Green screen film series explores environmental issues
[Article originally published on InsideVandy.com]
By Lauren Koenig
Throughout the fall semester, the Alternative Energy Club (AEC) will be screening five documentaries on a variety of environmental topics as part of the Green Screen film series.
While some of the movies focus on familiar environmental issues such as energy consumption, others present subject matter that is not often portrayed through film. Senior Meryem Dede, an officer of the AEC, came up with the idea for the film series after watching “Queen of the Sun,” a documentary that centers on the diminishing international bee population.
Other films such as the Oscar-nominated “Waste Land” touch on the series’ theme of sustainability, but also stand alone as cinematic works.
“The movies are about raising awareness, but they’re also just entertaining,” Dede said.
Films with an informative and positive message were specifically chosen for the series. “I hate movies about environmental issues that end in the message that the world is coming to an end, so I tried to highlight films that offered solutions,” Dede said.
Increasing accessibility to environmental topics through the medium of film appears to be one way of raising student interest in sustainability.
“I’m glad people have the opportunity to be educated about the environment,” said junior Isaam Mir, who also stated that he was personally most interested in learning more about green technology.
Senior Amit Shintre also agreed that a film series is a practical way of making environmental issues available to students. “I’d watch environmental films if there were more events around campus,” he said.
According to Office of Active Citizenship and Service (OACS) Assistant Director Shaiya Baer, the film series is intended to encourage greater campus-wide discussion on ecology. “OACS agreed to help sponsor the AEC’s Green Screen Series owing to a strong commitment to exploring the critical issue of our environment,” said Baer.
In addition to OACS, other sponsors of the series include The Ingram Commons, East House, Memorial House SPEAR, the American Studies Sustainability Project and the Film Studies Program.
The films are free for students. The first movie will be shown at 7 p.m. at the Commons Center this Wednesday. The other screenings will take place at Sarratt Cinema later in the year.
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