Films/Programs
Planet Cinema
In a bracing assessment of the future of the planet, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently declared that global warming is unequivocal, human activity is the main driver, and we can expect centuries of climbing temperatures, rising seas and shifting weather patterns — unavoidable results of the buildup of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere.
In the face of the looming reality, what more urgent and important story can we tell than that of our endangered planet and the human response to it? The independent film community boasts a bold tradition of using cinema to confront and ignite public action around the most pressing issues of our times. In that tradition, the Seattle Film Festival presents PLANET CINEMA, a series of films—documentaries, features and short subject works—about global climate change and our human relationship to the natural world. Caroline Libresco, Co-Founder, Planet Cinema
In addition, keep an eye out for SIFF Speaks! - a series of trailers of SIFF festival goers talking about what they are doing and thinking about Climate Change and our Win A Planet postcards and “I’m In!” buttons that let people know how you are getting involved in the Climate Dialogues.
Sponsored By:
The Sundance Channel
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USA, 2007, 96 min.
Arctic Tale is an epic adventure that explores the beautiful icebound world of the Great North. The film follows a walrus and polar bear on their journey from birth to parenthood in a region that is in danger of melting away. Narrated by Queen Latifah from the producers that brought you
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Germany, 2006, 108 min.
Hannah and Elmar are in first love fantasyland until they are shaken to reality by a leak from the local nuclear plant, forcing them to immediately evacuate or face deadly radiation. This enchanting yet haunting tale is not only about true love, but how in one instant everything can change, forever.
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USA, 2006, 105 min.
Against a distinctly American backdrop of denial, deception and delay, a group of global-warming messengers fervently searches for the right language and strategy to propel a reluctant citizenry and its elected officials into action. An entertaining, behind-the-scenes documentary about
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United Kingdom, 2007, 100 min.
Between 1968 and 1972, 12 men walked upon the surface of the moon. All of the surviving crew from the Apollo missions tell their stories. With visually stunning NASA footage as counterpoint to this riveting firsthand testimony, the Sundance Audience award winner vividly conveys the daring and the d
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USA, 2006, 107 min.
On a remote base in northern Alaska, crew members constructing an environmentally devastating refinery start to mysteriously disappear. A smart combination of eco-tract, corporate critique, psychological thriller and supernatural horror movie, this is the boldest, most explicit, and challenging film
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USA, 2005, 57 min.
Weaving together natural history and biography, A Life Among Whales is a fascinating exploration into the unique relationship between humans and whales as told by renowned biologist and activist Dr. Roger Payne. Preceded by the short documentary Sharks: Stewards of the Reef.
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Canada, 2006, 90 min.
On a tour of Asia, still photographer Edward Burtynsky takes large-format photographs of industrial landscapes: factory workers lined up to infinity, massive recycling dumps, expansive strip mines. A portrait of a luscious world of destruction that neither celebrates nor condemns but simply explores
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Sweden, 2006, 84 min.
This highly ambitious Scandinavian production draws on some of the poetic, observational strategies of Godfrey Reggio’s Koyaanisqatsi, allowing us to reflect on patterns and phenomena of human and natural existence from both intimate and sweeping viewpoints. The truths of
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79 min.
Films about global climate change and our relationship to the natural world.
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Canada, 2006, 89 min.
This remarkable documentary captures the beauty of sharks with stunning underwater photography, and chronicles the harrowing above-water adventures of the renegade activists who are attempting to slow their extinction. Sharkwater celebrates these magnificent and misunderstood creatures, and
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Belgium, 2006, 96 min.
Set against the beautiful and deadly East African desert, this touching tale of survival follows Rahne and his family, who leave their village in order to find new sources of food and water. As conditions worsen and Rahne’s spirit breaks down, he looks to his daughter Shasha for inspiration.
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USA, 2007, 100 min.
Despite the valuable crude oil that flows from the ground beneath their feet, the impoverished villagers in the Niger Delta wage a daily struggle to survive. This timely Seattle-made documentary journeys to the region to examine the complex powder keg situation that could have drastic local and
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