DIRT! The Movie (film screening) – 5/10

On Friday, May 10, 2013 at 8 pm, CRS FILM+VIDEO SHOW & TELL invites you to screen and discuss “DIRT! The Movie,” (86 min). Narrated by Jamie Lee Curtis (in English, with Japanese subtitles), “DIRT! The Movie” tells the amazing and little known story of the relationship between humans and living dirt. Natural Life Counselor Kiyomi Noda will be on hand to lead a short Q&A after the screening.
The screening is $5 and seating is limited. Buy tickets online! (Note: If you arrive after 8 pm, you may still be able to enter, but you will NOT be guaranteed a chair.)
DIRT! takes you inside the wonders of the soil. It tells the story of Earth’s most valuable and underappreciated source of fertility–from its miraculous beginning to its crippling degradation.
The film offers a vision of a sustainable relationship between Humans and Dirt through profiles of the global visionaries who are determined to repair the damage we’ve done before it’s too late. There are many ways we can preserve the living skin of the earth for future generations. If you care about your food, water, the air you breathe, your health and happiness….
DIRT! The Movie was directed and produced by Bill Benenson and Gene Rosow and brings to life the environmental, economic, social and political impact that the soil has. It shares the stories of experts from all over the world who study and are able to harness the beauty and power of a respectful and mutually beneficial relationship with soil.
 

 
Why Dirt?
Dirt feeds us and gives us shelter. Dirt holds and cleans our water. Dirt heals us and makes us beautiful. Dirt regulates the earth’s climate. Dirt is the ultimate natural resource for all life on earth.
Yet most humans ignore, abuse, and destroy our most precious living natural resource.Consider the results of such behavior: mass starvation, drought, floods, and global warming, and wars. If we continue on our current path, Dirt might find another use for humans, as compost for future life forms.
It doesn’t have to be that way. Another world, in which we treat dirt with the respect it deserves, is possible and we’ll show you how.
DIRT! The Movie is simply a movie about dirt. The real change lies in our notion of what dirt is. The movie teaches us: “When humans arrived 2 million years ago, everything changed for dirt. And from that moment on, the fate of dirt and humans has been intimately linked.” But more than the film and the lessons that it teaches, DIRT! The Movie is a call to action.
The opening scenes of the film dive into the wonderment of the soil. Made from the same elements as the stars, plants and animals, and us, “dirt is very much alive.” Though, in modern industrial pursuits and clamor for both profit and natural resources, our human connection to and respect for soil has been disrupted. “Drought, climate change, even war are all directly related to the way we are treating dirt.”
“The only remedy for disconnecting people from the natural world is connecting them to it again.”
What we’ve destroyed, we can heal.
http://www.thedirtmovie.org
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
Bill Benenson: Director, Producer
Award-winning filmmaker. 30-plus years producing and directing experience. Champion of global welfare.
Bill’s resume includes documentaries The Marginal Way and Diamond Rivers, as well as the critically-acclaimed narrative Mister Johnson. He has served the US Peace Corps and the Wildwood School Board, was an initial investor in Seeds of Change, and is active in The Frances and Benjamin Benenson Foundation, the Violence Policy Center, the National Resources Defense Council, Bioneers, Rainforest Action Network and Ploughshares.
 
Gene Rosow: Director, Producer
Accomplished producer, writer and director. Over 30 years filmmaking experience. Interest in the environment goes beyond conscientious… it’s downright affectionate.
Gene wrote, produced and directed more than 20 documentaries including Doctora for Channel 4 England, Routes of Rhythm with Harry Belafonte for PBS, and Knights for Canal+France. His feature film credits include the lovable family film Zeus and Roxanne for MGM, among others. On top of a Ph.D in History, Gene relishes his year of post-graduate work in Ecology, Biochemistry, Cellular Physiology, and Parisitology.
 
Laurie Benenson: Executive Producer
Laurie Benenson is a writer, editor and journalist. She founded Movieline Magazine in 1985 and went on to write about film and television for the New York Times Sunday Arts and Leisure section. An avid environmentalist, Laurie is on the action forum of the NRDC and is also involved with Rainforest Action Network and Conservation International, among other environmental groups. Laurie has written a screenplay about pioneering environmentalist Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring, and is currently working on a rewrite of her romantic comedy Genie. Dirt! The Movie is her debut as a producer.

FILM+VIDEO SHOW & TELL provides a forum for local and independent filmmakers to share and discuss their work and ideas. 

http://www.crsny.org/film

http://www.meetup.com/NYC-FILM-VIDEO-SHOW-TELL/
 

May 201310 8 pm