Environmentalists Talk Trash in Oakland and San Francisco
On Wednesday, January 27, Garbage Dreams was screened at Oakland’s Asian Cultural Center. The screening was packed by audience members from every demographic and every age group, including an entire fifth grade class from the Lighthouse Community Charter School. Audience members were struck by the degree to which the Zaballeen managed to find a use for everything. Many attendees were inspired to integrate this consideration into their own lives and think more about the value of the things they view as trash. The screening was followed by an exciting discussion featuring panelists, Monica Wilson, International Co-coordinator at the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), Aaron Ableman, Co-Founder of Communitree, and Ambessa Cantave, Co-Founder of Grind for the Green and Oakland Climate Justice Activist. Following is a video including interviews with panelist, Ambessa Cantave and a few of the audience members. A week before this screening, on Tuesday, January 19th, the San Francisco Main Library also hosted a screening of Garbage Dreams.
This screening was also followed by a very interesting discussion. Panelists, Kevin Drew, Residential Zero Waste Coordinator at the San Francisco Department of the Environment, Neil Tangri, Climate Change Campaign Director at the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), and Bradley Angel, Executive Director at GreenAction, had some very eye-opening things to say about recycling:
“When you burn this stuff (trash), no matter how state-of-the-art, no matter how conscientious the company, you are getting emissions of the most toxic substances known to science- that are having a profound effect on our population worldwide.”
-Neil Tangri, Climate Change Campaign Director, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA)
“The fact of the matter is, companies are producing stuff for which there is no solution and they take no responsibility. And it’s left in the hands of Kevin (San Francisco Department of the Environment) and your tax dollars to solve that problem…If you can’t recycle it, if you don’t have a plan for it, you shouldn’t be producing it in the first place.”
-Bradley Angel, Executive Director, GreenAction
“We really shouldn’t be shipping things a long way away, we should be trying to live locally to the extent that we shouldn’t expect to get avocados year-round or other things, until very recently, we didn’t get year-round. Living within our means from a local ecosystem sense is where you’re going to find the right answer.”
-Kevin Drew, Residential Zero Waste Coordinator, San Francisco Department of the Environment
“If the waste pickers in Cairo can do eighty percent, I think San Francisco can do eighty percent as well.”
-Neil Tangri
New Films Available on the PBS Video Player
ITVS programs regularly explore the rich and vibrant history and cultural contributions of African Americans. In fact, three ITVS films –– Brother to Brother, Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes, and Life and Debt –– were recently recognized by The Grio’s “Ten Most Important Black Films of the Decade.”
In celebration of Black History Month, ITVS and PBS are offering a special slate of new and encore programs throughout February. Select programs are also available on the PBS video player. Be sure to check out the Independent Lens documentary February One: The Story of the Greensboro Four, which looks at the pivotal event in the Civil Rights Movement when four college students staged a sit-in at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1960. Also, be sure to check out last year’s Independent Lens Audience Award winner Adjust Your Color: The Truth of Petey Greene, which tells the unlikely story of America’s original shock-jock, Petey Greene, who battled the system and his own demons during a time of civil unrest in the nation’s capital.
Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes and P-Star Rising, both Independent Lens documentaries, will be available online February 10.
Garbage Dreams Continues to Raise Awareness of Recycling All Over The Country
Garbage Dreams tells the story of garbage pickers in Cairo, Egypt who are among the best recyclers on the planet
Community Cinema Charleston (South Carolina) distributed free recycling bins provided by the city, had a discussion about the Charleston Green Plan, and how to improve recycling in the area.
At Community Cinema Sheboygan our facilitator, Nate Lowe an assistant professor at Lakeland College, teaches a senior level course on environment and consumption. He is also the faculty adviser for the student led group Eco-Friends. He was able to speak about some of their success in getting our local community to begin recycling programs. In 2002, during a trip to Egypt, Nate visited Makattam, the largest recycling village in Cairo where a UNESCO school teaches young Zabbaleen women how to recycle thrown-away fabrics into marketable items. Lowe pointed out that 90% of Cairo is Arabic and 10% is Christian. There were comments addressing concern for the Zabbaleen particularly regarding the statistic that 1 in 5 children die from complications due to the garbage environment and were encouraged to hear that The Gates Foundation donated one million dollars to their recycling school. A public works representative who attended the screening said the average amount recycled in America is about 36% and Sheboygan recycles 24%. He emphasized the severity of the landfill situation in the area by revealing that our landfills are not decomposing like we thought they would and predicted that in 40-50 years we would be mining our own landfills for resources.
