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Angela Sun reveals the effects of our rabid plastic consumption as she investigates The Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
Thousands of miles away from civilization, Midway Atoll is in one of the most remote places on earth. And yet it's become ground zero for The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, syphoning plastics from three distant continents. In this independent documentary film, journalist/filmmaker Angela Sun travels on a personal journey of discovery to uncover this mysterious phenomenon. Along the way she meets scientists, researchers, influencers, and volunteers who shed light on the effects of our rabid plastic consumption and learns the problem is more insidious than we could have ever imagined.
Reviews
"Excellent--in its timeliness, its depth, and its presentation." - Dr. Sherri A. Mason, Professor of Chemistry, Environmental Sciences Program Coordinator, SUNY at Fredonia
"Plastic Paradise warns that the environment is everyone's responsibility, and that humanity cannot turn a blind eye to its own garbage forever. Highly recommended." - The Midwest Book Review
"Intriguing..chilling film...Journalist Angela Sun offers valuable new insights." - The Hollywood Reporter
Awards
Best of Fest Award, Docuwest Film Festival
Grand Jury Award, Wild & Scenic Film Festival
Best Medium Length Documentary, FICMA, Barcelona International Environmental Film Festival
Best Educational Film, Blue Ocean Film Festival
Best Documentary, Philadelphia Asian Film Festival
Gold Award Winner, California Film Awards
Broadcast Award, American Conservation Film Festival
Best Environmental Film, San Francisco Ocean Film Festival
Plastic floats. The World's biggest plastic dumps are at sea. Millions of tons enter the ocean every year, pouring out from rivers and shores, ships and platforms. The world's scientists have studied the phenomenon with alarming results. Plastic contains synthetic hormones that are released when it breaks down into tiny particles through wind, waves and exposure to sun. Once in sea, plastic absorbs toxic substances known as POP's (persistent organic pollutants). This process allows these toxins to accumulate in a million times higher than normal. What happens when fish and seabirds mistake the plastic for food? Scientists have found evidence that these toxins are entering the food chain, ultimately winding up in our bodies. Even worse, plastic does not biodegrade. It becomes trapped in massive maelstroms of garbage. Scientists have identified five of these so-called gyres. A few of them are larger than Spain and Portugal combined.
Many questions remain. Scientists have noticed that the amount of plastic in the gyres has remained constant for the past twenty years, leaving millions of tons unaccounted for. Where has the plastic gone? The world's scientists are on the verge of solving a mystery that might uncover one of the biggest ecological disasters of our time.
Nearly every major city was built near the convergence of many rivers. As cities grew with the Industrial Revolution, these rivers became conduits for disease and pollution. The 19th-century solution was to bury them underground and merge them with the sewer systems. These rivers still run through today's metropolises, but they do so out of sight.
LOST RIVERS examines hidden waterways in cities around the world and introduces us to people dedicated to exploring and exposing them. In Montreal, urban explorer Danielle Plamondon and photographer Andrew Emond follow the stony underground tunnels that contain the Riviere Saint-Pierre. In Bresica, Italy, a group of urban explorers conduct popular, officially-sanctioned tours through the city's network of medieval rivers.
More and more municipal governments are recognizing the wisdom of these explorers and making their once-buried waterways more accessible. Drawing inspiration from Seoul, whose Cheonggyecheon River was opened to the public in the early 2000s after 40 years of being hidden beneath a highway, Yonkers, New York has committed itself to "daylighting" its Saw Mill River, which has been buried under the city's downtown for the past 90 years. In London and Toronto, planners are rethinking the way they manage their rivers for environmental reasons, responding to structural problems that have to increasingly frequent flooding and sewer overflows.
As climate changes forces us to reconsider the relationship between the built environment and our natural resources, LOST RIVERS brings to life an aspect of urban ecology that has long been kept secret.
Reviews
"Important as well as inspiring" - Science Magazine
"A fascinating look at the natural river systems that have long been buried and disrupted by urban development and what these waterways can do to make our cities more livable." - Jason Anderson, Toronto Star
"Ultimately hopeful...LOST RIVERS reminds us of the value of the natural world, suggesting that that world is always just a few feet away, waiting to return." - NOW Toronto
In our throw away world a plastic bag outlives it's usefulness after around fifteen minutes. A plastic bottle might last a little longer, party balloons a whole occasion. But the ocean likes to hang onto these discarded treasures for decades, even centuries giving many other consumers a taste for plastic.
