Cape Town Green Map asked Erica Schonfield to pick her three favourite, not-to-miss films in the SA Eco Film Festival.
In a way it’s funny to choose my three favourite films for the Eco Film Festival, as we’ve so carefully chosen the 12 international films to present to SA – however when Cape Town Green Map presented me with the pick three challenge, I rose to the occasion… Drum roll, please
My pick of three for the SA Eco Film festival are:
- Racing Extinction
- Revenge of the Electric Car
- How to Change the World
The SA Eco Film Festival runs 31 March to 3 April at The Labia Theatre, in Cape Town; with a day of Preview screenings on Friday 1 April at The Masque in Muizenberg. Tickets available on Webtickets
Racing Extinction
This is a good one if you’re bringing guests to the SA Eco Film Festival who are a little nervous of the “hippy green” – An exciting, stirring film with enough tech, science and great (Oscar-nominated) soundtrack to keep any audience fascinated.
Director Louie Psihoyos won an Oscar for Best Documentary in 2010 for “The Cove” – Now looking into what he believes should be the biggest news story in the world, he investigates the current Sixth Mass Extinction, that the earth is currently experiencing. Part of the fun is accompanying the team as they carry out very Mission-Impossible-style covert operations to uncover the trade of species on the extinction list. Incredible photography is part of the drill – and if you’re an older National Geographic reader (We always had old copies in our bathroom when I was a kid) you’ll meet some of the photographers of images that were burnt on your imagination.
Though definitely emotion-tweaking at points, Racing Extinction moves quickly across a vast subject, and culminates with a response that is so “cool”, that you leave feeling uplifted, hopeful and importantly that you are a vital part of something bigger.
#racingextinction #startwith1thing
Racing Extinction is screening: Saturday 2 April at 14:00, Sunday 3 April at 16:00, at the Labia Theatre.
Revenge of the Electric Car
This great documentary would have to be in my top three, as we worked very hard to bring this film to SA for it’s South African Premiere, alongside director Chris Paine’s latest offering “Bikes vs Cars”. While Revenge of the Electric car was released in 2011, the content is incredibly relevant to today, with the satisfying addition of us having “hindsight”
The movie goes behind-the-scenes of the automotive industry, documenting with incredibly accurate foresight the ‘race’ between moguls to bring affordable electric cars to market.
I’m an Elon Musk Groupie, and this story has deliciously intimate footage of the time when Tesla and Space X were on the rocks, and no one knew if they would be sad footnotes in history or the game changers they were promising to be. Carlos Ghosn of Nissan is inspirational in his pushing for the Nissan Leaf – the 100% electric car now available in South Africa; and love him or hate him Bob Lutz of General Motors is high entertainment as he tries to shift the course of the most notoriously petrol head organisation of them all – General Motors. “Reverend Gadget” makes a fourth, representing an aspect of the electric car industry that may in the end become the most important of them all: Garage conversions of old petrol vehicles.
Director Chris Paine has chosen four absolutely stunning characters, and follows them on their individual highs and lows in what becomes a fascinating documentary.
Revenge of the Electric Car is screening: Saturday 2 April at 12:00, Sunday 3 April at 12:00, at the Labia Theatre
Electric vehicles on show after the screening in the Labia Theatre courtyard
Bikes vs Cars is screening: Friday 1 April at 18:15, Sunday 3 April at 12:00 at the Labia Theatre
How to Change the World
For something a little different, this film documents the origins of the world green movement, notably the origins of the GreenPeace organization, and where the original activists chose to move with their lives. Breaking down “How to change the World” into a series of 5 rules, in series of then-and-now interviews and fascinating footage of the original Green Peace campaigns. This movie chronicles the tale of how a group of young like-minded activists speaking up for the environment, themselves unfolded into a very human story – with good and bad outcomes, but very definitely contributing to a different world.
Also: well worth watching for the sheer enjoyment of ‘70’s hairstyles and a lesson in the progression of beard behaviours over time.
How to Change the World is screening: Saturday 2 April at 16:00, Sunday 3 April at 18:15, at the Labia Theatre. Preview Screening: Friday 1 April, at 20:00 – Masque Theatre, 37 Main Road Muizenberg (Join for a double bill, and see Hope For All at 18:00)
WHAT, WHEN & WHERE: The SA Eco Film Festival runs 31 March to 3 April at The Labia Theatre, Labia Theatre, 68 Orange Street, Cape Town.in Cape Town 8001; with a day of Preview screenings on Friday 1 April in the Southern Suburbs.
TICKETS: Webtickets and The Labia
FULL PROGRAMME: visit
INFO: Erica Schofield festival@ecofilmsa.co.za Labia Theatre 021 424 5927 Masque Theatre, Muizenberg 021 788 1898
“You can change the world with a camera more easily than a gun – and more efficiently” (Paul Watson quoting Bob Hunter in ‘How to Change the World’)
The SA Eco Film Festival is grateful to it’s sponsors who are the reason we can give these films a platform to be shared further in the world – These changemakers are: Sustainable.co.za, Ballo.co.za, Reliance.co.za and Group1, Stellenbosch presenting the Nissan Leaf.
