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Masters in Environmental Governance
MA Wild Writing
iCES
Film Series
Occasional
Papers
Current Research Programmes
University Books on
Environment and Health
University's Green Task Force
Department of Biological
Sciences
Fellows of the iCES
Prof Jules
Pretty
Dr Jo Barton
Prof Ted Benton
Prof Steffen Boehm
Dr Stuart Bunting
Prof Ian Colbeck
Dr
Val Gladwell
Prof Mark
Harvey
Rachel
Bragg
Dr Karen Hulme
Prof Peter Hulme
Dr Peter
Martin
Dr Sandra Moog
David Ong
Dr Kate
Rockett
Dr Gavin Sandercock
Dr David Smith
Prof Colin Samson
Prof
Martin Sellens
Prof Nigel South
Associates of iCES
Dr Zareen Bharucha
Karen Kolbe
Pippa Mansell
Suresh Sahu
Dr Zulfiqar Ali
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iCES Environmental Film Series
***Open to the whole University of Essex community ***
A new series is being planned and details will appear here once available.
Previously we have shown:
Darwin’s Nightmare (2004, dir. Hubert Sauper, 106 minutes)
Forty years ago, a voracious predator was introduced into the waters of
Tanzania's Lake Victoria where it quickly extinguished the entire stock of
native fish. Its ecological impact aside, the Nile Perch became highly
prized for its tender, plump fillets, hardly meeting the demand at elegant
4-star European restaurants. Huge, empty foreign cargo planes land to export
the lake's gourmet bounty, taking out 55 tons of processed fish daily. In
their wake, they leave starving villagers to scrounge a meal out of the
discarded fish heads and rotting carcasses. With massive epidemics, raging
civil wars, crime, homelessness, and drug-addicted children, the question
becomes: what do the reportedly "empty" planes deliver to this destitute
community? The answer is as shocking as it is devastating, and Darwin's
Nightmare becomes a nightmare for all mankind. (Winner of the 2004 European
Film Awards & 2006 Academy Awards for best documentary. Warning: Adult
Themes, described by critics as both “harrowing” and “heartbreaking”)
Energy Crossroads: A Burning Need to Change Course
(2007, dir. Christophe Fauchere, 56 minutes)
Most experts agree that global peak oil production, when demand exceeds
supply, will occur within the next 15 years and will drastically change the
very fabric of our industrialized world. Fossil fuels power every facet of
our economies; how can we avoid an energy crisis and a possible collapse of
our economy? Today, China and India have aspirations to attain our western
quality of life; but at the rate and the way we use the world's energy
resources, their ambition will be physically impossible. In addition to
increasing geopolitical conflicts, the process of extracting and using these
crucial resources is endangering the very own habitat that we depend on to
prosper as a species - pushing the earth's climate and ecosystem to a point
of no-return. This award-winning documentary exposes the problems associated
with our energy consumption. It also offers concrete solutions for those who
want to educate themselves and be part of the solutions in this decisive
era.
Food Matters (2009, dirs. James Colquhoun and Laurentine ten Bosch,
80 minutes)
Despite the billions of dollars of funding and research into new so-called
cures we continue to suffer from a raft of chronic ills and every day
maladies. This documentary sets about uncovering the trillion dollar
worldwide ‘Sickness Industry’ and exposes a growing body of scientific
evidence proving that nutritional therapy can be more effective, more
economical, less harmful and less invasive than most conventional medical
treatments. The film features interviews with leading medical experts from
around the world who discuss natural approaches to preventing and reversing
cancer, obesity, heart disease, depression, mental illness and many other
chronic conditions.
A Thousand Suns (2009, dir. Stephen Marshall, 28 minutes)
A Thousand Suns tells the story of the Gamo Highlands of the African Rift
Valley and the unique worldview held by the people of the region. This
isolated area has remained remarkably intact both biologically and
culturally. It is one of the most densely populated rural regions of Africa
yet its people have been farming sustainably for 10,000 years. Shot in
Ethiopia, New York and Kenya, the film explores the modern world's untenable
sense of separation from and superiority over nature and how the
interconnected worldview of the Gamo people is fundamental in achieving
long-term sustainability, both in the region and beyond.
Powaqqatsi: Life in Transformation (1998, dir.Godfrey Reggio, 97
minutes)
Hailed by audiences and critics around the world, this film, the mesmerizing
second installment of Reggio's apocalyptic qatsi trilogy, is quite simply
one of the most magnificent visual and aural spectacles ever made. Combining
stunning cinematography with the exquisite music of Philip Glass, Powaqqatsi
is haunting and epic in scale. Juxtaposing images of ancient cultures with
those of modern life, Powaqqatsi masterfully portrays the human cost of
progress. The film dramatizes the effects of the so-called First World on
the Third: displacement, pollution, alienation. But Reggio spends as much
time beautifully depicting what various cultures have lost -- cooperative
living, a sense of joy in labor, and religious values -- as he does
confronting viewers with trains, airliners, coal cars, and loneliness.
