Katja Esson/2023/85 min/Climate, Justice, Built Environment, Historical Perspectives

FILM DESCRIPTION: Liberty City, Miami, was home to one of the oldest segregated public housing projects in the U.S. Now with rising sea levels, the neighborhood’s higher ground has become something else: real estate gold. Wealthy property owners push inland to higher ground, creating a speculators’ market in the historically Black neighborhood previously ignored by developers and policy-makers alike.

The short film “Painting by Numbers” by Radheya Jegatheva will precede the feature film. “Painting by Numbers” won the Sally Stovall Planet Warrior Prize for Creativity in the One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest 2023.

Chicago Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/razing-liberty-square-bethel-new-life-tickets-868044353027

Doors open at 5:15 for snacks/refreshments before start time.
Arrive early to talk with action partners, avoid lines and get best seats.
ADA-compliant accessible venue. Click here for more ADA details.

DISCUSSION CO-FACILITATORS:

• Hollee Mangrum Willis, Bethel New Life

• J'Niya Blunt, Your Passion 1st

DISTRICT 15
Anjali Nayar and Senain Kheshgi/2020/23 min/Energy, Social Justice, Health

FILM DESCRIPTION: Sadly, the majority of Los Angeles industrial oil drilling activity takes place in communities of color and low-income communities. “District 15” highlights the hope and tenacity of the young activists of Wilmington, California, as they push the L.A. City Council to prohibit new and existing oil and gas drilling operations within 2,500 feet of homes, schools and hospitals. Communities for a Better Environment is behind this effort. The group does critical work on environmental justice and empowers Californian communities to stand up to polluting industries and build a green energy future.

RECLAMATION: THE RISE AT STANDING ROCK
Michele Noble/2018/23 min/Energy, Water, Social Justice, Health, People & Cultures

FILM DESCRIPTION: In 2016, Indigenous youth unite the Native Nations and rise up in spiritual solidarity against the Dakota Access Pipeline. These young Native Leaders honor their destiny by leading a peaceful movement of resistance which awakens the world.

Tickets available to U.S. viewers only.

Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/district-15-reclamation-the-rise-at-standing-rock-watch-party-tickets-138624777441

Both films will be preceded by the 3-minute film "Fighting for Environmental Justice: The Health Crisis at the U.S.-Mexico Border" by Ilan Jinich, winner of the Sally Stovall Award for Activism in the One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest.

Please stay for a post-film discussion with:

Facilitator Kyra Woods, Clean Energy Organizer + Ready for 100 Chicago Coordinator, Sierra Club

Panelists:

• Anjali Nayar, Director, District 15

• Michele Noble, Director, Reclamation: The Rise at Standing Rock

• Angela Tovar, Chief Sustainability Officer, City of Chicago

• Naomi Davis, Founder and President, Blacks in Green

Anthony Baxter/2020/119 min/Social Justice, Water, People & Cultures, Health

FILM DESCRIPTION: Filmed over 5 years and long after the story was front page news, “Flint: Who Can You Trust?” is full of new twists and turns. Journalist/filmmaker Anthony Baxter goes beyond the headlines in Flint, Michigan, where a government poisoned its own citizens’ water supply, to show the complete breakdown of authority, public trust and faith in the truth itself. “Flint” is a powerful investigation of the breathtaking scope of toxic pseudo-science, celebrity activism, and official negligence. The film reveals the devastating impact on poor people and people of color, which make up the majority of the residents in Flint, as they continue to seek justice and clean water. Featuring Marc Ruffalo and narrated by Alec Baldwin. Produced by Richard Phinney and Sabrina Schmidt Gordon.

Tickets available to U.S. viewers only.

Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/flint-who-can-you-trust-watch-party-tickets-138489853881

After the screening, stay connected to discuss the film with:

Facilitator Alejandro Bodipo-Memba, Founder & CEO, OVP Management Consulting

Resource Panelists:

• Anthony Baxter, Director, Flint: Who Can You Trust?

• Nakiya Wakes, Resident of Flint, MI; appears in Flint: Who Can You Trust?

• Nathalie Baptiste, Reporter and Columnist, Mother Jones Magazine

FREE VIRTUAL SCREENING + DISCUSSION
Mary Mazzio/2020/95 minutes

NOTE! As this event has a live, in-person, distanced, invitation-only component, the RAIN DATE for both the in-person and virtual components of this event is Thurs, Oct 1 @6:30-9PM US Central Time.

PLEASE JOIN US at a virtual, public screening & discussion of the acclaimed film "A Most Beautiful Thing (2020, 95 minutes)," hosted by the Park District of Oak Park, in partnership with RGW Consulting and One Earth Film Festival.

FILM DESCRIPTION: Called one of the best documentaries to unveil at South by Southwest by Brian Tallerico of Roger Ebert, an “absolute must watch” by Deadspin, and “a film we could really use right now” by Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter, “one of the best films this decade” by ChicagoNow. “A Most Beautiful Thing,” narrated by the Academy-Award/ Grammy-winning artist, Common; executive-produced by NBA Stars Grant Hill and Dwyane Wade, along with Grammy-award winning producer 9th Wonder; and directed by award-winning filmmaker (and Olympic rower) Mary Mazzio, chronicles the first African American high school rowing team in this country (made up of young men, many of whom were in rival gangs from the West Side of Chicago), all coming together to row in the same boat.

Following the film, Reesheda Graham Washington, owner of L!ve Cafe and Creative Space and RGW Consulting will lead an interactive, facilitated discussion about the film and its themes, including racial, social and environmental justice. Panelists include author and film subject Arshay Cooper, as well as local equity advocates Stephen Jackson, Christina Waters, Juanta Griffin, and Cate Readling. We will also dialogue about what healthy communities look like, and about community recreation—including in the community of Oak Park, Ill., where its Park District is embarking on a Community Recreation Center project that aims to meet the needs of its diverse community through inclusion and equity.

Join members of the community, policy experts, and state legislators for a discussion of how Illinois can lead the transition to clean energy and a just economy. We will discuss the future of distributed energy in the Oak Park area, and in all of Illinois. Featuring Sen. Kimberly Lightford, Sen. Don Harmon, Rep. LaShawn Ford, Rep. Camille Lilly, as well as representatives from Citizens Utility Board, Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition, and Blacks in Green.

Advance registration strongly encouraged; walk-in registration also available at the event, which is open to all.

This event is sponsored by Unity Temple; Interfaith Green Network; Unitarian Universalist Advocacy Network of Illinois (UUANI); Seven Generations Ahead; 350.org; Sierra Club; and Oak Park Area Climate Action.