The definitive story of light pollution and the disappearing stars.
THE CITY DARK chronicles the disappearance of darkness. The film follows filmmaker (and amateur astronomer) Ian Cheney (KING CORN, BIG RIVER,TRUCK FARM), who moves to New York City from Maine and discovers an urban sky almost completely devoid of stars. He poses a deceptively simple question, "What do we lose, when we lose the night?".
Exploring the threat of killer asteroids in Hawai'i, tracking disoriented hatching turtles along the Florida coast, and rescuing birds on Chicago streets injured by collisions with buildings, Cheney unravels the myriad implications of a globe glittering with lights--including increased breast cancer rates from exposure to light at night, and a generation of kids without a glimpse of the universe above. In six chapters weaving together cutting-edge science with personal, meditative sequences reflecting on the human relationship to the sky, THE CITY DARK shines new light on the meaning of the dark.
The film features stunning astrophotography and a cast of eclectic scientists, philosophers, historians, and lighting designers including Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, astronaut Don Pettit, neurologist Dr. George Brainard, Harvard Medical School scientist Dr. Steven Lockley, cosmologist Chris Impey, and lighting designer HerveDescottes.
Reviews
"The most comprehensive and intelligent documentary on light pollution." - Bob Parks, Executive Director, International Dark-Sky Association
"A City Dark really makes you think about what kind of alternatives are both sustainable and feasible." - Louis Proyect: The Unrepentant Marxist
"Entertaining and thought-provoking...Mr. Cheney's film is a personal lament for the star-filled night sky he experienced growing up in Maine, but it is neither sorrowful nor a rant; he somehow manages to give this engaging work a sense of humor. He also manages to make it smart...This film makes you want to go find a starry sky to camp under quickly, before it's all gone." - Neil Genzlinger, The New York Times
Awards
Grand Jury Prize for Best Feature, Environmental Film Festival at Yale
Jury Prize for Best Score/Music, SXSW Film Festival
From cardiac and respiratory disease to climate change, the effects of air pollution pose significant health risks to individuals, society and the biosphere. The problem of waste management has transformed the landscapes of poor countries into a tragic view of rivers and drinking water sources, which are littered with unimaginable amounts of trash. See how governments and private organizations struggle to reduce the amount of pollutants from industrial and day-to-day activity.
Pollutants from automotive transport are a major source of greenhouse gases. Government organizations, volunteer and business startups throughout the world are taking steps to reduce emissions of particulate and gas emissions from cars, scooters, buses and commercial aircrafts.
Eco Company goes to the beach! Because beaches and lakes are popular recreation areas, they often become a wasteland of plastic and garbage that people leave behind. But we found a girl scout troop that has adopted a Northern California beach and is determined to keep it free of trash and waste. Jessica caught up with them on beach clean-up and some of what they find is very surprising.
The planet's oceans are rapidly becoming the world's trash dump. Every mile of ocean now contains an average of 74,000 pieces of plastic. A "plastic soup" of waste, killing hundreds of thousands of animals every year and as chemicals trickle slowly up the food chain. In California, conservationists are seeing increasing numbers of whales and dolphins die agonizing deaths. Their intestines blocked with plastics and other trash. In Holland, scientists researching the decline of the fulmar bird found plastic in the stomachs of 95% of all samples. In Germany, chemicals leached from plastic have been found to affect the reproductive systems of humans as well animals. What will be the long-term impact of this "plastic pollution?" Can anything be done to clean up our oceans?
China's rapid industrialisation has come at a heavy price - polluted waterways and huge health problems. This film follows two Chinese environmentalists risking threats and violence to locate the factories polluting their water.
CHONGQING: The film begins in Chongqing, one of China's new mega cities, home to six million people, and a major centre of industry. Like elsewhere in China Chongqing's rapid industrialisation has come at a heavy price. Many of its waterways are now polluted.
