Postcard from 1st U.S. Environmental Film Festival

Short film about the first U.S. Environmental Film Festival, held in Colorado Springs in April 1990.

01:46Copy video clip URL A panel of actors and filmmakers talks about the film festival and environmental issues. The room is festooned with the banners of corporate sponsors, including Disney and TBS. One speaker points out a Paramount ad on the back of the festival program, and notes Paramount’s ties to Western Gulf oil. Despite the contradictory message, corporate sponsorship has helped environmental issues reach a huge audience:  “There’s nothing to apologize for popularizing things that are life-and-death issues like this.”

02:48Copy video clip URL Howie Moschowitz, a film critic for the Denver Post, talks to Bill Stamets about the press conference. “I thought it was fascinating that the actors got very nervous when somebody suggested that the environment was the hip issue for the year.”

03:05Copy video clip URL Clip from a festival film. A voice in the distance shouts about the environment over aerial views of Earth.

03:27Copy video clip URL One actor talks about finding an audience for ecological films: “The way you switch people off instantly is saying, ‘Look, come and watch this doom and gloom.’ I watched a terrible program about the dolphins the other day, and it affected me very deeply. I don’t know whether watching two or three programs about that subject would be worthwhile.”

04:38Copy video clip URL “I’m just an actor! I’m not an environmentalist!”

05:33Copy video clip URL LeVar Burton speaks to his experiences in the world of media: “The men who have traditionally been in charge of the entertainment industry have operated from a place of unconsciousness. They haven’t been aware of how powerful their thoughts and words and deeds are.”

05:49Copy video clip URL Ed Begley, Jr. talks about the entertainment industry’s power to raise awareness of important issues. “Hollywood was key in mobilizing public support, in getting people to buy bonds and be involved in the efforts in World War II…Film is now being called upon to defeat a power possibly more dangerous than the Axis Powers.”

07:42Copy video clip URL Howie Moschowitz: “I’m not sure exactly what an environmental film festival is good for…I think this one is basically good for the environment, more than it’s good for film.”