Ride of the Merganser: is a rare and reclusive duck found only in North America. Every spring, in the Great Lakes region, the wary hen lays and incubates her eggs in a nest high in the trees. Just 24 hours after hatching, the tiny ducklings must make the perilous leap to the ground below to begin life in the wild. This age-old rite is rarely observed by humans. 'Ride of the Mergansers,' an 11-minute wildlife documentary, brings this hidden drama to the screen. Filmed entirely in northern Minnesota, 'Ride of the Mergansers' is a heartwarming blend of natural history, humor, and suspense. You'll be entertained, educated, and inspired - and leave with a newfound appreciation of the phrase 'leap of faith.' (11 minutes)
Favela Surf Dreams You don't need to be rich to surf. Rio de Janeiro has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, but also some of the most crowded and dangerous slums. A unique bodyboarding school in the heart of the notorios favela of Rocinha is helping kids stay safe and inspiring them do do more. (7 minutes.)
George Divoky: One Man, One Island--Thirty Years of Change A second entry by local filmmaker Art Howard, who has traveled to the ends of the earth over the past two years. With several trips to the North Pole and South Pole alongside groups of scientists Howard has brought back a treasure of both high definition video footage and thousands of still photographs. This particular film grew out of several weeks spent alone on an island in Alaska with a scientist who has been studying one species of bird for more than three decades. The findings are frightening, as are the increased number of bears on the island who are starved for food as their habitats disappear. (7 minutes)
Ray Bandar with Whale Skull
Ray Bandar: A Life with Skulls He's been called Dr. Bones and Reptile Ray. Usually dressed in tattered "field-trip" clothes, Ray Bandar has been a fixture at the California Academy of Sciences and the Beaches around the Bay area. This humorous movie captures Ray's obsession for collecting skulls from local beaches, road kill, zoo animals and on field trips to Mexico, Australia and around the US. (30 minutes)
Killers of Eden For thousands of years, killer whales have hunted the great baleen whales in every ocean on earth, yet only in one place have they ever co-operated with humans to hunt whales, and then largely only with one family, the Davidsons. “Killers of Eden” is the extraordinary story of the contract between man and one of nature’s most powerful and intelligent creatures.
100+ years of documentation No mere myth or the recollections of foggy memories, whilst it was occuring, the Eden story was documented in a hundred years worth of Australian newspapers, police records, court transcripts, diaries, postcards, Australian Government Hansard, journals, and books and for an additional 75 years of oral history accounts and tape recordings. The events were witnessed by hundreds of eyewitnesses, members of government, leaders of industry, priests and ministers, knights of the realm. It was most fortunately also documented in hundreds of photographs by two full time photographers over a 40+ year period and was filmed by a 35 mm Prestwick movie camera in one of the world ’s first documentaries in 1910.
Documentary and Film
The story of the Eden killers has recently been made into a spectacular, award winning documentary “Killers in Eden” by the ABC natural history unit, produced by Klaus Toft. The documentary is based on research from original source materials by Zoologist Danielle Clode and oral history interviews, document and image research by historian and film maker Greg McKee. (58 minutes)
Sturgeon City Can a body of water devoid of life, and stinking with sludge, be restored? Can decades of environmental neglect be overcome? Right here in North Carolina, in the City of Jacksonville, there is a story unfolding about water quality and environmental restoration that offers hope. In this short film by local filmmakers Art Howard and Julie Williams Dixon you’ll see the power of nature to heal itself when given the chance . . . and the power of community when people dare to dream a better future. Find out what 4 million oysters, an old sewer plant, and kids at summer camp have to do with “Sturgeon City.” Find out why “Sturgeon City” is much more than a place.
Is there a place for mermaids in the modern era of post-feminism?
City of Mermaids The story of preserving Florida kitsch, told through three generations of mermaids at Weeki Wachee Springs. The film traces the rise and fall of an aging water park eclipsed by Disney and now struggling to survive. (16 minutes)
Sturgeon City Can a body of water devoid of life, and stinking with sludge, be restored? Can decades of environmental neglect be overcome? Right here in North Carolina, in the City of Jacksonville, there is a story unfolding about water quality and environmental restoration that offers hope. In this short film by local filmmakers Art Howard and Julie Williams Dixon you’ll see the power of nature to heal itself when given the chance . . . and the power of community when people dare to dream a better future. Find out what 4 million oysters, an old sewer plant, and kids at summer camp have to do with “Sturgeon City.” Find out why “Sturgeon City” is much more than a place.
LONGFIN
This mystical film spotlights the little-known life of an endemic New Zealand freshwater eel and takes you on an epic journey through the life of this intriguing creature. From its beginnings in the dark corners of the ocean to its transition into the river, Longfin follows the eel's journey through a changing land as it encounters dangers its ancestors never faced.