THE ACTIVISTS: Wu Deng Ming is a local environmentalist. Together with his colleague, Yonghchen Wang, he monitors the toxic discharges from the factories which are responsible for much of China's water pollution. China now allows non-government organisations to operate, but activists like Wu and Ms Wang still face harassment from both the state and the factories.
WATER POLLUTION: According to Ma Jun, water pollution is the most serious environmental issue facing China. 60% of the waterways are contaminated. That means 320 million people don't have access to safe drinking water. The health consequences are devastating.
Strong laws governing pollution do exist, but are regularly flouted. Fines for violations are too small to deter polluters.
THE ROLE OF THE WEST: And while the West may not produce the pollution, they, in effect, import it into China. One economist estimates that 20% to 30% of China's pollution comes from the manufacturing of goods for export. Meanwhile multinational companies are threatening to leave China if local environmental laws are applied.
GOVERNMENT CRACKDOWN: China's government is increasingly concerned about its toxic rivers. In one district, local officials are cleaning up a river polluted by factories. Local people complain of the effects on their health: "It has affected our eyesight. Many people have developed kidney stones and gall bladder problems. It has also caused numbness in hands and feet."
THE FIGHT GOES ON: Under the new official crackdown, companies who can't deal with their waste won't be allowed to build factories. And those caught polluting might be shut down. But strong resistance to change still remains. Wu and Wang are violently attacked on a visit to a polluting factory.
We live in the Age of Plastic. It's cheap and practical, and it's everywhere - even in our blood. But is it a danger to us?
This feisty, informative documentary takes us on a journey around the globe - from the Moroccan Sahara to the middle of the Pacific Ocean, from a factory in China to the highest peaks of the Alps - to reveal the far-flung reaches of our plastic problem. Interviews with the world's foremost experts in biology, pharmacology, and genetics shed light on the perils of plastic to our environment and expose the truth of how plastic affects our bodies and the health of future generations.
Review
"Plastic Planet is that rare call-to-action documentary that might rouse viewers to do something more than nod their heads in agreement. A methodically researched yet engaging examination of the environmental and health problems associated with plastic, this wide-ranging warning cry uses an intelligent investigative style along with animation and vintage footage to drive home its message." - Jay Weissberg, Variety
DVD (English and German with English Subtitles) / 2009 / 99 minutes
What is pollution? What causes pollution? Where is pollution found? Who will take charge of the big cleanup? This program answers these questions while discussing how pollution impacts on the environment and its disastrous consequences. Studied in detail are substances that constitute pollution in the environment including green house gasses, oil, fossil fuels, plastic, litter, and human waste. We also discuss the problem of pollution in developing countries and what needs to be done to foster a sustainable future. An eye-opening program about the effects of pollution on our planet.
Please contact us for primary and secondary schools pricing.
An unflinching examination of the big business of bottled water.
Is access to clean drinking water a basic human right, or a commodity that should be bought and sold like any other article of commerce? From the producers of Who Killed the Electric Car? And I.O.U.S.A., this timely documentary is a behind-the-scenes look into the unregulated and unseen world of the bottled water industry -- an industry that aims to privatize and sell back the one resource that ought never to become a commodity: our water.
From the plastic production to the ocean in which so many of these bottles end up, this inspiring documentary trails the path of the bottled water industry and the communities which were the unwitting chips on the table. A powerful portrait of the lives affected by the bottled water industry, this revelatory film features those caught at the intersection of big business and the public's right to water.
Reviews
"Sounds a clarion call to kick the bottle and return to the tap." - Sandra Postel, Director, Global Water Policy Project
"Tapped...is just as vital and maybe more important [thanFood, Inc.]...Tapped is one of the most pivotal documentaries made to save our lives." - Jon Peters, Killerfilm.com
"Well-made, thought-provoking and anger-inducing...An engaging documentary that doesn't overwhelm with technical speak or annoy with tie-dye radicalism." - Dean Carrico, Honolulu Weekly
Award
Best Feature Length Documentary, Anchorage International Film Festival
Garbage! The Revolution Starts at Home is a feature documentary about how the family household has become one of the most ferocious environmental predators of our time.
Concerned for the future of his new baby boy Sebastain, writer and director Andrew Nisker takes an average urban family, the McDonals, and asks them to keep every scrap of garbage that they create for three months. He then takes them on a journey to where it all goes and what it's doing to the world.
