vagabond poet Everett Ruess. Ruess vanished in the Escalante Canyon region of Utah in the mid 1930s and, subsequently, became something of a wilderness folk hero. Continue reading

Revered experimental filmmaker Chris Marker once claimed that he didn't like the term "documentary." He felt the term left a trail of "sanctimonious boredom" behind it. Unfortunately, I think Marker may have been right. As I move forward on my documentary "Classless: On Being Middle Class in America" I fear that my film will be received as sanctimonious. I'm deep in the edit, sifting through footage, and teasing out themes that I hope others can relate to. To keep things entertaining I'm toying with the idea of including a few "Middle Class Montages" like the one featured here. The idea is simple: start folks off with a statement and have them fill in the blank. Continue reading

Green Earth Cinema recently interviewed Isaac Brown of Jellyfish Smack Productions. His new film "Terra Blight" examines the issue of e-waste and is currently touring the country. Green Earth Cinema: Tell us a little bit about how you developed the idea for "Terra Blight." Was it a project you had... Continue reading

I've been working for quite a few months on my new documentary "Classless." I've talked to people from across the country and have tried to figure out how best to present issues of social class on film. In reading about social stratification and film I came across the 1983 classic "Educating Rita." The film stars Julie Walters and Michael Caine in what is, perhaps, the most thorough exploration of social class a narrative film can offer. Continue reading

There have been many documentaries that examine the negative impact industry has upon the environment, but few on the environmental impacts of war. "Scarred Lands & Wounded Lives" (2008) changes that; the film offers an in depth look at one of the least known casualties of war— the ecosystems and geographic spaces war is waged in. Continue reading

Rhetoric, "zingers," and other nonsense permeated speech at the first presidential debate. Barak Obama used the term "middle class" at least 15 times. Mitt Romney uttered the term 3 times. Romney made sure to differentiate himself from President Obama by twisting the term around a bit; he said "middle income Americans" close to 10 times. The candidates seem to be experts on the middle class, but no one else attending the debate is quiet as clear as the candidates are. Check out this short video survey from outside the 1st Presidential Debate to see exactly how Americans feel about the "middle class." Continue reading

"Classless," the documentary on "being middle class in America," is seeking audience created content for inclusion in the film! If you’re interested in politics, social class, and issues of wealth inequality in the United States record a YouTube Video response to the question: “What does it mean to be middle class in the USA” and submit it to “Classless” director Joe Brown. All participant videos will be considered for inclusion in the final film and will receive a FREE DIGITAL DOWNLOAD OF THE FILM upon its release! Continue reading

A slew of environmental films are invading Dallas as part of the 25th annual Dallas Videofest (Sept 26th to 30th)! Amongst the featured environmental films are "The Lightbulb Conspiracy," a feature length documentary about the history of planned obscelencens in manufacturing, "Veins in the Gulf," a second feature doc about the plight of southern Louisianna's coastline, and a number of other important environmental shorts. Continue reading

Over the last year I've posted a variety of video clips, personal writings, and articles about issues of economic class in America. My goal has been twofold: to start a discussion about economic class (an issue that is normally considered taboo), and to start edging, ever so slowly, towards a documentary on "being middle class in America". Today, I'm happy to announce that "Classless" the documentary is in full production, and that I intend to share my progress here, on this blog, as I produce, shoot, and edit! Continue reading

Rumors about a "Monkey Wrench Gang" film have been flying over the last few years but things are now starting to heat up! The film, based on Edward Abbey's classic book of environmental literature, is slated to be directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman-- the team that brought us the documentary "Catfish." Continue reading

Filmmaker Tony Buba is now in post production on a new film about healthcare in the United States! The film, entitled "We Are Alive" focuses on a hospital closure in Braddock, PA. Funds are needed and a Kickstarter campaign is now underway. If you are able, consider supporting Tony's film. Continue reading

"Cane Toads: An Unnatural History" (1988) may be one of the most bizarrely funny environmental documentaries every made. The film tells the story of the "invasive" cane toad-- a Hawaiian toad species that was introduced into Queensland, Australia, in an attempt to counteract the spreading problem of "cane grubs." "Cane Toads" makes it clear that humankind's best "environmental management" programs are often times misguided. Continue reading

Another documentary on the super rich is making its way around America's indie-theaters. "The Queen of Versailles" looks at the lives of David and Jackie Siegel, owners of the time share business Westgate Resorts, as they struggle to maintain their super rich status during the recession of 2008. Continue reading

Green Earth Cinema recently had the chance to chat with the enviromental sci-fi filmmakers behind the upcoming film "Vivarium." This is what they had to say: Green Earth Cinema: What motivated you to make Vivarium? Jonathan Ehlers: We've always loved action-thrillers, but with Vivarium, we were interested in conveying an environmental message, one to make people be more aware and accountable for how we treat our planet. Typically you only find these cautionary warnings in documentaries, but that's not the medium we work in. So we thought it would be great to take those themes and apply them to a narrative format. Our initial concept was about a futuristic company that has created a virtual reality of nature, where you could go to the mountains, to the beach, or to a forest, with the push of a button. Why would someone develop a program like that? We realized that the only way a company would create virtual wilderness would be if wilderness itself no longer existed. So we had our setting-- a futuristic world where plants and trees had been destroyed by bio-chemical warfare, and nature only exists in a digital realm controlled by a very powerful corporation. That sort of corporate takeover isn't hard to imagine, nor is it hard to foresee a time in the future where we've completely ruined our planet. We love camping and the outdoors, so the idea of a world where the sunlight no longer shines, and where you have to pay for the air pumped into your home, was very frightening. At the same time, it's so engaging, because, the way things are going, it could very well happen. Continue reading

I recently received an email from Lone Shark Studios promoting their new eco sci-fi film "Vivairium." The film is currently in production and is raising funds on Kickstarter. Here's a short description of the film taken from the website: "VIVARIUM is an ENVIRONMENTAL SCI-FI THRILLER. In a dystopian future, all plant life on Earth has been wiped out due to biological warfare. The only way to experience nature is in Vivarium, a perfect virtual reality of pristine Earth, as it once was. It's a near-hopeless future where the ghost of Mother Nature's gifts have been twisted, corporatized into a luxury." Continue reading