350-Minute Film Marathon- Auckland CBD

On the 350 Day of Action, 350 minutes worth of inspiring, thought-provoking digital media, ranging from documentaries and films to short clips will be screened.

If you think climate change is over-rated, come and watch for yourself what knowledgeable people have to say. It's not as simple and irrelevant as you think it is.

If you think climate change is so serious that it's depressing and we're all going to die, come and watch for yourself what others are doing, and how not to continue being pessimistic. It's not as depressing as you think it is.

This event is all about empowering ourselves. The more we know about what we're facing, the better prepared we are to overcome the problems.

The Greening of Southie

What happens when you’re asked to build the city of tomorrow… today? Set on the rugged streets of South Boston, The Greening of Southie is the story of a revolutionary Green Building, and the union teams who bring it to life. From wheatboard cabinetry to recycled steel, bamboo flooring to dual-flush toilets, The Macallen Building is something different—a leader in the emerging field of environmentally friendly design. But building green has its challenges, and the job-site has its skeptics. And when things on the building start to go wrong, the young development team has to keep the project from unraveling. Funny and poignant, The Greening of Southie is a story of bold ideas, new environmentalists, and the future of the way we live.

Lessons from a Melting Icecap

In mid 2007, three Dunedin girls won a big national prize, and soon found themselves on a plane taking them more than halfway around the world. Lessons from a Melting Icecap follows Annika Metua, Peggy Russell and Susan Smirk on a journey from Dunedin to London, and on to Greenland.
Standing at the edge of a 1.8 million square kilometer icecap, they come face to face with the harsh realities of climate change. They realise the impact that changing weather patterns are having, not only on the physical landscape, but on traditional life in the tiny settlements. They see also the impact of Western values and Western ways of life.
And then they start to question the way we do things back home. The impacts of climate change seem so distant from small-town New Zealand. But how safe are we really? And what can a young person in New Zealand do about it?
Lessons from a Melting Icecap takes the huge, often intangible issues of climate change, sustainability and our reliance on oil, and gives them a human face – a young, hopeful, very Kiwi one.

Home

In 200.000 years on earth, humanity has upset the balance of the planet, established by nearly four billion years of evolution. The price to pay is high, but it’s too late to be a pessimist: humanity has barely ten years to reverse the trend, become aware of the full extent of its spoliation of the Earth’s riches and change its patterns of consumption.
By bringing us unique footage from over fifty countries, all seen from the air, by sharing with us his wonder and his concern, with this film Yana Arthus-Bertrand lays a foundation stone for the edifice that, together, we must rebuild.

Sisters on the Planet

These are short films about women, in both rich and poor countries, who are determined to do whatever they can to put a stop to climate change. Watch them and become aware of the impact our changing climate is having on people’s lives. And be inspired to join the fight against climate change too.
Muriels' story - As a senior member of Brazil’s Environment Ministry, Muriel Saragoussi lives her life as a constant and impassioned fight against climate change. "If you're on a boat that's sinking, it’s useless to say it is somebody else’s fault," she says. "Everybody on board will sink, so we are all responsible for something. All of us have to play our part."
Sahena’s story - The annual monsoon rains in Bangladesh are getting heavier and more unpredictable – last year's floods were the worst in decades, affecting nine million people – but few people can have encountered a force of nature quite like Sahena Begum. Fiercely determined, she is spearheading community efforts to deal with changing weather in Kunderpara village.
Melissa’s story - Melissa Davies Oliveck recalls that when she first asked her Year Three class "How many of you are worried about climate change?” nearly all of the children put their hands up. Since then Melissa has been working determinedly to help her pupils see that they can have a voice, that they can be powerful, and that they can make a difference.
Martina’s story - The weather has never been perfectly predictable in Uganda – no more than it is anywhere else – but in the last few years it has become more and more unreliable, making life increasingly precarious for communities, like Martina Longom's, who rely on farming to survive. "For the last three years the rain was late," Martina explains. "In two of them there wasn’t enough rain for the sorghum [a local crop] to grow.”

The Outlook for Someday 2008

The Outlook for Someday began in 2007. It was developed by Connected Media as a 20th anniversary initiative for New Zealand’s Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment (PCE). The proposal to the PCE said “Young New Zealand forecasts the future by telling it how it is… we look through the windows of the make-or-break generation.”
This is what we asked of anyone up to the age of 20 in 2008:
What does sustainability mean for the world and for you?
What does it mean for your community or neighbourhood?
What do you want to say about it?
TVNZ hosted The Outlook for Someday Awards on 4 December. This time, as well prizes for the 20 Winning Films, there were 4 Special Awards.
Mr Box won the Film-making Achievement Special Award
Matariki 2008 won the Sustainable Future Special Award
Sustainability won the Youth Participation Special Award
Te Kume Pahikara (Bike Pooling) won the Te Reo & Tikanga Māori Special Award

The film marathon will be free and open to the public, hoping to achieve the following goals:

• Increase awareness in the public and community about climate change and sustainable living.
• Emphasis on grassroots participation on issues about climate change to shake/force the government/authority to take drastic actions in their roles in combating climate change – leading up to the Copenhagen meeting in December in Denmark.
• Shake up/educate/inform the public about the consequences of climate change towards the well-being of humanity and the earth. - Current policies are not working, more drastic ACTIONS need to be taken – leading to COP15.
• Encourage New Zealanders to take action / play their own part in sustainable living and fight against climate change with short clips of people all around the world taking action in their own ways.
• Provide a platform for concerned/newly informed community members to network / discuss ideas and issues regarding the well-being of the earth.
  

   

Refreshments will be provided throughout the screening period.