MNN - Mother Nature Network

Angelenos apparently can’t get enough of green films, because we have at least one green film festival a month in this town. Following closely on the heels of Blue Planet Film Fest, Bicycle Film Festival and the green Downtown Film Festival comes The Green Screen Environmental Film Festival & Salon, promising four days of films and fun.

 

When: Thurs., Nov. 19 – Sun., Nov. 22
Where: Electric Lodge, 1416 Electric Ave., Venice in Los Angeles
Cost: Some events and screenings are free (keep reading below), but in general, pay $5 per screening, $10 for three screenings, or $15 for a festival pass excluding special events. Get tickets through Brown Paper Tickets.

 

Produced by the Electric Lodge — a performance, visual, and educational center in Venice with an environmental mission — the goal of Green Screen is to use “the power of film to bridge distances and reveal our common deep connection to our planet and each other.” Festival films — grouped into six programs with themes like “blue water” and “green earth” – will screen all afternoon on Saturday and Sunday — but lots of other fun and free events are happening outside the screening rooms.

 

In fact, Green Screen will kick off off with a free Sustainable Drive-In on Thursday, when everyone’s invited to a free outdoor solar-powered screening of Flipper , preceded by a concert by Tom Freund. The kid-friendly event will offer face-painting and a “giant jumper” — which I assume to be something like a bouncy house.

 

Then on Friday, the film fest will celebrate Amazon Night with live Brazilian music and dance — followed by a screening of Crude. Cost: $12 ($10 for the screening only, $5 for the performance only).

 

A free Celebrate Earth environment and arts fair happens Saturday from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., featuring food, games, entertainment, local arts and crafts, shopping from eco-vendors, and a mini-electric car show.

 

On Sunday, festival goers will be able to burn off all the organic snacks they’ve eaten by joining the Watershed Bike Ride to cycle from the upper Santa Monica watershed to the Ballona Wetlands to the Electric Lodge — to fill up again with a brunch. Cost: $20 for the bike tour, brunch and reusable water bottle.

 

Go for the films, the fair — or the free reusable water bottles given out to the 100 first people at the Saturday fair!