A photographer for over 20 years, Jerry Monkman had often shone light on the topic of our need to encourage the conservation of open space and wildlife habitat.
He recently decided to embark on one of the more ambitious projects he has ever undertaken through a different medium of film and the power of Kickstarter.
The Power of Place is a 30 minute documentary film that explores the negative impacts of ~Northern Pass~.
Nice sounding name that probably took hours (if not months) to formulate, but unfortunately it describes a proposed electricity transmission line that will run 180 miles (!) down the center of New Hampshire.
In his words…”When I first head about Northern Pass, I’ll admit that I thought it was a fairly innocuous project. After all, I happily use electricity every day, and more than 75% of the proposed Northern Pass route will follow an already existing right of way. However, my mind changed when I was asked by the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests to produce a series of videos about the project. The more I learned about the details of the project and talked with people who will be directly affected by it, the more I believed that Northern Pass is a bad idea for New Hampshire. New Hampshire will just be giving up too much, and the benefits that may result from the project are too little.”
See ~The Power of Place~ at the new 3S Artspace in Portsmouth, April 9. A preview trailer can be found on the 3S Artspace website here.
Locally our Firehouse theater will host the EARTHPORT Film Festival on Sunday, April 12. In conjunction with Global Earthday (April 22, since 1970), EarthPort highlights short films under 15 minutes in length. Adults and Children will especially enjoy the beautifully drawn nine minute ~ The Orphan and the Polar Bear ~.
The Orphan and the Polar Bear provides a glimpse of the traditional beliefs of Inuit people. In this world, many of the ancient animals lived as Inuit did. Magically these beings could assume human form whenever they wished. But, just as the world climate is changing and the ancient glaciers are melting, these stories are being forgotten. The Orphan and the Polar Bear is a celebration of these old memories.
This piece of Inuit oral history was brought to the big screen under the direction of Neil Christopher (producer, director, writer) and Louise Flaherty (producer). The scenes in the film were digitally painted by world-renowned artist Eva Widermann. The scenes were then carefully given life and movement under the expert supervision of award-winning animator Daniel Gies. See EarthPort website to discover the other inspiring selections for this year.
The popular Newburyport Documentary Film Festival will be in its tenth year this September.
Organizers accept submissions from around the world and make final selections in August. There is a special award for New England filmmakers. If you have ever considered throwing some light (or shade) on a pet issue get to work – and submit by final deadline July 1.
Newburyport Documentary Film Website