In our last entry, we were touring the gold mining town of Nevada city in our new t-shirts, sporting the logo “make films, not war”. This was during the Wild and Scenic Film Festival in Nevada City, just east of Sacramento in the foothills of the Sierra Mountains. An established environmental film festival, it brings visitors from all over Northern California for a long weekend of back to back environmental film screenings. We had two screenings with engaged and concerned audiences who were eager to learn more about ocean acidification. In addition, we met our film making friend, Alan Dater, who was there with Taking Root, the vision of Wangari Maathai of Kenya. Together with his wife, Lisa Merton, Alan has co-directed and produced a powerful film of what it takes to generate change in the face of fierce political opposition. We encourage you to see it.
Nevada City was fascinating. It was the center of the California Gold Rush back in the 1850’s. Many of the old machines and tools were on display, and the first screening of our film was in the old foundary, that made the gold extraction possible. Nevada City is a small town of approximate 3,000 people, but it is located in a stunning setting at the lower end of the Yuma River watershed. We highly recommend a visit if your travels bring you anywhere near that part of the world.
Our next festival was in Sonoma. It was also an environmental film festival. The audiences were small (around fifty) but they were hard core. We had an excellent Q&A and enjoyed the experience. During the playing of the film, we had a chance to explore the main square and wandered along the perimeter, peering into shop windows with wine for sale, wine glasses for sale, napkins and plates to go with the wine for sale, cheese to put on the plates to go with the wine for sale….you get the picture. Following the screening we had dinner with someone who works with the Center for Biological Diversity, the NGO where Miyoko Sakashita from the film works. They are doing bold work in the field of ocean acidification.
Next stop, Palo Alto. We’ll be screening at the Classic Residence by Hyatt on February 11th. We look forward to it!
We’d like to take a moment to congratulate our friends from The Cove on their nomination for an academy award. It’s a great film, which brings much needed attention to ocean issues.
Finally, we’d like to introduce Daniel de la Calle, who will be making blog entries in addition to our own. Daniel hails from Spain, and has worked with A Sea Change since its inception, acting as production photographer, so expect to see some incredible images, as well as regularly updated text, going forward.
The coming months will bring us back to Washington, DC, where we will be in a position to learn more about what leadership the capital is giving to ocean issues. We will also be checking in with many of our scientist friends and will bring you up to date on the latest research.