From organic waste to the stuff they flush down the potty, the plastic bags they use to the water they drink out of bottles, the air pollution they create when transporting the kids around, to using lights at Christmas, the McDonalds discover that for every action there is a reaction that affects them and the entire planet.
Everyday life under a microscope has never been so revealing. By the end of this trashy odyssey, you are truly inspired to revolutionize your lifestyle for the sake of future generations. In Garbage!, filmmaker Andrew Nisker, skillfully and succinctly puts all of the information in one place ¡X shifting the movement from melting glaciers and oil slicks to our neighborhoods and into our homes, so that average people can connect the dots between their actions and the environment and be inspired to change their polluting ways.
Reviews
"Highly recommended for all audiences. It provides a real-life situation that anyone can relate to, as well as a chance to make a difference." - Educational Media Reviews Onlinie
"An eye-opening contribution to the consumption debate."- GreenMuze
Note
Special Mention - Cinemambiente Italian Enviro Film Festival 2008
Broadcasts: Superchannel (Canada), Sundance (USA)
HotDocs Toronto International Documentary Film Festival 2008,
Cinemambiente Italian Enviro Film Festival 2008,
UNAFF (UnitedNations Association Film Festival) 2008,
Most everywhere in the world, the air, the ground, the drinking water, the ecosystems and even made-made structures, are impacted by the harmful effects of pollution. It's a serious problem in need of some serious solutions. This global perspective on the topic of pollution takes a closer look at the where and what, along with the when and how, of this threatening environmental issue.
DVD (Closed Captioned) / 2008 / (Intermediate and up) / Approx. 23 minutes
Explores the links between the hundreds of toxic pollutants in our environment and increasing health problems.
A global experiment is in progress, and we are the guinea pigs.
Tons of chemicals are released into the environment everyday. The average citizen is not only unaware of this daily exposure, but of the long-term effects these toxic substances can have on living organisms. The majority of the 100,000 industrial compounds developed since World War II that are now in daily use around the world have never been tested for the type of consistent, low-level exposure we experience in our day-to-day lives.
These compounds find their way into the body in a variety of ways: in the food we eat and the air we breathe, through contact with the skin, and in many cases passed from mother to infant in the womb. Up to 247 toxic substances have been found in newborns alone. Today we are handing down a toxic load to our children along with our genetic legacy.
Carried out with intelligence and humor, Homo Toxicus explores the myriad links between these toxic substances and increasing health problems such as cancer, allergies, hyperactivity, and infertility. Interviews with industry scientists and independent researchers shed light on inconsistent standards used for evaluation and regulation of chemical agents. The findings are disturbing and strongly challenge us to re-evaluate the laws and procedures currently in place to safeguard our health against man-made chemicals and potential environmental pollutants.
Reviews
"Homo Toxicus sheds light on the intrinsically personal dimension of environmental problems. When we pollute nature, we end up polluted ourselves." - David Suzuki, geneticist, author, host of CBC's "The Nature of Things"
"The film, Homo Toxicus, examines the potential health impacts from widespread exposures to emerging environmental chemicals...For too long, we have erred on the side of protecting industry rather than public health." - Dr. Bruce Lanphear, Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University
A compelling new documentary exploring the noticeably under-reported issue of the environmental impacts of war. Confronts the immensely broad ecological ramifications of everything from technological development and natural resource exhaustion to weapons testing and modern warfare itself. Falling water tables, shrinking forest cover, declining species diversity - all presage ecosystems in distress. These trends are now widely acknowledged as emanating from forces of humanity's own making: massive population increases, unsustainable demands on natural resources, species loss, and ruinous environmental practices. Ironically however, war, that most destructive of human behaviors, is commonly bypassed.
In all its stages, from the production of weapons through combat to cleanup and restoration, war is comprised of elements that pollute land, air, and water, destroy biodiversity and entire ecosystems, and drain our limited natural resources. Yet the environmental damage occasioned even by preparation for war, not to mention war itself, is routinely underestimated, underreported, and even ignored. This outstanding, timely, new film explores the crucial need for public scrutiny of the ecological impact of war and reminds us of the importance of accountability and sustainability not in spite of global conflict, but because of it.
