2012 Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital
March 13–28

Once again, AFI Silver is proud to host screenings in this year's Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital. For a complete schedule of films, visit dcenvironmentalfilmfest.org.
No passes accepted.

Last Dogs of Winter
US Premiere!

For the past 40 years, in a remote and harshly beautiful corner of northern Manitoba, Brian Ladoon has devoted his life to preserving and breeding an endangered species: the Qimmiq, Canada's indigenous Eskimo dog. This intimate documentary intelligently surveys Ladoon's quixotic mission, the numerous obstacles he faces and the uneasy co-existence of man, animal and nature in the small town of Churchill (pop. 873). — Alissa Simon, Variety.

DIR/PROD Costa Botes; PROD Caleb Ross. New Zealand, 2011, color, 97 min. NOT RATED

Lucy Walker Retrospective
THE TSUNAMI AND THE CHERRY BLOSSOM
Co-presented with the Embassy of Japan
Introduction by H.E. Ambassador Ichiro Fujisaki. Discussion with filmmaker Lucy Walker.

Filmmaker Lucy Walker is the winner of the third annual Polly Krakora Award for artistry in film, presented by Peter O'Brien, executive director of the Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital.

Oscar-nominated director Lucy Walker set out to make "a visual haiku about cherry blossoms" in Japan but changed her plans radically following the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit the country on March 11, 2011. Taken with the cherry blossom's beauty and ability to symbolize the ephemeral quality of life, Walker links the disaster with the power of Japan's most beloved flower to heal and inspire in this stunning visual poem. Opening with a long clip of jaw-dropping footage of the tsunami, the film shows water sweeping houses and buildings along like toys, lifting up cars and swallowing people. Interviews with survivors are framed by the metaphor of cherry blossoms, a symbol deep in Japanese culture that suggests rebirth. 2012 Academy Award Nominee, Best Documentary Short; Winner, Jury Prize in Short Film, Non-Fiction, 2012 Sundance Film Festival.

DIR/PROD Lucy Walker; PROD Kira Cartensen. UK, 2011, color, 40 min. In Japanese with English subtitles. NOT RATED

Lucy Walker Retrospective
WASTE LAND
In Person: director Lucy Walker

Renowned artist Vik Muniz journeys to the world's largest garbage dump, located on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. There he photographs an eclectic band of catadores–self-designated pickers of recyclable materials. Muniz's initial objective was to "paint" the catadores with garbage. However, his collaboration with these inspiring characters as they recreate photographic images of themselves out of garbage reveals both their dignity and despair. 2010 Academy Award Nominee, Best Feature Documentary; 2010 World Cinema Audience Award Documentary, Sundance Film Festival; Official Selection 2010 AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdocs.

DIR Lucy Walker, João Jardim, Karen Harley; PROD Angus Aynsley, Hank Levine. UK/Brazil, 2010, color, 99 min. In English and Portuguese with English subtitles. NOT RATED

Lucy Walker Retrospective
BLINDSIGHT
In Person: director Lucy Walker

Set against the breathtaking backdrop of the Himalayas, this gripping adventure follows six Tibetan teenagers who set out to climb the 23,000-foot Lhakpa Ri on the north side of Mt. Everest. The seemingly impossible challenge is made all the more remarkable by the fact that the teenagers are blind. Believed by many Tibetans to be possessed by demons, the children are shunned by their parents and rejected by society. Rescued by Sabriye Tenberken, a blind educator and adventurer who established the first school for the blind in Lhasa, the students invite a famous blind mountain climber to visit their school, and are inspired to let him lead them higher than they have ever been before.

DIR Lucy Walker; PROD Sybil Robson. UK, 2006, color, 104 min. In English, Tibetan and German with English subtitles. RATED PG

An Evening with Animator Bill Plympton
Discussion with Bill Plympton following screenings.

Animator, cartoonist and illustrator Bill Plympton is known as "the king of indie animation." His award-winning short films have highlighted many film festivals and he is the only person to hand-draw an entire animated feature film. On this special evening, Plympton presents two new animations, SUMMER BUMMER and a restoration of the 1921 THE FLYING HOUSE, as well as a sneak peek at an upcoming project. He also screens a selection of his classic shorts and discusses his oblique, off-beat style. He received Oscar nominations for an early animation, YOUR FACE, in 1988 and for GUARD DOG in 2005, while his short film, PUSH COMES TO SHOVE, won the prestigious Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1991.

SUMMER BUMMER
A man about to go swimming imagines what horrors could be lurking deep in the waters of his backyard pool. US, 2011, 2 min.

THE FLYING HOUSE
This "re-imagining" of Winsor McCay's 1921 short, DREAMS OF THE RAREBIT FIEND: THE FLYING HOUSE has been re-mastered in full color and features the voice talents of Patricia Clarkson and Matthew Modine. US, 2011, 15 min.

TMZ (Weird Al Music Video)
The private life of a celebrity is anything but private in this scandalous music video. Set to the tune of Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me," TMZ uncovers the gossip, the dirt, the juicy stuff that we really don't need to know about our favorite celebs, exposing the plight of one starlet as an embarrassing photo spreads like wildfire. US, 2011, 4 min.