Garbage Dreams airs in April on Independent Lens on PBS (check local listings)
At Community Cinema Chicago we had people sitting on the floor in front of the first row, and standing throughout the entire film in the back. We must have turned away over 50 people. The discussion following the film was amazing. Elise Zelichowski from the ReBuilding Exchange moderated. She kicked off the discussion by asking via applause vote how many people in the audience thought that Chicago’s recycling program was poor. That got a resounding round of applause. There was much discussion about improving the efficiency of our city’s recycling and garbage collection. And about correcting the city’s stringent plan for community gardening in vacant lots. One panelist was Ken Dunn, Founder and Director of the Resource Center. Ken is considered Chicagos pre-eminent authority on all things environmental. When Ken said that he learned much from the Zeballeens methods and attitudes, it really meant a lot. Erin Kennedy from SCARCE teaches recycling at schools and community groups across the broad Chicago area. She spoke about what it takes to change habits. The third panelist was Clissold Elementary 7th grader Alana Hurley. She said that at a very young age, she took her parents concern for the environment to heart and was determined to put her concern for the planet into widespread practice. She got her school to start a recycling club and now many students are involved in the effort.
And, at Community Cinema Steamboat Springs (“Ski Town USA”) in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains the Bud Werner Memorial Library, Yampa Valley Sustainability Council, and Yampa Valley Recycles presented a free screening of the documentary Garbage Dreams. Along with Home ReSource, all three groups set up informational tables, including a fairly large Recycling 101 display, for people to discuss and peruse before the film. YVSC then did a short presentation about their Zero Waste initiative at the Steamboat Ski Area and large events around town, plus the upcoming Talking Green event. Yampa Valley Recycles then did a short, informative talk about the state of Steamboat Springs recycling and took questions from the audience.
Oscar Noms for The Most Dangerous Man in America; Indie Lens Host Maggie Gyllenhaal
This morning, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences officially announced that The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. This marks the 11th Academy Award nomination for ITVS.
In 1971, Daniel Ellsberg, a leading Vietnam War strategist, concludes that America’s role in the war is based on decades of lies. He leaks 7,000 pages of top-secret documents to The New York Times, a daring act of conscience that leads directly to Watergate, President Nixon’s resignation, and the end of the Vietnam War. Ellsberg and a who’s-who of Vietnam-era movers and shakers give a riveting account of those world-changing events. The film is by award-winning filmmakers Judith Ehrlich (The Good War and Those Who Refused to Fight It) and Rick Goldsmith (Tell the Truth and Run: George Seldes and the American Press). The film will air later this year on P.O.V. on PBS.
Nominees for Best Documentary Feature of the year include:
- Burma VJ
- The Cove
- Food, Inc.
- The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
- Which Way Home
Also, Independent Lens series host Maggie Gyllenhaal received a nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her compelling role as a journalist and single mom in the film Crazy Heart. When shooting the Independent Lens host introductions in New York City last August, Maggie talked about this flim and how proud she was of the work. She praised her co-star Jeff Bridges and predicted that his performance would receive wide acclaim. We want to congratulate Maggie on her Academy Award nomination and are honored to be working with her on Independent Lens.
Nominees for Best Actress in a Supporting Role include:
- Penélope Cruz in Nine
- Vera Farmiga in Up in the Air
- Maggie Gyllenhaal in Crazy Heart
- Anna Kendrick in Up in the Air
- Mo’Nique in Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Check out the entire list of this year’s nominees >>
The 2010 Academy Awards ceremony will take place on Sunday, March 7. Stay tuned to the ITVS blog Beyond the Box for further coverage. Congratulations and good luck to all the filmmakers!
Watch a clip of The Most Dangerous Man in America:
An Interview About Garbage
Audience members and partner organizations mingle and share at the Garbage Dreams event in St. Louis.
