"I AM" Movie Feb 25th

I AM


Special Appearance at the Varsity Theatre (Seattle, WA):
Director Tom Shadyac will appear In Person Friday, February 25 for a Q&A after the 7:10pm show and to introduce the 9:30pm show.


I Am, a prismatic and probing exploration of our world, what's wrong with it, and what we can do to make it better, represents writer/director Tom Shadyac's first foray into non-fiction following a career as one of Hollywood's leading comedy practitioners (Ace Ventura, Liar Liar, Bruce Almighty). I Am recounts what happened to the filmmaker after a cycling accident left him incapacitated. Though he ultimately recovered, he emerged a changed man. Disillusioned with life on the A-list, he sold his multi-million dollar mansion and moved to a much much smaller home, deciding to start life anew.

Shadyac embarks upon a journey to discover how he as an individual, and we as a race, can improve the way we live. Appearing on-screen as character, commentator, guide, and even, at times, guinea pig, Shadyac meets with a variety of thinkers and doers—remarkable men and women from the worlds of science, philosophy and faith—including David Suzuki, Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Lynne McTaggart, Ray Anderson, John Francis, Coleman Barks and Marc Ian Barasch. An irrepressible Everyman who asks many questions but offers no easy answers, he takes the audience to places it has never been before, and presents even familiar phenomena in completely new and different ways. Official Web Site: http://iamthedoc.com/thefilm/

Director:
Tom Shadyac

MPAA Rating:
PG

Run Time:
1hr 20mins

Release Year:
2011

Country Of Origin:
USA

Storm Surge: Stories of Survival, Resiliency and Gulf Coast Recovery.

(The following is a direct copy of the announcement put forth by Moontown Foundation of the upcoming screening of the documentary of the BP Spill.)

The BP Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig was capped several months ago, but the trauma flows on.

Thousands of people have fallen ill because of acute exposure to a mixture of oil, methane gas and Corexit - an oil dispersant that has been, ironically enough, banned in the UK as it’s known to cause respiratory, nervous system, liver, kidney and blood disorders, as well as rectal bleeding.

http://www.npr.org/2010/11/30/131694...848/bp-spill-psychological-scars-similar-to-exxon-valdez?sc=17&f=1001

The financial and emotional stress with shrimpers, crabbers and fisherman, whose families have harvested and made their living from the waters of the Gulf of Mexico since pre-Civil War America has led to a marked increase in alcohol and drug abuse, divorce rates and attempted suicides.

Massive sea birds, marine life and fish kills have occurred at unprecedented levels.

And the cynicism about BP, the federal government, the Coast Guard, the Environmental Protection Agency, local governments, and even neighbors is palpable beyond words.

STORM SURGE is a mini-documentary film which tells uncensored stories of Gulf Coast residents (from New Orleans to Bayou La Batre, Alabama) struggling to rebuild, recover, and survive in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the Great Recession, and the Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster.

This past August, three members of the Moontown Foundation took a three week road-trip to the Gulf. Their goal was to determine whether the mainstream media, BP and the government were accurately reporting the on-the-ground facts and adequately assisting with the effort to help people get their lives and livelihoods back on track.

Moontown’s trio of citizen journalists captured frank and sobering tales of fraud, corruption, and Stalinesque censorship and message control that would make the old Soviet Union proud.

We invite you to share in this experience.

After the film, a panel discussion featuring Seattle-based volunteers, student groups and community organizations that recently returned from the Gulf, as well as citizen activists who currently live in the region, will share their insights and perspectives on the issues people are facing.

Appetizers and refreshments provided.

Seating is limited and filling up FAST so reserve your spot today! http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/139045

Private VIP Reception 6:00pm - 7:00pm ($55.00)
General Admission 7:00pm - 9:00pm ($20.00)
Students with valid ID ($5.00)

Film Runtime: Approximately 25 minutes

***Funds raised from this event will be used support the BuildSmart Initiative of New Orleans, a green job training program for disadvantaged youth and young adults, and a LEED Level Retrofit of the Bryant Community Center in Bayou La Batre that was severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina.***

About Moontown Foundation:
Launched in 2006, Moontown is an innovative non-profit social enterprise that creates experiential learning and leadership development opportunities in environmental, social and economic sustainability for urban youth and young adults. For more information visit http://www.moontownfoundation.org/ or Twitter @moontown.

Contact: Emmanuelle.Escandar@moontownfoundation.org for more details about the Private Reception or to inquire about sponsorship and tabling opportunities.

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Waiting for Superman ( a repost)

[I wrote a review of the education film "Waiting for Superman" and I think it should live here as well. For the full post just follow the link after the excerpt.]

I just finished watching “Waiting for Superman” in the theatre and I have to say that the movie was very well done. I want to talk a bit about some of the major points, a few things done for dramatic effect and what I am taking away from this film.

The movie starts out with the narrator giving a bit of background on his older projects which included a year-long study of teachers as well as his own conflicting views about public schools and the choices he made for his own children. The filmmaker sent his own children to private school “betraying my own progressive views about public schools.” he tells us this so that the audience can take all his points that the film makes with the proverbial grain of salt.

The film follows the struggles of five different families trying to make the proper choices for their children in regards to their educations. It is an homage to hard-working parents facing institutional barriers to a better life for their children. A few of the families are minorities in traditionally under served areas like Washington D.C and Los Angeles.

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