Reel Community Action produced two short documentary films for Patchworks Farm.

Story: At the time of a global climate crisis, when the average person is wondering what the heck they can do – former educator Noel Schmidt is on a quest to turn Patchworks Farm (Santa Rosa, California) into ground zero for the post-carbon revolution. His idea? To have Patchworks be an outdoor learning laboratory and sustainability school where the criteria for graduating is saving the planet.

Director/Producer – Carolyn M. Scott
Director of Photography – Jay Masonek
Producer – Noel Schmidt
Producer/Writer – Kris Petterson
Writer – Terri Leker
Editor – Ron Lakis
Website for Patchworks created by Reel Community Action: http://patchworksfarm.yolasite.com

Short film:

THIS CLASSROOM IS A FARM from Carolyn M. Scott on Vimeo.

Event: Patchwork and Transition Towns launch http://www.transitionus.org/
Short Films: Patchworks Farm and Why Transition
When: Feb. 18th 2010
Where: Angela Center in Santa Rosa, CA
Time: 5:30-8:30pm
Food provided – contributions of bread, cheese or wine accepted.

 

The mission of the Imagination Film Festival (IFF) is to empower young leaders to create and organize green film events that inspire and mobilize their communities to action.

IFF recognizes the power of local community action, and gives young leaders the tools they need to connect to specific campaigns that address environmental issues. We offer critically acclaimed films to educate and engage audiences to take action. Youth leaders engage their audiences to move from passive citizens to active participants in local sustainability campaigns and programs, such as community gardening projects, restoration efforts, climate action campaigns and green energy cooperatives.

NEW MODEL CREATED BY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT IN SAN FRANCISCO: Schuyler Schwartz (a passionate high school student in San Francisco, CA) spearheads the IFF program in her school. See June 2011 article about Schuyler’s work with IFF. http://www.bohemian.com/bohemian/06.08.11/greenzone-1123.html

Schuyler created her own unique model for screening IFF films by approaching the green club student heads of 3 other high schools. The four high schools worked together, along with IFF staff and volunteers to launch the Imagination Film Festival. University High School, Drew HS, International HS and Urban HS are working collaboratively to screen critically acclaimed documentaries.

GO TO OUR WEBSITE http://www.imaginefilmfest.com

Imagination Film Festival (IFF) is designed to inspire and engage people to participate in a great social movement – the movement to live more sustainably. We support youth leaders to present films with important, heartfelt themes to diversified audiences in communities throughout the nation. IFF’s intention is to encourage people of all ages to become involved in local campaigns and projects, to further awareness and understanding of critical issues and their impact, and to develop and apply the skills, knowledge and community resources needed to live more sustainably.

For this effort Natural Capitalism Solutions and Reel Community Action have teamed up to bring films about grassroots heroes to a wide audience, to help facilitate sustainability projects, green jobs and other programs nationwide. Our “Film Festival in a Box” format will enable us to deliver all of the materials and organizational information communities need to easily host a film festival – including a list of appropriate local partners, marketing materials, films, schedules, guest speakers and potential sponsors.

Reel Community Action and the Climate Protection Campaign’s Cool Schools produced a film with Santa Rosa High School students in October 2009. This short film is about spreading the rumor of 350! To view it, click here.

Director/Producer – Carolyn M. Scott
co-Director – Bruce Kunkel
Director of Photography – Jay Masonek
Editors – Kevin Beaty and Clay Atchison

This is the story of two friends who hit upon a novel way to try to stop an herbicidal spraying campaign in their bucolic canyon: They found a green company to make the spraying’s target, an invasive cane species called Arundo donax, into a commercially viable crop. If they succeed, Monsanto, makers of the herbicide used in the campaign (Roundup®), might just back down. This alternately light-hearted and hard-hitting documentary captures real-life quest in an amusing tale that also lays bare the perils of pesticide use and corporate rule. Patty Pagaling, an Ojai valley resident finds out that Monsanto’s legendary glysophate (a derivative of RoundUp) is being sprayed in her pristine Matilija Canyon to kill the “devil weed” Arundo donax. Problem is glysophate is known to cause serious health problems including lymphatic cancer with impacts to wildlife and water systems.

Patty, who has a background in Native American culture and education decides to take on one of the largest chemical corporations in America. She forms a local group, Pesticide Free Ojai Valley and pretty soon they find themselves in broiled in a series of random “sprays” for apple & gypsy moths and other pests the county and state of California has deemed deleterious. Patty takes her case to the county supervisors but finds political ineptitude and indifference, with a long standing insidious relationship to the chemical giant. Deciding it’s better to fight fire with fire, Patty and her activist friends decide to harvest the Arundo reed and turn it into everything from perfume, bread to couture underwear. Going from her hippy digs to Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills on a quest to find the best product ideas for Arundo, along the way her journey exposes Monsanto’s chemical treadmill and the revolving door between the chemical giant and the EPA, as well as the viability and beauty of Arundo and it’s incredible history as a cure all with multiple uses. The film uses humor, adventure and the personal courage of it’s activists to engage the audience.

PFOV Campaign Leader: Patricia Pagaling
Producer: Patricia Pagaling
Consulting Producer: Carolyn Scott

Status: In production summer 2009. We will be producing a promo to raise funding.

For a full treatment contact: Patricia Pagaling clairdeluna333@yahoo.com

Pesticide Free Ojai WEBSITE:  http://www.pesticidefreeojaivalley.org/
contact Patty Pagaling:  pesticidefreeojaivalley@gmail.com

A Feature Documentary that follows the work of Hammer Simwinga in Africa who has been saving 98% of the Elephants and wildlife in his region. For an overview of the project, please click here.

To see a short film clip narrated by Robert Redford, please click here.

Director/Producer – Brent E. Huffman  http://www.germancamera.com/brent.html
Producer – Carolyn M. Scott and Turtle Island Films  http://www.turtleislandfilms.com

Status – pre-production and fundraising

For more information and a PDF with the film treatment and how you can be involved contact: Carolyn Scott carolyn@reelcommunity.net

The film will be used as a fundraiser for Hammer Simwinga and his non-profit Foundation for Wildlife and Habitat Conservation – Zambia.

REEL COMMUNITY ACTION is producing a film FINDING HOME – which looks at voluntary simplicity, consumption, and our need to dramatically reduce our ecological footprint. CLICK HERE to view website

Director/Producer – Danielle Bernstein (award winning Director/Producer of When Clouds Clear) http://www.clearfilms.org/html/when_clouds_clear.html
Editor – Kevin Beaty
Producer – Carolyn Scott (award winning Director/Producer TEXAS GOLD http://www.texasgoldmovie.org)
For more information please contact: Carolyn Scott carolyn@reelcommunityaction.org

Support Wild Horse Protection!
See this video http://vimeo.com/4057311

Director/Producer – James Kleinert  http://www.spiritridersmovie.com/

Synopsis: Cheryl Crow & Viggo Mortensen lend their support and knowledge for preserving the last few remaining free roaming wild horses and burros in America. Informing the viewer on the tragedy of over 33,000 wild horses being held in government holding facilities. More wild horses are in captivity then remain in the wild.

The PSA informs viewers on how they can contact their federal legislators urging them to vote in Favor of H.R. 1018 (R.O.A.M.) and the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act (H.R. 503/S. 727).