One Earth, Many Films

A first of its kind film festival is coming to the Oak Park area, and organizers are looking for some more help to get it planned.

Scheduled for April 27-29, the One Earth Film Festival is the handiwork of Green Community Connections, "a grassroots network for a sustainable future in the greater Oak Park & River Forest areas." More on GCC here.

On that weekend, the group will screen several thought-provoking, socially conscious at multiple venues across the area. A full schedule is still getting worked out, but organizers say you can stay tuned to the GCC Facebook page for updates.

Why a film fest? "Because maybe [people] will leave transformed in a way that just telling them something can't do," said festival organizer Ana Garcia Doyle.

All told, they'll be showing upward of 40 films, a mix of feature-length movies and independent shorts. Here's the lineup so far. Above, you'll find trailers for some of the films.

• The Last Mountain
• Waste Land
• A Fierce Green Fire
• Mother: Caring for Seven Billion
• What’s on Your Plate?

Garcia Doyle said all of the films were vetted by a committee and ultimately selected because they're "solution-oriented." A committee will finalize the festival schedule by April 10. Again, stay tuned to their Facebook page for updates.

Taken together, the serious issues raised in the films seem insurmountable — overpopulation, pollution, toxic wastelands, unsustainable food production and the health care epidemic, to name just a few.

But a powerful movie can sometimes tip the scales away from awareness and into action. And the folks with Green Community Connections are hoping their first film festival can offer a push in the right direction.

"I feel like change is doable," said Garcia Doyle, a leader of the that's helped divert tons of garbage away from landfills. "We wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't."

The festival is sponsored by Seven Generations Ahead, Plan It Green, the Manaaka Family Foundation, the River Forest Park District Foundation, the Interfaith Green Network, the River Forest Public Library, and Pleasant Home. If you're interested in helping organize or sponsor the festival, the group will be meeting Tuesday from 7-8:30 p.m at , 405 S. Euclid Ave. in Oak Park. 

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