about
2012 festival
student films
sponsors
media
past events
contact
In 2007, in conjunction with our first Tales from Planet Earth, we offered two courses at UW-Madison — a history of environmental film and an environmental film production workshop — as part of a semester-long environmental filmmaking artist-in-residency featuring guest filmmakers Judith Helfand and Sarita Siegel. Students in the production class, all of whom were novice filmmakers, created eight 2- to 3-minute shorts below that premiered at the 2007 festival.
In the fall of 2009, Tales from Planet Earth once again offered two courses at UW-Madison co-taught by Gregg Mitman and Judith Helfand. This time, in addition to our Environmental Filmmaking Workshop, we offered a course entitled Community Engagement through Film. This latter course taught students how to design community outreach campaigns in conjunction with our festival community partners to leverage the festival's films into forces for positive environmental justice action. Check out the resulting six student films below and the community outreach events and results here. For syllabi from these courses see below.
In the spring of 2011, Gregg Mitman used the Center for Culture, History, and Environment's (CHE) research methods class, which teaches interdisciplinary research skills in the environmental humanities, to have students create video slideshows about landscapes of health as their final projects. Check out the six resulting efforts below, two of which screened as part of Tales from Planet Earth 2012.
Student FilmsThe following films were created by students in three classes that focused on environmental filmmaking. While the focus of each workshop was slightly different, the underlying result was the same -- creation of Wisconsin-focused environmental films that challenge the notion of what makes a film "environmental." With their unique formats and topics not traditionally classified as "green" cinema, we think you'll agree these trailers (most of which later expanded into 5 to 15-minute projects) can enrich your understanding of environmental filmmaking! 2011 Student "Video Slideshows"In 2011, the CHE Methods Seminar was taught by Gregg Mitman, with assistance on filmmaking techniques provided by Finn Ryan, Kevin Gibbons, and Peter Boger. While not a filmmaking course, the goal of the class was to think about the interdisciplinary overlap in the theme of "Landscapes of Health: Stories of Health and Place." The results were the student projects below that cut across multiple geographies of scale, from the internal person to the floodplain. Some of these "video slideshows" will be shown throughout Tales from Planet Earth 2012 in conjunction with the annual conference of the American Society of Environmental History (ASEH). What's In a Name Since 1972, the city of Edgerton's summer festival has celebrated its tobacco growing heritage. Once known as the "Tobacco Capital of the World," today the town is torn -- can it still honor its heritage without denying tobacco's challenges to public health? Who gets to decide the place of history in present society? A short story of community pride, a controversial festival name, and the very long history of tobacco and shifting health values in Wisconsin.
Tonyawatha's Healing Waters History is all around us, whether we see it or not. Built in 1879 and destroyed by fire in 1895, the Tonyawatha Springs Hotel was situated on the opposite shore of Lake Monona from Wisconsin's capital. For 16 years, the hotel and its natural spring drew health-seeking visitors from distant cities to the cool, refreshing waters of Southern Wisconsin. But where are these "healing waters" today? With a little knowledge and guidance, we need only glance underfoot to take it in.
Resident Geese ". . . one skein of geese cleaving the murk of a March thaw is spring." Aldo Leopold's excitement about the return of geese was understandable, given they were on the brink of extinction in the 1960s. Today, though, so many resident geese call places like Madison's Vilas Park home that, in the summer of 2010, the waste from the geese contributed to 43 closings of Vilas Beach. We welcomed the geese back, do we now have the right to rethink their permanent resident status?
Living By Fire When you heat with wood, you warm yourself three times: once when you cut it, once when you stack it, and once when you burn it. Given the many convenient options available to keep our homes warm in the winter, why do some still continue to heat with wood? Is it an economic choice, an environmental choice, an emotional choice—or a combination of all three? And how do we reconcile the environmental impacts and the physical labor with the pleasure of living by fire?
