2010 Solar-Powered Film Series
September 16-18 [Rain Date September 19]
September 23-25 [Rain Date September 26]
FROM 7-10 PM
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!
UPDATE: Greener Media to screen short subjects, Green Mountain Energy to sponsor 2010 Solar-Powered Film Series!
Greener Media
Greener Media is an award winning multimedia production company based in Brooklyn, New York. You are an expert at what you do. You make the world better. While you have an amazing story, sometimes you need a little help realizing the best way to tell it. Together, we will take your message and mission to the next level. Sometimes our clients have a precise vision of what they want and need. For those times, you can rely on us to be your muscle. But in our perfect world, we want to grow together. We know how to take a vague idea or unfocused mission, and nurture it, and turn it into something that carries weight. A lot of the work we do has an environmental message, and we have also made a commitment to take steps to lessen the footprint of our production process. To learn about our greener practices, click here. To learn about our services, click here.
Green Mountain Energy
Did you know that most of the electricity in the U.S. is made from non-renewable, polluting sources such as coal? Most people also don’t realize that the traditional production of electricity is the largest source of industrial air pollution in the U.S. But there’s a better way….
Clean energy is 100% pollution-free and produced entirely from renewable sources, such as wind, meaning the resources used to make them are naturally replenished and virtually inexhaustible. Supporting clean energy is Green Mountain’s whole reason for being – it’s why we were founded and what we continue to strive for each day.
To learn more about how clean energy works, click here. Or, if you’re ready to join us in our mission to change the way power is made, simply click “Switch Now”, and your switch to Green Mountain will be underway. It’s that easy!
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6 nights of outdoor documentary features and shorts powered by the sun. In partnership with Green Edge Collaborative, the Film Series returns with the first films we’ve ever been able to show that were made with solar power, Tony Stone’s Severed Ways and Out of Our Minds, as well as a sampling of the latest eco-documentaries including Fresh, Fuel and Tapped. Topics include water safety, beekeeping, our oil addiction, farming and food, and much more. Plus this year we’re also screening some non-documentary material- in addition to Severed Ways and Out of Our Minds, we’ll be showing The Age of Stupid starring Pete Postlethwaite. And of course, we’ll also have popcorn, trivia, speakers and some very special surprises!
There will be a limited number of chairs available, first come, first serve. Please feel free to bring your own!
2010 SCHEDULE (see below for trailers, info on speakers/performers coming soon!)
Each night will feature a short film by our friends at award-winning multimedia production company Greener Media in addition to the films listed below. Each film will be follow by a speaker and Q&A session on the topic covered in the movie.
Week 1
Th Sep 16 – Tapped
Fr Sep 17 – Severed Ways + Out of Our Minds
Sa Sep 18 – The Vanishing of the Bees
Sun Sep 19 – [Rain Date for any of above]
Week 2
Th Sep 23 – Fresh
Fr Sep 24 – Fuel
Sa Sep 25 – The Age of Stupid
Su Sep 26 – [Rain Date for any of above]
Thursday September 16: Tapped, 2009, 76 mins.
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? Stephanie Soechtig’s debut feature is an unflinching examination of the big business of bottled water. 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 an industry that aims to privatize and sell back the one resource that ought never to become a commodity: our water. Speakers TBA.
Friday September 17: Severed Ways, 2007, 107 mins + Out of Our Minds, 2009, 28 mins
Severed Ways trailer
Out of Our Minds music video
Filmmaker Tony Stone brings his solar-powered work to Solar One for a very special screening and performance. Severed Ways is a feature film that imagines the fates of 2 Vikings who land in North America in 1007 AD. Shot on location in Vermont with battery-powered cameras, Stone used the solar panels on the roof of his father’s house to charge the camera batteries, making these the first solar-made films we’ve ever had the good fortune to screen! Plus a performance from musician Melissa auf der Maur, who collaborated with Stone on the multimedia project Out of Our Minds.
Saturday September 18: Vanishing of the Bees, 2010, 94 mins
Vanishing of the Bees is a fascinating documentary about the mysterious disappearance of bees from beehives all around the world. The film’s aim is a better understanding of ‘Colony Collapse Disorder’ (CCD), a phenomena in which honey bees abruptly abandon both their queen and brood for reasons as yet not fully known. The situation is dire and only stands to get worse and so, with that in mind, the documentary examines all scientific and environmental links to CCD. Speakers TBA.
Week 2
Thursday September 23: Fresh, 2009, 72 mins
FRESH celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system. Each has witnessed the rapid transformation of our agriculture into an industrial model, and confronted the consequences: food contamination, environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources, and morbid obesity. Forging healthier, sustainable alternatives, they offer a practical vision for a future of our food and our planet. Speakers TBA.>
Friday September 24: Fuel, 2008, 111 mins
Most Americans know we’ve got a problem: an addiction to oil that taxes the environment, entangles us in costly foreign policies, and threatens the nation’s long-term stability. But few are informed or empowered enough to do much about it. Enter Josh Tickell, an expert young activist who, driven by his own emotionally charged motives, shuttles us on a revelatory, whirlwind journey to unravel this addiction—from its historical origins to political constructs that support it, to alternatives available now and the steps we can take to change things. Speakers TBA.
Saturday September 25: The Age of Stupid, 2009, 92 mins
The Age of Stupid stars Pete Postlethwaite as a man living in the devastated future world of 2055, looking at old footage and asking: why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance? Speakers TBA.
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About the Solar Powered Film Series
The Solar-Powered Film Series is the first in New York City to use the power of the sun to construct an outdoor “eco-theater” like no other. Our independent film venue integrates natural and human-made components of our urban environment creating the city’s “greenest” motion picture showcase.
This free six-evening program features nightly screenings of a range of films including acclaimed documentaries, dark comedies and sci-fi classics. The series showcases Solar One’s commitment to green energy by powering each screening in part with clean, renewable, carbon-free solar energy.
As part of Solar One’s dynamic and exciting summer schedule, the film series is held at Solar One’s outdoor location in beautiful Stuyvesant Cove Park, overlooking the East River south of E. 23rd Street. For each of the last three years, Solar One has been proud to welcome award-winning director and Oscar nominee Albert Maysles for a Q&A session following one of his films- Grey Gardens in 2005, Gimme Shelter in 2006, and the rarely-seen What’s Happening! The Beatles in America in 2007, making this an even more valuable contribution to New York’s cultural landscape.
The series’ power to demonstrate the utility of renewable energy has never been more relevant or important, particularly with the specter of summer blackouts looming just over the horizon. Since its launch in 2003, Solar One has hosted a plethora of sustainably produced popular arts events like the film series, all of which clearly show the power of renewable energy. Guests can expect great entertainment paired with demonstrations and information regarding key green initiatives.
