That’s Envirotainment!

Green film fest hopes to change the way we think about ourselves and our world

By Justin Chapman, Pasadena Weekly, 3/18/2010

UCLA’s James Bridges Theatre this weekend hosts the fourth annual Green Lifestyle Film Festival, an event aimed at illustrating how film can be used to “create change for the greater good,” according to event spokeswoman Lisa Chamberlin.
 
Festivities begin at 5 p.m. Friday with a Green Carpet opening featuring celebrities such as Australian writer, model, actress, producer and vegan Joanne Rose, vegetarian actress and comedian Debra Wilson Skelton, Norwegian Playboy Playmate Lillian Muller, and pre-teen hip-hop sensation Maxso. Opening ceremonies at 6 p.m. include trailers and a question and answer session with filmmakers.
Films will be screened from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, after which there will be a gala awards dinner from 6 to 11 p.m.
 
The festival, according to its Web site, was created to counter media messages based on fear and violence with “films that address the reasons behind such distorted images of mankind and our role here, with films that challenge us and inspire us to live lives of inspiration and to become the magnificent beings that lie within each of us.”
“Join us for a weekend full of entertainment of the highest integrity and plenty of food for thought,” said Chamberlin.

The James Bridges Theatre is at1409 Melnitz Hall, (UCLA), 405 Hilgard Ave., Westwood. A half-day pass is $35, $65 for a full day and $195 for a weekend pass, which includes access to the awards ceremony and the catered vegan dinner Sunday evening. Buy tickets online at greenlifestylefilmfestival.com, punch in the code GLFF2010 and receive $70 off the price of the weekend pass ticket. The festival also features a free OutDoors Arena, which is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday and includes a stage with live musicians, dancers, theater and other entertainment. There will also be top chefs doing live demonstrations and booths offering information. For more information, visit greenlifestylefilmfestival.com or call (310) 854-2078 or (310) 928-7689.