Producing Partners are local community organizations that co-present Community Cinema screenings across the country. Back in January, Producing Partner KETC in St. Louis, MO, screened the Independent Lens film Garbage Dreams at the not-to-be-missed Missouri History Museum for over 300 local folks. The audience learned that St. Louis recycles about 35% of its waste and that over the past 30 years, St. Louis has made a concerted effort to increase that percentage. As one audience member observed, “It looks funny to see soda cans in a regular waste can and not in a recycle container and we don’t use just one side of the paper.” Watch an interview below with one of our other St. Louis event partners who is working on garbage, solid waste, and recycling education locally.
Find more videos like this on Community Cinema Series St. Louis
How Do You See Yourself When You Can’t See at All?
For blind teenagers crossing an intersection, cooking a meal, or navigating unfamiliar areas can be a challenge that sighted viewers never consider.
Our Community Cinema selection for February is the documentary The Eyes Of Me by Keith Maitland.
How do you see yourself, when you can’t see at all? At the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI), in Austin, Texas students juggle all the usual pressures of high school along with the added struggles of growing up blind. Spend a dynamic year with four blind teens learning how to fit in and live independently. Forced to confront the world without sight, they share their inner-visions of the outer world. Ultimately, you cannot understand their perceptions without challenging your own.
Denise sings a duet in the school play
Filmmaker Keith Maitland explains, “I’ve always been intrigued by questions of perception and identitybuilding, specifically how teens and young adults define themselves within their communities. After a chance meeting with a staff member from the Texas School for the Blind, I realized that I could delve into these questions of perception and identity through the experiences of the students at the school. Meeting Chas (the first blind person I’d ever met) convinced me that I had to make a film that would explore these questions, simply by spending time with him and experiencing his life as it unfolded that year. Additionally, I chose to follow Denise, Isaac, and Meagan, all unique characters with unique perspectives.”
Preview The Eyes Of Me here.
ITVS Celebrates Black History Month
Nine-year-old Pricilla from P-Star Rising, airing Feb. 9 at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS.
Mine, premiering Feb. 16 at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS.
ITVS and PBS offers viewers the opportunity to explore the rich and vibrant history and cultural contributions of African Americans throughout the year, but this month offers a special slate of new and encore programs in honor of Black History Month.
Independent Lens brings race to the forefront with four new films in February. Herskovits at the Heart of Blackness, debuting Feb. 2, explores the often-overlooked legacy of Jewish anthropologist Melville Herskovits, whose ideas in the 40s and 50s challenged the accepted assumptions about race and culture. Then, tune in on Feb. 9 for P-Star Rising, which looks at nine-year-old Pricilla who wants to be the youngest female rap star ever and her single father who is determined to help her make it big. This film also closes out the special line-up of compelling films as part of Independent Lens’s Music Month.
A third film, Mine, premiering Feb. 16, tells the poignant and powerful story of animals left behind during Katrina, and of the struggles of hurricane victims to reunite with their beloved pets. Finally, Behind the Rainbow, airing Feb. 23, unearths once-hidden realities of South Africa’s political obstacles on the path to democracy.
Other ITVS films airing this month on PBS include: February One: The Story of the Greensboro Four, which looks at the pivotal event in the Civil Rights Movement when four college students staged a sit-in at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1960, and Scarred Justice: The Orangeburg Massacre 1968, which investigates the continued cover-up of the tragedy of 1968 on the campus of South Carolina State University and follows ongoing efforts to seek justice.
Get local broadcast information >>
Thousands of hours of PBS programming are available on the PBS Video Portal, including a special collection for Black History Month.
Watch these video clips of upcoming new Independent Lens programs (check local listings):
Herskovits at the Heart of Blackness, Feb. 2 at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS
Garbage Dreams Events Make People Look At Garbage Differently
37 free Community Cinema events for Garbage Dreams raised recycling awareness across the country. From the sheer number of questions about recycling at events, we know that the film sparked discussion, moved people to action, and provided education on the local level. Filmed over four years, Garbage Dreams follows three teenage boys born into the trash trade and growing up in the world’s largest garbage village, a ghetto located on the outskirts of Cairo. When their community is suddenly faced with the globalization of its trade, each of the teenage boys is forced to make choices that will impact his future and the survival of his community.
