"e" inc. to Host Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival on March 20, 2010

Inspiring films about activism come to the big screen in the South End

Boston (February 15, 2010) ? ?e? inc., Boston?s award-winning nonprofit environment science learning and action center, will host the Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival (WSEFF) at the Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology on Saturday, March 20, 2010 from 6:00-10:00 p.m. Showcasing nine films about environmental issues and examples of ?green? activism, the WSEFF will also include a light supper, dessert, a silent auction and activity stations. All proceeds from WSEFF Boston will fund ?e? inc.?s educational programs serving more than 800 students in 10 Boston-area community sites. Tickets may be purchased online through ?e? inc.?s website www.e-action.us. Early bird tickets cost $25.00; beginning March 1, tickets will be $30.00.

??e? inc.?s programs teach young people and their caregivers about the science underpinning Earth?s systems and the actions they must do to better protect our planet,? said Dr. Ricky Stern, ?e? inc. executive director and founder. ?Likewise, the films in our program celebrate the successes of individual activism and the beauty of the Earth. Through this film festival, we want to empower even more people with a vision of the difference they can make in their communities.?

The highlight of the evening is an hour-long documentary titled ?Tapped,? which explores the murky ethical and legal circumstances behind bottled water and the privatization of water. ?Tapped? includes interviews with people from Maine who oppose corporate possession of water rights and protest the unregulated bottling and selling of clean drinking water from their hometown. The film is a winner of the Indie Fest Award of Excellence and has been selected for the London United Film Festival.

The following eight other short films round out the WSEFF Boston program:

·         ?Every Day at School?
Follow a class in Australia as they spend the first five minutes of every day at school taking action to change the world in positive ways.

·         ?The Story of Cap & Trade?
Annie Leonard tells the story behind carbon trading?is it a real solution or just a dangerous distraction?

·         ?Brower Youth Awards: Forces of Nature #1?
Witness the launch and inspiring early work of Power Past Coal, a national grassroots initiative of activists battling coal projects founded by Brower Youth Award recipient Sierra Crane-Murdoch of Vermont.

·         ?Brower Youth Awards: Forces of Nature #2?
See the achievements of fifteen-year-old Alec Loorz of California, the youngest presenter of Al Gore?s ?The Climate Project? and the founder of the Sea Level Awareness Program (SLAP) to educate coastal Californians about sea level rise and global warming.

·          ?The Fun Theory: Piano Stairs?
The Fun Theory asks, ?Can we get more people to alter their behavior by making it fun to do?? See the results here.

·         ?Secret Life of Paper?
Ever wonder what happens to the newspaper we read in the morning? Part of INFORM?s Secret Life Series, the film highlights the environmental impact of this everyday product.

·         ?Split Estate?
This abridged version of a longer 76-minute film shows what happens to people who discover that they do not own the mineral rights under their land and how they deal with energy companies drilling for natural gas in their backyard.

·         ?A Year in the Desert: Anza Borrego?
Discover the nuances of each season in the Anza Borrego desert in this visually stunning work by Emmy Award-winning filmmakers Chris Pyle and Nicholas Clapp.

Supper will include donations from New England locavore favorites including The Fireplace, Flour Bakery and Café, Picco Restaurant, Effie?s Homemade, Linabella?s Gourmet Garlic Farm and Grafton Village Cheese. Event sponsors are Save the Harbor Save the Bay, Rose Kennedy Greenway, Climate Action Network (CAN), Nexus: A Project of The Green Roundtable, National Grid and The River 92.5 FM. 

?e? inc., Boston?s award-winning nonprofit environment science learning and action center, serves more than 800 young people at 10 Boston-area community sites each year with its educational programs and events. Founded in 2002, ?e? inc.?s mission is to create dynamic environmental citizens committed to understanding and protecting the Earth. Through environment science workshops, afterschool sessions, outdoor field excursions, and expanded programming such as its new signature event, The Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival, ?e? inc. works to inspire community-based activism and promote social change. For more information, visit www.e-action.us