WAITING FOR HER SAILOR
Waiting for her sailor to return home, a woman on a cliff watches closely as a ship approaches. US, 2011, 1 min.

THE COW WHO WANTED TO BE A HAMBURGER
This children's fable is about the power of advertising, the meaning of life and ultimately the test of a mother's love. It's the story of a young cow, mesmerized by the marketing power of a hamburger billboard, and his ultimate goal of becoming the best hamburger he can be. Nominee, Best Short Film, Annecy Film Festival. US, 2010, 6 min.

LAND OF OBLIVION [La terre outrage]
Washington, DC, Premiere!

When the nuclear accident at Chernobyl happens, a young couple, Anya and Piotr, finds their wedding day turned into a day of disaster. Piotr, a firefighter, is summoned away from his nuptials. Soon rain begins to fall — black rain — and the disaster's full dimension starts to percolate into the consciousness of the people. Years later Anya makes a living guiding tourists who don radiation-proof suits and bus through the town snapping photos of the ravaged area. Shot on location, this drama about the Chernobyl disaster and its long-term legacy provides a shocking sense of immediacy. The camera captures the reality of the environmental catastrophe that devastated Ukraine.

DIR/SCR Michael Boganim; SCR Anne Weil; PROD Laetitia Gonzalez, Yael Fogiel, Hanneke Van Der Tas, Dariusz Jablobski. France/Germany/Poland/Ukraine, 2011, color, 113 min. In French with English subtitles. NOT RATED

WIND ACROSS THE EVERGLADES

Young idealistic game warden Christopher Plummer attempts to root out a gang of poachers led by Burl Ives, who teaches Plummer a deadly lesson: "Eat or be ate is the law of the ‘glades." Years ahead of its time in its environmental concerns and confidently rejecting simplistic good-versus-evil storytelling, the film demands rediscovery today. The boondoggle production — cast and crew fell ill with fever in the Florida swamps, Ray and the screenwriter/producer brothers Budd and Stuart Schulberg battled for control and Warner Bros. worried about runaway costs and an ever-evolving storyline — nonetheless yielded one of Ray's finest, most personal films.

DIR Nicholas Ray; SCR Budd Schulberg; PROD Stuart Schulberg. US, 1958, color, 93 min. NOT RATED

Lucy Walker Retrospective
COUNTDOWN TO ZERO

A fascinating and frightening exploration of the dangers of nuclear weapons, this film is a wake-up call about the urgency of the nuclear threat. It exposes a variety of present-day threats and features insights from a host of international experts and world leaders who advocate the total elimination of nuclear weapons. The film tells a story of uncertainty, exposing the real possibility of nuclear disaster and revealing the truth behind an issue on which human survival itself depends.

DIR Lucy Walker; PROD Lawrence Bender. US, 2010, color, 91 min. RATED PG

THE HUNTER
Washington, DC, Premiere!

A mercenary scientist named Martin (Willem Dafoe) is sent into the wilds of Australia by a mysterious European biotech company to search for the last Tasmanian tiger in this psychological drama. The tiger is believed to have been extinct for almost 100 years and there appears to be a conspiracy working against Martin, who is following in the footsteps of another hunter now missing. Martin accepts the challenge with the condition that he be left alone. Martin's story is a journey of discovery, of one man's understanding of what is really important in life and the sacrifices we must often make in order to find ourselves on the right path.

DIR Daniel Nettheim; SCR Alice Addison, Wain Fimeri, based on the novel by Julia Leigh; PROD Vincent Sheehan. Australia, 2011, color, 100 min. NOT RATED

THE SAVAGE INNOCENTS

A cultural misunderstanding between two men from different worlds — Inuit hunter Anthony Quinn and traveling missionary priest Marco Guglielmi — results in the priest's death and the native hunter being accused of murder. Maligned and misunderstood at the time of release, the film has earned a cult audience of admirers over the years, including Bob Dylan, who riffed on the film in his song "Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)." "In its ecological, ethnographic and political concerns, it's arguably as significant and ahead of its time as WIND ACROSS THE EVERGLADES." — Geoff Andrew, "The Films of Nicholas Ray."

DIR/SCR Nicholas Ray, from the novel "Top of the World" by Hans Rüesch; PROD Maleno Malenotti. US, 1960, color, 110 min. NOT RATED

Lucy Walker Retrospective
DEVIL'S PLAYGROUND

Rumspringa is the rite of passage that begins when Amish children reach 16 years of age, and continues until they decide whether they want to join or leave the Amish church. At 16, the Amish are permitted to leave the community and explore what they refer to as the "English World" and adults in the community call the "Devil's Playground." Sampling life outside, many young people drive cars, wear modern clothes and cut and style their hair, have sexual relationships and some experiment with drugs. This documentary follows several teens through their Rumspringa experiences. Interviews show that partying is never all that is on their minds; these young Amish adults are struggling with what they want to believe, how they want to spend the rest of their lives.

DIR Lucy Walker; PROD Steven Cantor. US, 2002, color, 77 min. NOT RATED