Filmmaker Mai Iskander
Filmmaker Mai Iskander sat down in January with Kojo Nnamdi on WAMU in Washington, DC to talk about global environmental challenges and how the “Zabaleen” — or garbage collectors — has captured the world’s attention for their startlingly efficient, eco-friendly, and low-tech methods of recycling.
Listen to the full interview [20 minutes] >>
The New York Times’ Jeannette Catsoulis reviewed Garbage Dreams. She says, “…this new film digs deeper into the politics of a life that few would choose but many depend on.” Read her full review.
At one of our first events for Garbage Dreams in Saratoga Springs, NY at the Saratoga Springs Public Library, our partner organization for the free screening of Garbage Dreams was the local chapter of GAIA, The Global Anti-Incerator Alliance, The Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives. Our speaker from GAIA was Tracy Frisch, who is active in several other nonprofit organizations in the area. We also had as audience members a husband and wife who own a local Egyptian products store who were brought up in Cairo.
In sunny San Diego, California at the San Diego Public Library, Garbage Dreams was the best screening of the season according to our partners at the library. It was the biggest audience so far, and we had an excellent speaker follow the film who kept more than half the audience in their seats for Q&A. The film presented a wonderful opportunity to discuss grassroots activism and how to mobilize now on recycling issues in San Diego. We had press coverage from the the San Diego Reader.
Read on for more event outcomes and a chance to win a gift from The Recycling School in Cairo!
› Continue reading
Nashville Garbage Dreams Event a Homecoming After 2009 NaFF Success
Community Cinema hosted a screening of the Independent Lens film Garbage Dreams this past weekend at the Nashville Public Library. The film follows three teenage boys born into the trash trade and growing up in the world’s largest garbage village, a ghetto located on the outskirts of Cairo. Regional Outreach Coordinator Allison Inman gives an overview of the event.
Al Gore presents filmmaker Mai Iskander with the REEL Current Award for extraordinary insight into global issues at the 2009 Nashville Film Festival.
Saturday, Community Cinema welcomed more than 125 people into Nashville Public Library’s downtown branch auditorium for a screening of Garbage Dreams. The event was a homecoming of sorts; Mai Iskander and her film were the talk of last year’s Nashville Film Festival (NaFF) when Al Gore presented Mai with the REEL Current Award for extraordinary insight into global issues. Because of Garbage Dreams, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation donated $1 million to benefit the Zaballeen, the “garbage people” profiled in the film. When announcing the grant, Garbage Dreams’ producers credited Nashville Film Festival and the REEL Current Award with part of the film’s success. As NaFF Director Sallie Mayne said, “We feel like a small but important part of its journey.”
Garbage Dreams Events Make People Look At Garbage Differently: Houston
Producing Partners are local community organizations that co-present Community Cinema screenings across the country. Last night, HoustonPBS screened the Independent Lens film Garbage Dreams. Filmed over four years, the film follows three teenage boys born into the trash trade and growing up in the world’s largest garbage village, a ghetto located on the outskirts of Cairo. Manar Hindi, Community Cinema assistant coordinator, talks about the event and how she’ll never look at trash the same way again.
Harry Hayes talks with audience members after the Community Cinema screening and panel discussion.
Speakers Harry Hayes, director of the city’s Solid Waste Management Department; Dr. H.C Clark, professor at Rice University; and Cindy Yepez of the Houston Green Scene.
I’ve always wondered what happens with my trash. It seems to magically disappear each week and I don’t really have any idea what happens to it or what impact it has on my community. Well that all changed last night. What I learned at the HoustonPBS Community Cinema screening of Garbage Dreams was fascinating.
Houston recycles about 22 percent of its solid waste. While the number shows an improvement, we still lag behind cities like Portland (63 percent) and San Francisco (72 percent). Harry Hayes, director of the city’s Solid Waste Management Department, said that one of the things needed to increase the number of people recycling in Houston is legislation. He talked about how people in San Francisco are fined if they don’t recycle properly. He said if people are really concerned about recycling they need to contact their elected officials.
One audience member asked what he could do to implement a recycling plan in his apartment building, since there was no real precedent for him to follow. Mr. Hayes’ answer was that there was no “curbside” pick up currently for apartment building, so his suggestion was to speak with the owner’s of the apartment building about possibly hiring a private company to collect and haul the recyclables away.
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