At the Heart of Badger Verlyn Mueller worked for 26 years in the instrument shop at the Badger Ordnance Works, trying to stay safe from explosive material. Now retired, Veryln serves as president and archivist for the Badger History Group. But the usual texts and photos aren't the only records of service this historian has -- he keeps another physical memory of Badger's history close to his heart. Sometimes the outer landscape of danger leaves an indelible mark on the inner landscape of the body. Beekeeping in Wisconsin Since 1965, Eugene Woller has been keeping bees in Mt. Horeb, WI. His love of bees and beekeeping has made his life's work joyful, but beekeeping has changed. The life of the bee is in danger. Colony Collapse Disorder, monocropping, varroa mites, and pesticide use have made beekeeping more difficult. Because bees are responsible for pollinating one third of our food supply, it is important we do what we can to protect this important insect.
2009 Student FilmsIn 2009, the Environmental Filmmaking Workshop was taught by Gregg Mitman, Judith Helfand, and Megan Katz. The student films were shown throughout the 2009 Tales from Planet Earth film festival. Since then, they have been shown as part of the Making It Home project of the Wisconsin Humanities Council and were shown as part of The Natural Step Monona's Green Tuesdays and Thursdays. In addition, America's Dairyland won Best Documentary Short at the Indie Gathering Film Festival in Cleveland. Enjoy! America's Dairyland100% pure Wisconsin queso How white is our milk? How American is our cheese – in fact, who actually makes it? More and more of Wisconsin's farmer Johns are working with farmer Juans. Come on a tour of "America's Dairyland" and meet today's milk producers and cheese packers – the new faces of dairy production. Sí, the Wisconsin countryside is changing.
An End to Slim PickingsThe best kind of fruit is free. Madison is known for the second largest farmers market in North America and a love of all things local. But how “local” is our food -- really? Meet a community of gleaners who call Madison home and know just where to find apples, pears, grapes, raspberries and even kiwis in backyards, vacant lots, university walkways and gardens across the city.
Getting Them HomeCommitment comes naturally. They come with broken bodies, tattered wings, and little hope. Only commitment, passion, and loyalty will get them home. It’s a love story...with a wild streak.
Holy Land, WISome of Wisconsin's most sacred land is under farmer Frank’s feet. Frank Shadwald is a 77-year-old retired farmer who owns several hundred acres of valuable farm land in the Lower Wisconsin River Valley. But to Frank, his land is worth far more than money. There are fifteen ancient Native American effigy mounds located on his property, an important site of Native American culture—past and present. For the past twenty years, Frank has worked to preserve them. But what will happen to the land when Frank is not here to protect it?
More Jam, More JobsOne young woman's attempt to convince twelve sororities to buy local. When Chi Omega sorority sister Jessica Halpern finds out that buying high quality, locally produced products can help create jobs for homeless people in her town, she takes matters into her own hands. Follow Jessica and her tray of crackers as she tries to change sorority consumption patterns, and the local commodity food chain, one sister at a time — by buying Porchlight jam.
