Films at the Bioneers Conference
The Bioneers Conference (whose founder is a filmmaker) has since its inception more than three decades ago always included film screenings of cutting-edge documentaries in its program. This 35th anniversary year of the conference is certainly no exception as we are proud to present a range of films on a wide array of topics from Indigenous groups fighting to defend their lands in the Amazon, to the handful of young activists of Farmlink who mobilized to feed their community during the pandemic and wound up leading an enormous national non-profit, to the struggle to keep independent media alive in the U.S., to the extraordinary series of Wild Hope films portraying efforts to restore species and ecosystems all over the world, to a documentary about an unusual lifeline for prison inmates in Appalachia.
The films will be screened in the Goldman Theater in the David Brower Center at 2150 Allston Way, and will run from 6:40pm to approximately 10:30 pm Thursday and Friday nights of the conference (March 28th and 29th).
Thursday, March 28th
Two Episodes in the Wild Hope Series
6:40 pm (90m)
Produced by Tangled Bank Studios, Introduction and post-screening Q+A with Sarah Arnoff, Co-Executive Producer of the series; Alex Duckles, Tangled Bank’s Digital Media and Impact Producer, and Alexandra Pearson, its Impact and Communications Producer.
Vertical Meadows (7:11): As urban expansion quickly replaces natural habitats façade engineer Alistair Law has created a radically new way to restore native ecosystems for pollinators and create natural spaces for us all within cities—by turning the walls of buildings and construction sites into meadows.
Return of the Manatees (16:01): Today, manatees are experiencing what scientists call a UME — an unusual mortality event — some 1000 of them are dying each year, a major crisis for a population of only 7000, but citizens in the manatee stronghold of Crystal River have pioneered an approach to restore critical seagrass that now shows promise to help the gentle giants throughout their range.
Abundance
8:15 pm (60m)
Abundance (30-minutes), a film about the remarkable Farmlink project. Introduction + Q+A with the film’s director Owen Dubeck and Farmlink’s Director of Sustainability, Julia DeSantis
During the Covid epidemic and the resulting largest food crisis in a century, as food bank lines grew across the country, a group of college students stepped up to try to figure out how to help those facing hunger in their community. Their very successful small local effort inspired and motivated 600+ students from around the country to drop everything and work in remarkably creative ways to mobilize a national effort to feed millions of families and combat food waste. Within months, the project scaled up far more than anyone could have imagined, and these student activists now find themselves on the front lines of finding long-term solutions to eliminating waste in the food system and fighting hunger nationally and globally.
Calls from Home
9:20 pm (50m)
Calls from Home (33-minutes) introduced by director/producer Sylvia Ryerson before film and Q+A afterwards.
This film, which won a prestigious award for best nonfiction film or television presentation on Appalachia or its people from the Appalachian Studies Association is about a longstanding radio program that sends familial messages of love to people incarcerated in Central Appalachia, one of the most concentrated regions of rural prison and jail growth nationwide. Calls from Home follows the weekly broadcast through prison walls, portraying the many forms of distance that rural prison building creates—and the ceaseless work to end the racist system of mass incarceration and family separation.
Friday, March 29th
We Are Guardians
6:40 pm (115m)
We Are Guardians (85-minutes) co-sponsored by Amazon Watch, with introduction before and Q+A following the film. Directed by Indigenous activist Edivan Guajajara and environmental filmmakers Chelsea Greene and Rob Grobman; produced by Academy Award winner Fisher Stevens with Leonardo DiCaprio Executive Producer.
We Are Guardians follows Indigenous forest-guardian Marçal Guajajara and activist Puyr Tembé as they fight to protect their territories from deforestation, an illegal logger who has no choice but to cut the forest down, and a large landowner at the mercy of thousands of invaders and extractive industry. Through intimate, character focused storytelling, the film weaves together politics, history, economics, science, and consciousness to provide an in-depth exploration of the incredibly complex and critical situation of the Amazon region.
Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink
8:40 pm (115m)
Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink (99-minutes), directed by award-winning Berkeley-based filmmaker Rick Goldsmith, is the story of one secretive hedge fund that is plundering America’s newspapers and the journalists who are fighting back. Investigative reporter Julie Reynolds, Denver Post editorialist Chuck Plunkett and a handful of others, backed by the NewsGuild Union, go toe-to-toe with the faceless Alden Global Capital in a battle to save and rebuild local journalism across America. Who will control the future of America’s news ecosystem: Wall Street billionaires concerned only with profit, or those who see journalism as an essential public service and the lifeblood of our democracy? Rick Goldsmith will be on hand to answer questions about the film after the screening. March 29th | 8:40 pm to 10:35 pm
Saturday, March 30th
Film Screening and Q+A with the Directors – Scha’nexw Elhtal’nexw Salmon People: Preserving a Way of Life
7:00 pm (100m)
Written, Produced & Directed by Darrell Hillaire & Beth Pielert; executive-produced by the Lummi-led non-profit, Children of the Setting Sun Productions, and Vision Maker Media. (62-minutes)
Inspired by the late Chexanexwh Larry Kinley, a Lummi fisherman and tribal leader who worked to protect wild salmon and promote tribal sovereignty, Scha’nexw Elhtal’nexw Salmon People: Preserving a Way of Life follows two Lummi families as they fish sockeye while navigating climate change, wildfire smoke, and a depleting fishery. In these critical times, Larry asks: “Who Are We Without Salmon?” Scha’nexw Elhtal’nexw Salmon People shows the resilience and adaptive nature of the salmon and the people. It is a spiritual reflection on a lifeway centered on respect and gratitude since time immemorial.
There will be a 30-minute Q+A period after the screening with the film’s directors, Darell Hillaire and Beth Pielert.
