Cornell's 1999 Environmental Film Festival is set for March 5-11

By Roger Segelken

Cinematic views of both the natural landscape and humans' impact on it will be offered March 5-11 during the 1999 Environmental Film Festival at Cornell.

Seventeen films and talks by five filmmakers are included in the second annual festival sponsored by the Cornell Center for the Environment, Cornell Cinema and the Einaudi Center for International Studies. All screenings will be introduced by the filmmaker or an expert on the film's topic, and discussions will follow. Evening screenings will be followed by receptions for audiences to discuss the films and talk with the filmmaker or speaker. Most events are free, unless otherwise noted, and all are open to the public.

"The festival's goal is to bring together the diverse Ithaca community, to screen excellent films that challenge our perceptions of what is environmental, treating not only the natural landscape but also the human-built environment," said festival adviser Roopali Phadke. "We are thrilled to have so many fascinating filmmakers coming to Ithaca to showcase a wide diversity of films."

More information can be found at the festival's web site: http://www.cfe.cornell.edu/filmfest/ or by calling 255-5245. Scheduled screenings include:

• Friday, March 5: "The Saltmen of Tibet" with filmmaker Ulrike Koch, 7 p.m., Willard Straight Theatre, followed by a reception in the Willard Straight Art Gallery. The ethnographic feature follows the pilgrimage of four Tibetan nomads to the ocean where they will collect salt for the survival of their village. Admission is $4.50 or $4 for students and seniors.

• Saturday, March 6: "The Man who Planted Trees" and "The Mighty River," 2 p.m., Willard Straight Theatre. Two short animated films by master illustrator Frederic Back. Admission is $2 and $1.50 for children 12 and under.

• Saturday, March 6: "Chinatown," with introduction by Barbara Lynch, city and regional planning. 4 p.m., 165 McGraw Hall. Roman Polanski's classic film noir about water rights in Los Angeles.

• Saturday, March 6: "Concert of Wills: The Making of the Getty Center," with filmmaker and architect Bob Eisenhardt, 7:15 p.m., Willard Straight Theatre, with reception to follow in Willard Straight Art Gallery. Twelve years in the making, this documentary follows modernist architect (and Cornell architecture college graduate) Richard Meier and his partners through the conception, design and construction of the Getty Center. Admission is $4.50 or $4 for students and seniors.

• Sunday, March 7: "Mountain Gorilla: A Shattered Kingdom," with Cara Starke, president of the Cornell student group Roots and Shoots, 4 p.m., 165 McGraw Hall. An intimate portrait of family life among mountain gorillas in Zaire and how the Rwandan refugee crisis affected them.

• Sunday, March 7: "Margaret Mead: An Observer Observed," with filmmaker Virginia Yans-McLaughlin, 7 p.m. Goldwin Smith Auditorium D, with reception to follow in Goldwin Smith Foyer. A portrait of the late anthropologist and international celebrity.

• Monday, March 8: "Boatman," with introduction by Ann Gold, International Studies, 4 p.m., Willard Straight Theatre. Documentary capturing the unique and sometimes bizarre nature of the Ganges.

• Monday, March 8: "Vampires, Devil-birds and Spirits: Tales of the Calypso Isles," with introduction by Caroline S. Chaboo, adviser to the filmmaker and Cornell student. The film weaves the natural world, folklore and Carnival together in a celebration of Trinidad and Tobago.

• Tuesday, March 9: "Affluenza," with introduction by with Anke Wessels, director of the Cornell Center for Religion, Ethics and Social Policy, 4 p.m., 165 McGraw Hall. An amusing film that explores the American epidemic of shopping, overwork and stress.

• Tuesday, March 9: "Chelyabinsk: The Most Contaminated Spot on the Planet" and "From Chechnya to Chernobyl," with filmmaker Slawomir Grunberg, 7 p.m., Goldwin Smith Auditorium D, with reception to follow in Goldwin Smith Foyer. Two films dealing with toxic waste issues in Russia, made by a Spencer filmmaker.

• Wednesday, March 10: "Scary Man," with introduction by Andre Dhondt, Laboratory of Ornithology, 4 p.m., 165 McGraw Hall. An entertaining film, showing innovative ways to scare off nuisance birds in the Netherlands.

• Wednesday, March 10: "Amazon Journal," with introduction by Terry Turner, Department of Anthropology, 8 p.m., Uris Auditorium. Award-winning filmmaker Geoff O'Connor looks back on 10 years of filming political events in the Brazilian Amazon.

• Thursday, March 11: "Rachel's Daughters: Searching for the Causes of Breast Cancer," with introduction by Pam Mackesey, Ithaca Breast Cancer Alliance, 4 p.m., 165 McGraw Hall. A fascinating documentary follows a group of breast cancer survivors and activists on a personal mission to unearth the causes of the disease.

• Thursday, March 11: "The Adirondacks: Drawing the Line," with filmmaker Mike Camoin; David Gibson, director of the Society for the Protection of the Adirondacks; and Charles Geisler, professor of rural sociology, 7 p.m., Goldwin Smith Auditorium D, with reception to follow in Goldwin Smith Foyer. A special program of two films and a panel to discuss the social and environmental sides of conservation in the Adirondack Park, featuring "The Adiron-dack: The Land Nobody Knows" by Paul Schaefer and "Inside the Blue Line: Leadley's Legacy" by Mike Camoin.