Emerging filmmakers Lindsey Davidson and Melissa Salpietra, weave a modern day allegory of man's relationship with his environment in the context of one eel's 84-year life cycle. Combining DV photography, dramatic narration and detailed underwater filming, Longfin is an evocative piece that conveys the power and the spirit of this mythical creature. (24 min.)
SEA KAYAKING ADVENTURES
Birthplace of the Winds (Sea kayaking Alaska) A three-week-long journey – from California, through British Columbia and Alaska – delivered us to one of the loneliest and least known spots on Earth (halfway between Russia and Alaska), where the Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea collide at what the Aleuts called the Birthplace of the Winds.
Our goal was to kayak among five volcanic Aleutian islands rising straight out of the seas, and climb their snowcapped peaks. Weather and tides would dictate our itinerary. Two 21-foot kayaks carried everything the four of us would need for five weeks: food, fuel, paddling and climbing gear, emergency and first aid kits, and a small mountain of camera equipment. Success was far from assured in a region where it is common for gales to exceed a hundred miles an hour and strong currents, ten-foot standing tidal rips and constant winds churn the channels separating the islands. When I explained our goal to a local back in Dutch Harbor he simply shook his head. "You're gonna have your hands full...." (26 minutes)
Against the Current
Against the Current underscores the importance of healthy rivers and streams in the arid West. Told through the wisdom of four people: two ranchers, a biologist, and an environmental lawyer, this film tells the story of a rancher who, after 70 years, restored water to the stream that feeds his ranch.
Metamorph Films is a film production company based out of Livingston, Montana. Kathy Kasic is a producer and camerawoman for science and natural history films. (18 minutes)
Water Moccasin A richly layered look at family, fear and the struggle for forgiveness in a land where cottonmouths and clutter swim side by side.
Award-winning editor Paul Crowder ("Dogtown & Z-Boys", "Riding Giants", "Once in a Lifetime"), makes his fictional narrative editing debut with the short film “Water Moccasin”. Additionally, "Water Moccasin" marks writer/director Lisa Cole's return to directing after producing and writing for documentary television for many years. (15 minutes)
Filmmaker Todd Tinkham
Four Minutes On An Abandoned Bridge In the spring of 2007, independent filmmaker, Todd Tinkham, traveled across he US capturing video imges of rivers and other natural areas. On one afternoon, from an abandoned bridge near Richland, WA, Tinkham shot these images of the Columbia River and it's surroundings. This film is brand new and has not screened anywhere. (4 minutes)
Swimming A shy mailroom clerk's life is sent plunging into the deep end when she rescues an abandoned love letter from the trash can of a mean female executive... and decides to reply. Inter-office cat-fighting, deception and romance ensue in this entertaining comedy about the distance between the life you have and the life you want. (18 Minutes).
Director J. Scott Parker
Flows Intertwined Flows Intertwined captures the essence of the harshly beautiful braided rivers which are prevalent on New Zealand's South Island. The film focuses on the Waimakariri river, exploring the unique ecology that has evolved along its constantly shifting bed. The film also discusses human impact on the Waimakariri River and the ways it has affected this magnificent waterway. (15 minutes)
THE GREEN MONSTER:IT CAME FROM THE RIVER! This take-off on 1950's science-fiction films compares algae blooms in the St John's River to an alien invasion of grotesque green goo. The program sponsored by St. John's Riverkeeper took first place honors at the Awards for Reporting on the Environment, sponsored by the Society for Environmental Journalists, Sept. 2007. (58 minutes)
Haunts of the Black Masseur: The Swimmer as Hero In this beautifully shot film of submersive passion; from the ancient reeks to the great heroic swimmers of the 20th and 21st centuries, water has inspired a devotion beyond athletics, a virtual cult of immersion. This hour long documentary takes its inspiration from Charles Sprawson’s landmark book, Haunts of the Black Masseur– the Swimmer as Hero, published in English, Italian and German. Sprawson swims Europe to uncover the secret lore of swimmers past and present. We see American open water Lynne Cox, survive her swim of the Antarctic as we celebrate other daring swim feats of yesterday. (52 minutes)
Nic Beery, Executive Producer/Editor
“Borderline Bonfire” is an atmospheric piece that explores the contradictions of life, the environment that surrounds us, and human relationships.Sometimes beautiful, sometimes confusing, it’s always a journey worth taking.
Enlightenment begins when one is curious to explore, seek answers and question what they are experiencing around them.
Shot in and around the Haw river, natures natural beauty is a wonderful juxtaposition to what the filmmaker was striving for in this piece. (2.5 minutes)
Survival Fish An observational documentary that captures a morning in the life of a group of Jamaican fishermen who use their natural resources for survival. (6 minutes)
Jamaican-native Cheraine Stanford is a recent graduate of the Master of Fine Arts program in Temple University's Film and Media arts department where she earned one of the University's prestigious Future Faculty Fellowships.
