Whole Foods Market Launches National Film Festival Honoring Earth Day
Whole Foods Market, the leading natural and organic food retail chain, announced the launch of its first ever nationwide film festival “Whole Foods Market Do Something Reel”, kicking off on April 1, 2011.
Traveling to 70 cities across the country in celebration of Earth Month (Earth Day is April 22, 2011), the festival brings together a collection of six films focused on food and the environment. “We see film as an inspirational medium that can spark an active dialogue and encourage people to take action locally,” according to Whole Foods CEO, Walter Robb, who also said in a statement on Whole Foods Web site that they hope the festival will “raise awareness of environmental and food issues, and support filmmakers who are creating films that inspire people to question the impact our choices have on our health, body and environment.”
The films are:
“Bag It!” –Filmmaker Suzan Beraza follows Jeb Berrier as he navigates our plastic-reliant world. Jeb is not a radical environmentalist, but an average American who decides to take a closer look at our cultural love affair with plastics.
“Lunch Line” – Filmmakers Mike Graziano and Ernie Park follows six kids from one of the toughest neighborhoods in Chicago as they set out to fix school lunch – and wind up at the White House.
“On Coal River” �� A compelling and transcendent narrative on the human costs of coal and strip-mining, this provocative film from filmmakers Francine Cavanaugh and Adams Woods follows the journey of a former coal miner and his neighbors, residents of Coal River Valley in West Virginia, as they transform from so-called victims to fearless and informed experts on mountaintop removal.
“PLANEAT” – This visually stunning film from filmmakers Shelley Lee Davis and Or Shlomi tells the story of the scientists, farmers and chefs tackling one of the greatest problems of our age: Western culture’s love affair with meat and dairy.
“Urban Roots”– Filmmaker Mark MacInnis tells the powerful story of a group of dedicated Detroiters working tirelessly to fulfill their vision for locally grown, sustainably farmed food in a city cut off from real food and limited to processed fast food.
“Vanishing of the Bees” – Filmmakers George Langworthy and Maryam Heinen reveal the mystery of the disappearing bees, and the links to industrial farming and our attitude toward the natural world.
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Photo: Jill Ettinger