Despite the inherent critique in the film, Reggio, a former member of the
Christian Brothers, ultimately seems to maintain hope for renewal.
The End of the Line (2008, dir. Rupert
Murray, 80 minutes)
Where have all the fish gone? Imagine an ocean without fish. Imagine your
meals without seafood. Imagine the global consequences. Filmed over two
years, The End of the Line is the first major feature documentary film
revealing the impact of overfishing on our oceans. Filmed across the world –
from the Straits of Gibraltar to the coasts of Senegal and Alaska to the
Tokyo fish market – featuring top scientists, indigenous fishermen and
fisheries enforcement officials, the film is a wake-up call to the world.
The End of the Line follows the investigative reporter Charles Clover as he
confronts politicians and celebrity restaurateurs, who exhibit little regard
for the damage they are doing to the oceans.
The film was premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2009 in the World
Cinema Documentary Competition, and we’re very lucky to have Charles Clover,
currently a visiting Professor here at Essex coming to present and discuss
the film with us this term.
Six Degrees Could Change the World (2008, National Geographic, 90
minutes)
By the year 2100, many scientists believe that the Earth’s average
temperature could rise by as much as six degrees Celsius. In a
degree-by-degree investigation, Six Degrees Could Change the World explores
what each rising degree could mean for the future of our people and planet.
This film explores how global warming has already affected the reefs of
Australia, the ice fields of Greenland, and the Amazonian rainforest. With a
sobering look at the effect of our world’s insatiable appetite for energy,
it explains what’s real, what’s still controversial, and how existing
technologies and remedies could help dial back the global thermometer.
What would Jesus Buy? (2009, dir. Rob VanAlkemade, 91 minutes)
Rob VanAlkemade's 'What Would Jesus Buy?' is a rousing, irreverent and
simultaneously sobering documentary about the year round destructive
shopaholic obsession that spins into and out of control buying and spending
orgy by the time Christmas rolls around. The movie follows performance
activist Reverend Billy and his ragtag cross country caravan, The Church of
Stop Shopping Gospel Choir, to bring the voice of reason to compulsive
consumers everywhere. The “What Would Jesus Buy?” project is the brainchild
of Morgan Spurlock, the same guy who in a less spiritual frame of mind, lost
the junk food battle of the bulge against McDonald's with his Academy Award
nominated high calorie investigative doc, Super Size Me. The concerns of
What Would Jesus Buy are broader than digestion, as Reverend Billy and
entourage put out a wakeup call to mall junkies everywhere, exorcising the
demons from assorted cash registers and credit cards as he urges consumers
to return to a more authentic relationship with Christmas. Reverend Billy's
approach to advocating healing social change, along with the thousands of
followers in his congregation, is to infuse protest with humor, energizing
his message with feelgood social activism. The businesses he holds up to a
higher standard may not feel quite the same way, as the manic preacher
formerly known as Bill Talen has been booted from countless stores and
malls, and is the only bible thumper to have a permanent restraining order
against him issued by Starbucks. (We’ll be showing selections from this
film... about 60 mins.)
What a Way to Go: Life at the End of Empire (2007, T.S. Bennett, 123
minutes)
A middle class white guy comes to grips with peak oil, climate change, mass
extinction, population overshoot, teetering global economies, and our
increasingly unstable political climate. This film has been described as a
“two-hour poem of great power and beauty. A personal journey, yet a journey
that is also deeply universal. A journey that encompasses ignorance,
awareness, fear, depression, denial, grief and despair.” Although scientists
are interviewed, the majority of the commentators in the film are writers,
artists, and academics: Thomas Berry, Jerry Mander, Daniel Quinn, William
Catton, Derrick Jensen, Chellis Glendinning, Richard Heinberg, Richard
Manning and Ran Prieur.
Flow (2008, dir. Irena Salina, 84 minutes)
Irena Salina's award-winning documentary investigates one of the most
important political and environmental issues of the 21st Century - the world
water crisis. Exploring privatization of the world's dwindling fresh water
supply, Flow focuses on politics, pollution, and human rights. Interviews
with scientists and activists reveal some of the governmental and corporate
culprits behind the water grab, asking the question 'Can anyone really own
water?' Beyond identifying the problem, Flow also gives viewers a look at
people and institutions providing practical solutions to the water crisis
and those developing new technologies, which are fast becoming blueprints
for a successful global and economic turnaround.
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