2008 Woodie Awards
Film fest focuses on climate issue
Jen Glantz
Issue date: 1/30/08 Section: News
Global warming has become Too Hot Not To Handle, as suggested by the name of one film to be showcased during Focus the Nation's film festival on Jan. 31.
The film festival will be held in the Pegasus Ballroom and will feature a variety of films exposing climate changes and the factors that contribute to them.
The films that will be shown are provided by the Sierra Club Energy Film Festival, an organization that provides videos for energy and climate-related film festivals across the country.
Joan Morris, a faculty member in the UCF sociology department, is in charge of the Focus the Nation film festival.
"Getting involved with Focus the Nation has provided a way to operationalize my longtime commitment to protecting the environment," Morris said.
She said that the films in the festival are divided into three categories: local issues, systemic problems and solutions. Each film category will be played in a different location, and the films will repeat as many times as possible between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
The local issues category will display videos about the impact of global warming in places, such as the Appalachian Mountains, and on people, such as the Pacific Islanders. It also includes a film about the situation before and after Hurricane Katrina called Storm In The Gulf.
The films Earth To America and The True Cost Of Food are just two of the seven films that will be shown in the systemic problems category.
These films feature different causes of climate change and examine several controversial businesses and other practices that people may not know about.
Morris said that her favorite film at the festival is SUV City, a satire on the absurdity of giant SUVs.
"It's really funny - gets the point across well," Morris said.
The final section of films falls within the solutions category, which explores different ways that people can fix climate-change problems.
These include steps people can take individually, such as the ones presented in the film Power Shift, and projects that others have begun to find solutions, such as the use of solar power in the film The Vineyard Energy Project.
This eight-hour, 21-film Focus the Nation film festival is meant to encourage people to take a stand and find solutions to the climate change problem.
"It's marvelous what you can do when you just inspire people," said Penelope Canan, an environmental sociologist for 30 years and the faculty adviser for the UCF chapter of Focus the Nation.
Morris said that the festival will further encourage active environmentalists and present cynics with hard facts about the environmental situation.
"People who are already aware of climate change problems will be more inspired to take action," Morris said, "and doubters will have something to think about."
The film festival will be held in the Pegasus Ballroom and will feature a variety of films exposing climate changes and the factors that contribute to them.
The films that will be shown are provided by the Sierra Club Energy Film Festival, an organization that provides videos for energy and climate-related film festivals across the country.
Joan Morris, a faculty member in the UCF sociology department, is in charge of the Focus the Nation film festival.
"Getting involved with Focus the Nation has provided a way to operationalize my longtime commitment to protecting the environment," Morris said.
She said that the films in the festival are divided into three categories: local issues, systemic problems and solutions. Each film category will be played in a different location, and the films will repeat as many times as possible between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
The local issues category will display videos about the impact of global warming in places, such as the Appalachian Mountains, and on people, such as the Pacific Islanders. It also includes a film about the situation before and after Hurricane Katrina called Storm In The Gulf.
The films Earth To America and The True Cost Of Food are just two of the seven films that will be shown in the systemic problems category.
These films feature different causes of climate change and examine several controversial businesses and other practices that people may not know about.
Morris said that her favorite film at the festival is SUV City, a satire on the absurdity of giant SUVs.
"It's really funny - gets the point across well," Morris said.
The final section of films falls within the solutions category, which explores different ways that people can fix climate-change problems.
These include steps people can take individually, such as the ones presented in the film Power Shift, and projects that others have begun to find solutions, such as the use of solar power in the film The Vineyard Energy Project.
This eight-hour, 21-film Focus the Nation film festival is meant to encourage people to take a stand and find solutions to the climate change problem.
"It's marvelous what you can do when you just inspire people," said Penelope Canan, an environmental sociologist for 30 years and the faculty adviser for the UCF chapter of Focus the Nation.
Morris said that the festival will further encourage active environmentalists and present cynics with hard facts about the environmental situation.
"People who are already aware of climate change problems will be more inspired to take action," Morris said, "and doubters will have something to think about."