The feature film is called Backyard and deals with the issues around “fracking” for petroleum and gas production. Though Wisconsin is not a state with oil reserves, we do have the best type of sand that is used in the fracking process. The impact of fracking is thus felt directly in the southwestern part of our state.
On a lighter note, the Riverwest Currents is proud to sponsor Elk Grass. This film is a gentle song with animation that carries the viewer to a place where nature is still mystical and magical. Where time is measured by the motions of the planet.
Humor, A Brief History of the 5¢ Bag, deals with the problem of plastic bags in the environment in a most amusing fashion.
To buy tickets on line: To buy ticket and see poster use this link
Tickets can be purchased at: Coast In – 703 S. 2nd St., Cory the Bike Fixer – 2410 N Murray Ave., Truly Spoken Cycles, 604 E Center st..
Here are brief descriptions of all the films:
A Brief History of the 5cent Bag Tax
Craig Schattner, Adam Walker, Emil Superfin
When your city is overflowing with plastic bags, how will you react? Jack Green, head of the Department of the Environment, is on a mission to rid the city of its plastic bag scourge. (USA, 2013, 2 min)
Backyard
Deia Schlosberg
Backyard tells the stories of five people in four states, all with very different backgrounds and perspectives, but all at odds with the natural gas extraction occurring around them. Despite their differences, unnerving similarities emerge from their shared experiences with the massive unseen entity that is “the industry.” (USA, 2013, 27 min)
COMPOST-a-lujah!
Christopher Paetkau, Trevor GillLet’s face it: composting isn’t the most glamorous of topics or activities. It can be dirty, rotten, and smelly. But it doesn’t have to be. Meet Linda Olsen – master composter. (Canada, 2012, 3 min)
Elk Grass
Abbey Luck, Pete Van Leeuwen
Told in an abstract and dreamy manner, this animated music video the viewer floats in and out through space around the lonely mountain, Elk Mountain, capturing the serenity and isolation inherent in nature. (USA, 2013, 2 min)
Gregg Treinish, A MoveShake Story
Alexandria Bombach
National Geographic’s Adventurer of the Year Gregg Treinish combined his passion for adventure, his deep interest and education in wildlife biology, and three seconds of courage to found Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation. A year of unpaid work and complete dedication was followed by a wave of support that is continuing to grow. (USA, 2013, 15 min)
Hidden Rivers of Southern Appalachia
Jeremy Monroe, David HerasimtschukBiodiversity. It’s in the rivers of the Amazon, the jungles of Borneo, the coral reefs of Belize… oh, and the creeks of Tennessee. That’s right, southern Appalachia is a little-known hotspot for aquatic life and is home to some wildly diverse fish, mussels, salamanders, crayfish and other critters. Hidden Rivers takes an immersive look at the little-known creatures of these waters, their striking beauty and extreme vulnerability. The films also reveal how some Southerners are finding new ways to explore and celebrate this precious life, and reminding us all that biodiversity is everywhere and rivers are always deeper than you think! (USA, 2013, 4 min)
I Am Red
Pete McBride
The Colorado River runs 1,450 miles across seven states and two countries supplying water for 36 million people. It flowed to the sea for six million years but has not kissed the ocean since the late 1990s. (USA, 2013, 4 min)
Rock Wall Climbing
Hal Clifford, Jason Houston
How do big wall climbers get their start? With little walls, of course. This may be the case for 8-year-old climber Kathrin Houston who convinces her father to build a climbing wall in the other half of their small two-car garage. (USA, 2013, 5 min)
The Squeakiest Roar
Maggie Rogers
The Squeakiest Roar tells the story of a little lion called Bapoto. He is desperate to have a big, loud roar like his brothers and sisters, but every time he tries, Bapoto makes a very different sound. His roar is high and squeaky.
Saddened, Bapoto decides he will never roar again. Until one day he stumbles across an animal choir, who help Bapoto realize the beauty of his unique, squeaky roar. 1st Prize, for Best Animated Short Film at the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival, 2012. (England, 2010)
Water & Wood
Jeremy Monroe, David Herasimtschuk
After more than a century of ‘cleaning’ dead wood out of our rivers, we have accidentally removed critical life support systems needed for salmon and many other river creatures… and it’s now time for some heavy lifting. Water & Wood shows how far some restoration groups are going to get this important habitat element back into rivers. Captured as part of the forthcoming film Willamette Futures. (USA, 2013, 4 min)
Who Rules the Earth?
Paul Steinberg, animated by 11 students at CalArts Who Rules the Earth? uses animation to bring to life the most important idea to emerge from the social sciences over the past century: how social rules shape our planet and our lives. Combining science, beauty, and activism within a compelling narrative, Who Rules the Earth? brings the audience on a discovery adventure quite unlike any other. Written by Paul Steinberg, a professor of environmental politics at the Claremont Colleges and award-winning author, the film was animated by ten students from the California Institute of the Arts, each of whom offers a unique visual interpretation of this political coming-of-age story. Who Rules the Earth? is part of The Social Rules Project, a multi-media initiative involving over 100 students from six colleges in the Los Angeles area in an effort to inform and inspire. (USA, 2014, 10 min.)
Riverboat Road is off of Commerce Street and is a dead end road upstream of Stubby’s and Invivo on Humboldt. Parking on Commerce Street is free and a stairway down from Commerce Street upper level (adjacent to the Pick and Save parking lot) provides access. Or if you are close, walk or bike down the Beerline Trail. Restrooms available in our office. (
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