Reveals the history and worldwide scope of plastics pollution, investigates its toxicity and explores solutions.
Directed by Ian Connacher
Camera: Ian Connacher, Gad Reichman
Music Supervision: Oliver Johnson courtesy of the Hive
Editors: Martyn Iannece, Gad Reichman, Kevin Rollins
From styrofoam cups to artificial organs, plastics are perhaps the most ubiquitous and versatile material ever invented. No invention in the past 100 years has had more influence and presence than synthetics. But such progress has had a cost.
For better and for worse, no ecosystem or segment of human activity has escaped the shrink-wrapped grasp of plastic. Addicted To Plastic is a global journey to investigate what we really know about the material of a thousand uses and why there's so darn much of it. On the way we discover a toxic legacy, and the men and women dedicated to cleaning it up.
Addicted To Plastic is a point-of-view style documentary that encompasses three years of filming in 12 countries on 5 continents, including two trips to the middle of the Pacific Ocean where plastic debris accumulates. The film details plastic's path over the last 100 years and provides a wealth of expert interviews on practical and cutting edge solutions to recycling, toxicity and biodegradability. These solutions-which include plastic made from plants-will provide viewers with a new perspective about our future with plastic.
Reviews
"A sobering must-see and needs to be shown at every educational level globally!" - Dr. James M. Cervino, Visiting Scientist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Department of Marine Chemistry
"For anyone who's wondered what eventually happens to all the plastic in water bottles, packaging, and hundreds of other everyday uses, the feature-length documentary Addicted to Plastic offers a visually compelling, entertaining, ultimately frightening explanation...Candid interviews, especially a particularly revealing one with a representative of the industry's American Plastics Council, permit viewers to form their own opinions. Connacher's on-screen presence as a curious, energized hipster on a plastic road trip lends immediacy to his narrative and enables him to filter complex information and hypotheses into a manageable form that will provoke viewers without confusing them. All in all, Addicted to Plastic is an absorbing, shocking, only partially reassuring odyssey." - Jeffrey L. Meikle, Professor, American Studies, University of Texas at Austin, Author, American Plastic: A Cultural History
"Addicted to Plastic was a wake-up call for me as a marine scientist. This film presents the viewers with a grim, realistic look at how the food chain is being affected due to plastic confetti invading nearly every square centimeter on earth. This documentary is a sort of eco-horror movie, detailing how persistent plastics sprinkled throughout the ocean and land carry chemical compounds up the food chain and onto our dinner plates. The word 'bioaccumulation' truly strikes home in a frightening and understandable way after viewing this film. Addicted to Plastic is a sobering must-see and needs to be shown at every educational level globally!" - Dr. James M. Cervino, Assistant Professor, Biology and Health Sciences, Pace University, Visiting Scientist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Department of Marine Chemistry
"Addicted to Plastic is a journey of discovery of what happens to the various plastics we use and what we can do about them. The documentary is riveting, disturbing, and even sometimes comforting. Everyone should see this important film." - Reah Janise Kauffman, Vice President, Earth Policy Institute
Awards
International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
Vancouver International Film Festival
Milano Film Festival
Planet In Focus International Environmental Film & Video Festival
The thin layer of air that envelops the earth is essential to life. Unfortunately, modern living produces chemical by-products that threaten not only the quality of life, but also the number of living creatures and organisms that can survive in such conditions.
Learning Objectives
1) The basic composition of the atmosphere will be discussed and the interaction of atmospheric gases will be explained.
2) The negative effects of air pollution on plants, animals, and inanimate objects will be examined.
3) Natural and man-made sources of air pollution will be identified.
Human Impact on the Biosphere DVD introduces the concept of biological magnification before looking at the various types of air pollution and their relationship to phenomena such as smog, acid rain, destruction of the ozone layer and global warming. The program then examines the pollution of water by biodegradable and non-biodegradable pollutants, pathogens, drugs and thermal pollution sources. Deforestation, desertification and other habitat destruction is then addressed along with the impact of such destruction on threatened and endangered species.
