Reel Earth movies this week

Sunday 4th October 7pm

Carbon Weevils

Director: Tim Britton
United Kingdom 2007 (7 mins)

A view at breakneck speed of the evolution of one particular species- the Carbon Weevil,- whose purpose and role is to excavate the earth's carbon deposits and convert them into carbon dioxide.

Swing

Director: Dawn Tuffery
New Zealand 2007
Nominated for Best Animation and Best New Zealand Film

Winner: Ora3 Award for Emerging Filmmakers  (6 mins)
As a small creature swings ithrough the trees, alien property developers go to work. Everyone finds out about the soil stabilising properties of trees the hard way, in this captivating claymation.

Tara -Journey to the Heart of the Climate Machine

Director: Michael Pitiot
France 2008 (91 mins)
www.taraexpeditions.org

An extraordinary tale of a scientific mission to gather data crucial for understanding climate change, Tara is the story of how a large multinational scientific organisation led by New Zealander Grant Redvers deliberately strands the ‘Tara’ (formerly Sir Peter Blake’s ‘Seamaster’) so it will drift with the Arctic pack ice throughout the Arctic winter. During the expedition, daily life for the crew focuses around two things: the scientific equipment and its accumulating data, and sheer physical and psychological survival. Unexpected fragmentation of the ice, giant pressure ridges, polar bears, blizzards and the unrelenting extreme cold threaten the mission and sometimes the lives of the crew. Rescue is impossible in the polar night; self-reliance is survival. New scientific discoveries combine with drama to deliver an educational and gripping film.

Monday 5th October 5.45pm

Garbage Angels

Director: Pierre Trudeau
Canada 2008
Nominated for Best Animation and Best Ultra Short Film
Winner: Reel Earth Award for Best Animation (non-juried)  (6 mins)

Disregarded everyday items take on a life of their own on the dump. Watch beautiful garbage as you’ve never seen it before and appreciate its tale of our society, where everything seems to be disposable.

Crude
Director: Joe Berlinger
USA 2009
Nominated for Best Feature Film
Runner Up: Destination Manawatu Award for Best Feature Film
(104 mins)
www.crudethemovie.com

A classic but as-yet-unfinished David-and-Goliath story, Crude documents the battle between indigenous Ecuadorian communities, represented by two attorneys, and the giant multinational Chevron corporation with annual revenue of $US200 billion. Under dispute is Chevron’s part in one of the world’s greatest environmental catastrophes. Sometimes described as “The Amazon’s Chernobyl”— the contamination in this case isn’t nuclear, but oil and the by-products of drilling. Pablo Fajardo, a young attorney who grew up in poverty in the Amazon, and free-lance attorney Steve Donziger claim that over three decades Texaco, which merged with Chevron in 2001, systematically polluted one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth, poisoning the water, air and land and leaving a toxic legacy that manifests as increased rates of cancer, leukemia, birth defects, and a multiplicity of other health ailments, and in the process destroying the cultures and ways of life of the indigenous and colonial communities. Predictably, Chevron denies everything, claims it’s a fabrication and blames state-run PetroEcuador for any problems. After 10 years of legal wrangling, Chevron managed to get the suit transferred to Ecuador, where the documentary takes up the story as the antagonists battle bitterly. Filmed in true documentary style, with both sides given ample opportunity to state their cases, Crude is a deeply moving, gripping film likely to evoke strong emotions and vigorous debate. One of the festival’s top films.