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2018 AWARD WINNING FILMS

EARTH'S CHOICE
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ONI

Directed by Mercedes Aldo, Laura Trejo, Christen Minnick (MEX) 60 min.

 Oni is a psycho-magic documentary film, focused on the deep relationship among Sacred Plants, indigenous healing rituals and Universal Consciousness. Through the magic of dreams and visions, we embark on a journey into the jungle of the collective psyche. Deep in the Peruvian Amazon, a young Shipibo healer is initiated by the spirit of a mysterious plant alchemy known as Ayahuasca. Rather than using logic to explain an experiential phenomenon, Oni offers an emotional experience of universal consciousness through a colorful and poetic audio-visual journey.

ACTIVIST AWARD
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Poisoning Paradise

Directed by Keely Shaye Brosnan (USA) 75 min.

Acclaimed environmental documentary filmmaker Keely Shaye Brosnan, sheds light on a GMO debate by journeying to the seemingly idyllic world of Native Hawaiians. The Hawaiian climate allows giant corporations to test their genetically engineered seed corn and pesticides, spraying them upwind of homes, schools, hospitals, and pristine shoreline. Discover what is at stake for Hawaii from local activists, scientific experts and healthcare professionals as they expose the effects of environmental injustice on a local population. The urgency of this message is great: it is all of our responsibilities to know the impacts created by the food we eat. Join the international debate about pesticides, as well as the people’s movement to hold corporations and governments accountable for poisoning planet Earth.

NEW PARADIGM AWARD
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Redefining Prosperity:

Gold Rushes of

Nevada City

Directed by  John de Graaf (USA) 57 min.

 

 The Gold Rushes of California have taken many forms. A new ‘Gold Rush’ seeks to heal wounds created by centuries of resource exploitation and destruction to land and indigenous communities. The health of the individual and community is intricately tied to the health of the land. See how Nevada City has redefined wealth; a film to inspire communities toward sustainability.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
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Timbó

Directed by Peiman Zekavat (UK) 9 min.

The destruction of the Amazon forest-the world's most biologically diverse place- seems to have become normalized. Timbo highlights the threat posed by energy companies keen to dam the world largest river. If built, the dams would flood an area the size of London, Paris and Amsterdam combined. The flood would cause a large amount of toxic plants to dissolve in the water, leading to severe poisoning or even death among the indigenous tribes. These plants are locally known as Timbó. Created in an immersive way, the audience is drawn into into the stunning sensations of tribal life in the Amazon.

BEST SOUND
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ALMA -

Art, Legacy

and the Environment

Directed by Victor Hugo Espejo (ESP) 14 min.

In its whole, this film is an expression of creative reciprocity with our planet. Alma tracks the journey of a group of sensitive musicians as they journey to a 12th century monastery in a remote region of Galicia, Spain to be part of a music and nature residency. They listen deeply and from that knowing, they create. We see how nature serves as the muse and the instrument. Through art we re-establish communication and flow with our natural surroundings. A must see at The Earth Day Film Festival.

BEST EDITING
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Charged

Directed by Phillip Baribeau (USA) 86 min.

Rare is the film that is able to resonate with an audience so universally. The utterly inspiring story of Eduardo Garcia is one of those films that takes a tragedy and turns it to beauty that serves as inspiration to us all. Charged reminds us to greet uncertainty, change and turmoil of life with resilience. A successful chef and adventurer, Eduardo Garcia’s life was forever changed after an encounter with 2,400 volts of electricity while hiking in the backcountry of Montana.  A love story unlike any other, Charged is about both physical recovery and life fully realized

BEST EXPERIMENTAL
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165708

Directed byJosephine Massarella (CAN) 7 min.

Shot entirely in 16mm black and white film using single frame photography, 165708 employs in-camera techniques and chemical manipulation of processed film to produce an eidetic study of temporal elasticity. Exploring the capacity of the medium to express various notions of time, the film begins with a woman looking out from the shoreline. This acts as a point of departure to disparate yet interconnected sequences which prompt the viewer to engage in a structurally unique mode of inquiry and experience. Employing an individual experience to this artist’s journey.

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
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Standing Rock Take Me From

The River

Directed by Denny Rauen (USA) 30min.

This revealing film challenges all of us to reassess our role in the exploration of the planet and indigenous people. Learn how even in 2016, the U.S. government broke treaties with indigenous people. The Standing Rock Sioux have had enough. A personal and intimate look at the internationally renowned conflict at Standing Rock.

BEST SOUND
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The Exhale

Directed by Mohmmad Hormozi (IRN) 24 min

An inescapable reality of living on Earth is death. Hormozi’s approach isn’t to demystify or soften the realities of death but simply show how life and death exist side by side. In field of the fathers childhood, his son must break the news that his father has leukemia. Long, steady and well-composed shots produce a very clear artistic voice, leaving space for the audience and characters to reflect on the ramifications of the narrative. 

BEST ANIMATION
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Au Revoir Balthazar

Directed by Rafael Sommerhalder (CHE) 10 min.

An endearing animation that eloquently expresses love of our natural world and the gift of our senses to experience it. A scarecrow is introduced to the sound of the sea and will follow his heart to the end of the Earth to witness the dramatic presence of the Ocean.

BEST VIRTUAL REALITY
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A Yosemite Welcome…

Directed by Kevin Pontuti (USA) 10 min

If your answer to the question, “what historical figure would you like to meet?” is John Muir, here is your opportunity to do just that. Watch as he tells a story in his favorite environment, Yosemite National Park and imparts wisdom on a life lived in love with nature. The mountains are calling, and WE must go. 

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