The global population is predicted to rise by a third in the next fifty years, to 9 billion people. Half the world already lives in urban areas; so it's clear we'll need twice as many cities as we have. However, our cities consume a staggering 75% of resources and discharge 75% of all waste. Pollution is causing illness, global warming, extreme weather, and destroying ozone; something must change. This program examines the cutting-edge achievements being made in the Green Technology Revolution and explores the pioneering work now being developed to help society strike a practical balance between exploitation and conservation to create the sustainable city of the future
Review
"Recommended. This excellent documentary can challenge viewers' imagination as to how to deal with future problems facing the world's cities." -NAMTC & NMM Review
With humor, chutzpah and a piece of vinyl siding firmly in hand, Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Judith Helfand and co-director and award-winning cinematographer Daniel B. Gold set out in search of the truth about polyvinyl chloride (PVC), America's most popular plastic. From Long Island to Louisiana to Italy, they unearth the facts about PVC and its effects on human health and the environment.
Back at the starter ranch, Helfand coaxes her terribly patient parents into replacing their vinyl siding on the condition that she can find a healthy, affordable alternative (and it has to look good!).
A detective story, an eco-activism doc, and a rollicking comedy, BLUE VINYL puts a human face on the dangers posed by PVC at every stage of its life cycle, from factory to incinerator. Consumer consciousness and the "precautionary principle" have never been this much fun.
Reviews
"Funny and irreverent! One of Sundance's best documentaries." - Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun- Times
"That rare muckraking film with a sense of humor." - Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
"Directors Helfand and Daniel Gold brilliantly link unlikely stories and characters across continents, race, and class." - Caroline Libresco, Sundance Film Festival.
"Scary and hilarious!" - Elvis Mitchell, The New York Times
"The Green Building Movement may have just acquired its first cult film." - Environmental Building News
"Blue Vinyl hits your psyche like a ten-ton brick. If you care at all about the future you'll see this film." - Theo Colborn, author, Our Stolen Future
"Blue Vinyl is highly recommended for upper level high school students, colleges and the general public. School media centers, college/university libraries and public libraries would benefit by having this video in their collections." - Ronald E. Saskowski, Educational Media Reviews Online
"The kind of movie you could name an ice cream after." - Ben Cohen, President, TrueMajority.org, Co- Founder of Ben and Jerry's
"Kudos to Helfand for her five-year struggle to get her parents -- and us -- to see the light." - Now Toronto
"Frightening and funny! Blue Vinyl has left audiences lingering in the hallways for hours to debate and question." - Sharon Waxman, The Washington Post
Notes
Emmy Awards nominee (Best Documentary, Best Research)
Distinguished Documentary Achievement nominee, International Documentary Association
Awards
Excellence in Cinematography Award, Sundance Film Festival
Epic Award, The White House
Best Documentary, Bermuda Film Festival
Audience Award, Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema
Audience Award, Santa Cruz International Film Festival
Environmental Messenger of the Year, Environmental Grantmakers Association
"Nice Modernists" National Award, Dwell Magazine
Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary, High Falls Films Festival (Rochester, NY)
South by Southwest Film Festival
Cleveland International Film Festival
Maryland Film Festival
Seattle Jewish Film Festival
Taos Talking Picture Festival
Hot Docs International Film Festival
San Francisco Jewish Film Festival
Encounters: South African International Documentary Film Festival
Melbourne International Film Festival
Athens International Film Festival
Green Screen Environmental Film Festival, San Francisco
Planet in Focus: Toronto Environmental Film and Video Festival
The issue of balance between Mother Nature and all living things; and what happens to that balance when man begins to intervene in nature's environments that depend on fresh water. How do species survive in the Nabib Desert in South Africa and at Glen Canyon in the USA. where the once wild Colorado River is obstructed by a large dam? There is a look at the canalization of the Rhine and the shrinking of fresh water wetlands in Holland, and the Ecuadorian rainforest where nature is damaged by oil production.
Concerns about the health of both scarce and water-abundant environments are growing. Reallocating fresh water to the environment has started, highlighting the evermore ominous and highly charged issue of pollution. Contaminated water has direct and important consequences for public health. In 1854, a cholera epidemic in Western Europe initiated a new awareness. Perhaps the most deadly and widespread, yet most preventable, waterborne disease is diarrhea.