Film Festival:Making a Difference: In the Life of a Child, a Family, a Community

Friday, October 8 and Saturday, October 9, 2010at Detroit Waldorf School

Detroit Waldorf School (DWS) will host a film festival with amazing, real life stories of hope all based on the theme Making a Difference: In the Life of a Child, a Family, a Community. The films cover a wide range of topics, from raising balanced children to creating sustainable lifestyles to establishing healthy food systems to making a difference in Detroit.

The festival will conclude with two films that highlight Detroit, followed by a panel for question and answers. The panelists include Mascha and Manfred Poppenk, filmmakers of Grown in Detroit. Under the name of filmmij, Mascha and Manfred Poppenk, partners both privately and in business, work on documentaries that are as close to reality as possible. Other films include:

Grown in Detroit focuses on the urban gardening efforts managed by a public school of 300, mainly african-american, pregnant and parenting teenagers. In Detroit alone, there are annually more than 3,000 pregnant teenagers who drop out of high school. This school is one of three located in the United States. As part of the curriculum, the girls are taught agricultural skills on the school's own farm located behind the school building what used to be the playground. The young mothers, often still children themselves, are learning by farming to become more independent women and knowledgeable about the importance of nutritional foods. Many of them start out disliking the often physically hard work on the farm but this aversion disappears as they see their crops growing and being sold for profit. “Back to the roots”, a simple yet effective solution for a city that has to start all over again and perhaps a lesson to be learned for the rest of the world.http://grownindetroit.filmmij.nl/.

Play Again follows six teenagers who, like the “average American child,” spend five to fifteen hours a day behind screens. The film unplugs these teens and takes them on their first wilderness adventure – no electricity, no cell phone coverage, no virtual reality. Through the voices of children and leading experts including journalist Richard Louv (author of Last Child in the Woods), the film investigates the consequences of a childhood removed from nature and encourages action for a sustainable future.http://www.groundproductions.com/playagain/gallery.php

(To be confirmed)Race to Nowherefocuses on the pressures faced by American schoolchildren and their teachers in our achievement obsessed public and private education system and culture. Featuring the heartbreaking stories of young people across the country who have been pushed to the brink, educators who are burned out and worried students aren’t developing the skills they need, and parents who are trying to do what’s best for their kids, the film points to the silent epidemic in our schools: cheating has become commonplace, students have become disengaged, stress-related illness, depression and burnout are rampant, and young people arrive at college and the workplace unprepared and uninspired. The film is a call to mobilize families, educators, and policy makers to challenge current assumptions on how to best prepare the youth of America to become healthy, bright, contributing and leading citizens.http://www.racetonowhere.com/trailer.

Garbage!features a family that takes on an amazing challenge from the filmmaker. See how the ordeal flips their relationship to everyday items too which they hadn’t given a second thought before.http://www.garbagerevolution.com/.

Chermicaltackles household cleansers and chemical-based hygiene products. Using a similar formula to his previous environmental documentary Garbage!, Nisker helps an ‘average’ Canadian family to get off the toxic teat and start living their lives free from harmful chemicals and other toxic substances. “Andrew Nisker's films have never had a theatrical release, but they're suddenly getting noticed around the world, whether it's by a Transylvanian environmentalist or a top Walmart executive in Arkansas.” - National Post.

Freshcelebrates 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. Among several main characters, the film features urban farmer and activist, Will Allen, the recipient of MacArthur’s 2008 Genius Award; sustainable farmer and entrepreneur, Joel Salatin, made famous by Michael Pollan’s book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma; and supermarket owner, David Ball, challenging our Wal-Mart dominated economy.http://www.freshthemovie.com/.

Homegrown Revolutionfollows the Dervaes family who run a small organic farm in the heart of urban Pasadena, California. While "living off the grid", they harvest over 6,000 pounds of produce on less than a quarter of an acre, make their own bio diesel, power their computers with the help of solar panels, and maintain a website that gets 4,000 hits a day. The film is an intimate human portrait of what it's like to live like "Little House on the Prairie" in the 21st Century.http://www.homegrownrevolution.com/trailer.

One Man, One Cow, One PlanetWhat does an environmentally friendly biodynamic food system capable of feeding everyone actually look like? This film is a blueprint for a post-industrial future. It takes you into the heart of the world's most important renaissance. See how a revolution of farming in India can affect us all. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcmzK_Mzx5k

Regional Roots features many of Metro Detroit’s leaders and activists, and covers 300 years of history and uses the immigrant experience as an introduction to the diverse landscape of Detroit. From the earliest French and German settlers to today’s growing communities, immigrants continue to shape the region in pursuit of the American Dream. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpwFWWnbRC4.

The event is open to the public, for ages 18 and over. Refreshments will available for purchase between films and a panel will be conducted both Friday and Saturday nights. To purchase tickets, contact Detroit Waldorf School at 313-822-0300 orwww.detroitwaldorf.org.

Celebrating its 44^th year, the Detroit Waldorf School is part of the international Waldorf School movement, which comprises over 900 schools in 83 countries. Located in Historic Indian Village, just three miles east of downtown Detroit, DWS is housed in a stately historic structure designed by Albert Kahn. Situated on four acres of beautifully landscaped grounds, the school provides a warm and inviting environment that nurtures growth, learning, and creativity by focusing on each student’s developmental needs. DWS offers enrollment in pre K through eighth grade. Its interdisciplinary curriculum emphasizes analytical, creative, and critical thinking, as well as self-discipline, initiative, and reverence for the natural world.

The Detroit Waldorf School is located in Historic Indian Village at 2555 Burns Ave., Detroit, MI 48214. For more information, call 313-822-0300 or visitwww.detroitwaldorf.org.

Film Festival Schedule

Screen times subject to change, final schedule available by September 1.

Friday, October 8

Making a Difference in the Life of a Child

$10 advance/$15 door

6pm Play Again

7:30pm TBA

9pm Panel Discussion

Saturday, October 9

$10 advance/$15 door for the day, or purchase tickets for a grouping of films

Making a Difference in a Family

$5 advance/$10 door

10am Chemerical

11:30am Garbage!

1pm-2pm Lunch Break (lunch & refreshments available for purchase)

Making a Difference in a Community

$5 advance/$10 door

2pm Homegrown Revolution

2:30pm Fresh

4pm One Man, One Cow, One Planet

6pm-7pm Dinner Break (dinner and refreshments available for purchase)

Making a Difference in Detroit

$5 advance/$10 door

7pm Regional Roots

7:30pm Grown in Detroit

8:30pm Panel Discussion

Melanie Reiser

Outreach Director, Detroit Waldorf School

mailto:melaniereiser@detroitwaldorf.org

www.detroitwaldorf.org

313-822-0300 (office)

313-822-4030 (fax)