Returning for its seventh year with a slight name change and more venues, the Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival is a showcase of films and performances with a message. More than 30 films, ranging from documentaries and narratives to animation and comedic shorts, will screen at Cornell as well as five other campuses and two other venues from Friday, Oct. 3, through Thursday, Oct. 9. Most of the screenings feature an introduction and discussion with an expert on the film's topic, and four films will be presented by their makers or special guests.
Established in 1997, the series was previously known as the Cornell Environmental Film Festival. All screenings and discussions are open to the public, and most are free of charge. The film festival is presented by the Cornell Center for the Environment, the Einaudi Center for International Studies, Ithaca College and Cornell Cinema, with support of other units at Cornell and other participating colleges.
The festival kicks off Oct. 3 at Cornell with the premiere of the documentary "My Architect: A Son's Journey," the story of architect Louis Kahn's illegitimate son as he searches to understand his father through his architecture. Oct. 4 features a festival first, a live multimedia performance by Yes Men, who are activists for global trade fairness.
The festival also breaks ground by including new collaborators at Ithaca EcoVillage, the Ithaca Sciencenter and SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse. "The goal of this festival has always been to screen the best works to the widest audience possible," says Festival Director Christopher Riley. "Through the expansion of venues, we are achieving that goal."
More detailed descriptions of the films and a full list of sponsors are available on the Web at http://cinema.cornell.edu/fleff/index.html.