Plastics One Through SevenHow one woman's idea in North Freedom, Wisconsin changed an entire industry and made a whole nation look for a tiny little number. Meet Millie Zantow, 86, resident of North Freedom, Wisconsin and an environmental hero — at one point she was the only person sorting plastic in America. Her very simple question & revolution led to years of tenacious advocacy that turned the heads of the EPA and led to a national recycling policy — a veritable plastics revolution. 2007 Student FilmsIn 2007, the Environmental Filmmaking Workshop was taught by Gregg Mitman, Judith Helfand, Sarita Siegel, and Erika Simon. The student films were shown throughout the 2007 Tales from Planet Earth film festival. Two of the projects later were accepted at the 2008 Wisconsin Film Festival and two were accepted as part of a workshop at the 2008 Hazel Wolf Film Festival in Seattle. The starting question for all these films was: What’s So Natural About Wisconsin? We ended with the eight two-minute trailers you are about to see (well, okay, one’s actually three minutes). Enjoy! I’m In a Badger State of Minda totemic cult so big . . . only the high priests of Badgerdom truly understand Everyone knows that Wisconsin is the "Badger State," but what is a Wisconsin badger really? This film explores the cultural history of badgers and meets self-proclaimed Wisconsin Badgers, including UW-Madison’s elite team of "Bucky Badgers." Why are badgers so important to Wisconsin? Everyone has answers at the ready, but are their feelings about this icon grounded in fact or fiction? In history, nature or imagination? Cowcyclesthe ultimate recycling machine In a state where industrial dairies are replacing familyrun farms, this dairy goliath in northeastern Wisconsin is working to lessen the vast environmental impact of the bovine lifecycle. In addition to significant fossil fuel usage, a farm this size produces more than 150 million pounds of manure each year or the weight equivalent of 60,000 Honda Civics. So... Holsum Dairy is striving to minimize their environmental impact by recycling every part of the cow. But the lingering question remains—what is the cost of human interference in nature’s cycles? Matt's Turkeysbirds never had it so good Thanks to the efforts of farmers like Matthew Smith of Blue Valley Gardens, heritage turkeys have come back to their native Wisconsin home. With a little love and respect, Matt Smith gives them the best 35 weeks of their life. For When the Buffalo Roama meditative look at prairie restoration by any means necessary All across Wisconsin the dreaded garlic mustard, buckthorn and purple loosestrife are WANTED—DEAD or ALIVE. They are being burned out, weed whacked and chemically treated. On the other side of the beloved prairie, native seeds and heritage flora are being harvested and replanted. What time will it be when the prairie is restored? Alternate Livinga story of one family living off-grid John Ivanko and his wife, Lisa Kivirist, chose to leave the hustle and bustle and intense consumerism of the big city for a more energy efficient and conservation-oriented lifestyle. They grow 70 percent of their own food, produce their own biofuel that can be used in cars, tractors and other diesel vehicles and generate enough electricity through their solar and wind energy systems to power their entire bed and breakfast and farming businesses. They actually receive a check from their utility company for producing a surplus! But for them, the money saved and the ecological footprint reduced are not nearly as important as the legacy of energy consciousness and environmental awareness they’re leaving their son, Liam. Freewheels and Freedoma ride through Madison bike culture Peering into the world of Freewheel, one will discover that the ways people use and get their bicycles are as diverse as the people themselves. Freewheel is a free bicycle repair shop where anyone can build a free bike. After three hours of volunteering in the shop and helping others to build free bicycles, you get to build your own bike and ride off— FREE. A meditation (mostly on wheels) into how Madison is striving to make bicycling an easy alternative to motor transportation for all people, no matter their income level. Madison's people of the bicycle agree: "winter, summer, rain or shine," bicycling provides a sense of freedom and is just more fun! Farmer John(or) "How to run your farm from 500 miles away" Here in the middle of "America's Dairyland" the fields of corn are golden brown, sun dapples the red barns and peaceful cows dot the countryside. City folks like to romanticize idyllic side-of-the-road notions of life on the farm; but here’s a dairy farmer who loves his life ... and has a lot more to talk about than milk yield. Fish Frythe tradition, the fish, the lakes . . . the ocean? From the kitchens of one of Madison's favorite Friday-night spots to the hallowed halls of the University, Fish Fry traces the origins, meanings, and practices behind this state custom, showing how a Wisconsin phenomenon is connected to places and activities beyond the state's borders or even the shores of the Great Lakes. Hold fast to your fork and discover how these pan-aquatic connections do not diminish the Wisconsin-ness of the fish fry or its adherents. Course MaterialsEnvironmental Studies 402: Green Screen -- Environmental Film in History and ActionFall 2007 Syllabus [PDF] Environmental Studies 402: Community Engagement Through FilmFall 2009 Syllabus [PDF] Environmental Filmmaking WorshopFall 2009 Syllabus [PDF]
Funded in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Humanities Council, with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Wisconsin Humanities Council supports public programs that engage the people of Wisconsin in the exploration of human cultures, ideas and values. |
|