Go green with new film festival
By Joel Kato
March 15, 2010 10:34 p.m.
In addition to “Beef-less Thursdays” and “Do it in the Dark,” students now have another opportunity to learn about being environmentally friendly.
March 19-21, the Green Lifestyle Film Festival will introduce viewers to yet another green lifestyle through a variety of international films.
Founder of the Green Lifestyle Film Festival, Dorit, who goes by one name, based the festival around a view that she and many other participants in the festival share.
“A green lifestyle is a lifestyle in which a tremendous amount of attention is paid to one’s inner environment, and how that affects one’s outer environment. It’s about taking full responsibility for one’s own life, and the lives of others that one interacts with,” Dorit said.
Originally called Raw Lifestyle, Dorit changed the name for this year’s event, and thus changed the image of the film festival.
“We had a fair amount of success with the name Raw, and a lot of the films were about the raw vegan diet, but I thought it was too exclusive. The people who were attending already knew about the benefits displayed in the films. I wanted to reach all the other people I thought could benefit from the films,” Dorit said.
To communicate the message most effectively, Dorit said she and the rest of the festival’s staff make sure to be very discerning in their selection of films, which can prove to be a daunting task as the film festival receives international submissions.
“There is generally too much lecturing going on in films, and people don’t like to be told what to do. Instead of preaching, many of the films convey their message through stories. They aren’t all repetitive documentaries that strictly follow an individual’s story. For example, I’ve found that many of our Australian films tell their stories in a comedic way,” Dorit said.
One of those Australian filmmakers is Joanne Rose, also one of the Green Lifestyle Film Festival’s spokespeople. As a vegan for more than 10 years, Rose knows the difficulties in trying to communicate the message of a green lifestyle.
“As a vegan, I’ve found there are always people questioning and making fun of the lifestyle. When I approached the project, I thought, “˜How can I have fun with this?’ and ultimately I decided to create a highly exaggerated web series, “˜Vegan 101,’ about being a vegan. It’s a different type of entry. I try to share the lifestyle with people, instead of ramming it down people’s throats,” Rose said.
In addition to the variety of films at the festival, there are other festival aspects that also relate to the green message.
“It’s not just the films we show that send the “˜green’ message, it’s the people who attend, sharing ideas and things they’ve done. … In the outdoor arena, we have individuals showcasing environmentally friendly products, solutions, organizations and causes. If people watch our films and want to learn more about how to make changes in their lives or volunteer for larger causes, we have people there to help with that,” said Laura Kern, director of marketing for the festival.
In fact, Dorit planned the outdoor arena, in part, because of her concerns for UCLA students.
“When I heard about tuition and other fees being raised, I wanted to make sure that students could take something away from the festival, even if they couldn’t pay to watch the films. That’s why the outdoor arena is free of charge,” Dorit said.
With so many aspects to the festival, UCLA students have multiple opportunities to experience a new lifestyle.
