Tuesday, August 24th
EATING ALASKA BROADCAST! CREATING CONVERSATION! INTERNATIONAL SCREENINGS
News
Just back from screening Eating Alaska at the Annual meetings of the American Sociology, Rural Sociology and Society for the Study of Social Problems in Atlanta. Great post screening conversations with sociologists, as well as teachers and researchers who work in environmental studies, food science, human ecology and agriculture and fisheries.
Next trip:Kuchinia Food & TV Film Festival in Warsaw, Poland and two public libraries on the East coast, outside NYC.
Meanwhile, check you local listings. Eating Alaska is airing on public television.
PBS Stations pick the time and date and can change it too.
Here are some of the first dates we know-and these are what they call "first run." Show may be repeated.
Coming up soon
Houston, TX- KUHT-8.2: Mon 8/30 at 7 PM, Fri 9/3 at 9 PM
Chicago, IL-WYCC: 9/1/2010 at 8 PM, 9/5/2010 at 4 PM
Evansville, IN- WNIN-9.1 & 2: Thu 9/2 at 9 PM
Austin, MN- KSMQ-15: Fri 9/3 at 12 PM
Broomfield, CO- CO KBDI-12: Sun 9/5 at 8 PM
Charleston/Columbia/Spartanburg/Allendale/Beaufort/Florence/Sumter/Greenwood & Conway/Greenville/Rock Hill, SC: Sun 9/5 at 5 PM, Fri 9/10 at 9 PM
Kentucky KET2: Tues, 9/7 at 8:00 pm
Kentucky KET: Wed, 9/ 8 at 4:00 am
Greenville, NC- WNTV-29.2: Fri 9/10 at 9 PM
Durham, NH- WENH: Sat 9/18 at 8 PM, Fri 9/24 at 1 PM
Keene, NH- WEKW: Sat 9/18 at 8 PM, Fri 9/24 at 1 PM
Littleton, NH- WLED: Sat 9/18 at 8 PM, Fri 9/24 at 1 PM
Eureka, CA- KEET-13: Thu 9/23 at 10 PM
Elmira/Syracuse/Utica, NY- WCNY-24.1: Sun 9/26 at 6 PM
East Lansing, MI- WKAR-23.4: Mon 9/27 at 9 PM
Milwaukee, WI- WMVS-10.1: Mon 9/27 at 10 PM
PBS Broadcasts in Alaska
KAKM, Anchorage, AK Tuesday 9/ 14 7 pm *LIVE SKYPE INTERVIEW*
AlaskaOne Thursday 9/30 9 pm
Friday 10/1, at 3am
We will skype in and talk to KAKM viewers in Anchorage and head to Juneau in early November to be part of the KTOO-TV pledge drive. KTOO is part of AlaskaOne which covers Fairbanks, Bethel, Juneau and more.
PARTIAL LIST--MORE TO BE ADDED
MANY MORE SCREENINGS ARE COMING, including another major PBS release for Earth Day 2011.
RESPONDING TO A PBS VIEWER'S COMMENT
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THESE ISSUES? WE WELCOME DISCUSSION.
From an e-mail we got the week after a special release in Philly and Seattle.
"I am a long time vegan and wish to comment on your question of whether it is better to eat tofu that has traveled from long distance or consume a local deer. The aspect of the animal's capacity to suffer in the process of being hunted, wounded and finally slaughtered was not well addressed, only glossed over, labeled as a "not so clean" kill merely causing an inconvenient, uncomfortable fleeting thought. But minimizing that is negligent and ignores an even bigger issue.
Regardless of the energy cost in getting tofu (that could easily be produced locally) to Alaska, the value of that deer's life was far more expensive in that he or she has value in existing for him or her self, not as a resource for exploitation. We diminish our humanity by harming a sensitive animal who has as much a right to live and thrive as any human. This is their world, too. Regardless of how killing deer is sugarcoated, it is disrespectful of that animals desire to live."
Our response-
"Appreciate you writing. I assume you saw Eating Alaska on PBS in Seattle or Philly?
Did not mean to lack respect but to ask questions and stir up conversation.
That was a harsh scene in the film.
However:
I think we have to realize our place in the food chain and to face life and death and to think of all the ways we as humans impact our environment. To grow food, to grow soy or wheat, we clear forests, When we do that we destroy habitat. We exploit.I just keep wondering, how we can do the minimal harm--what will happen to this computer when it is past use (it is 3 years old)--where does all our garbage go? What is the ethics of polluting our world, that all living beings inhabit, with toxic waste?"
SOME SCREENINGS AHEAD
September 16-20
Ston. Croatia
Kinookus (Cinetaste)
This is Croatia's first gastronomic film festival
whose topic is food eduction, environmental protection and sustainable development
September 30 6 PM
Reel Food Film Festival
Ottawa Main Public Library
Ottawa, Canada
for more info. click here
September 30-October 3
Kuchnia TV Food Film Festival
Warsaw, Poland
Director and Associate Producer, Valerie Lapinski attending
Others:
Cineco, an environmental film festival at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland September-October
Far North Film Festival November 5, 6 and 7, 2010
NEW YORK
October 5 at 7 PM
Meet the Filmmaker Series
Hewlett/Woodmere Public Library
October 6 at 7:30 PM
Port Washington Public Library
FUN PRESS & REVIEWS
"A powerful story filled with adventure, surprise and beauty."
"Robby Kenner, Director, Food, Inc
We were also reviewed in Booklist. Here's what the "premiere book [and film] review journal" for librarians had to say:
"Caribou, salmon, and deer, oh my! If you think only men hunt and fish in the great Alaska outdoors, this documentary about eating healthy and sustainable foods raised locally will convince you otherwise...Great footage of Alaskan wildlife and rugged landscapes throughout the seasons punctuate the filmmaker’s witty and humorous coming-of-age as an omnivore learning to eat in a seasonable, sensible, and spiritually correct way..."
We were reviewed by Slow Food USA:
"...The story is charming, told in the first person by Ellen. The movie is accessible and thought-provoking. For those of us in urban and suburban areas where living sustainably means shopping conscientiously and buying from local producers, this movie provides a new lens through which to view sustainable eating..."
We were blogged about in Just Means:
"For those who see local food as a way to self-reliance and community development, expanding our understanding of what local food can be is a potentially challenging but life-changing experience...."
Finally, Shirley Thompson Eating Alaska's co-producer and story consultant blogs too:
"As many of you know, this film was a long time labor of love for me and Ellen, born out of Ellen's experience as a vegetarian who moved to the wild Alaska frontier and being confronted with the question, "What's the right thing to eat?" I had a similar experience 8 years ago when I moved from local, organic food friendly San Francisco to Dallas, Texas, where, despite being surrounded by cattle, the only local organic beef I could find was trucked in from Portland, OR.... Ellen and I realized that there was a budding food movement happening, and that EATING LOCAL was one way that all of us could have a powerful impact on creating a better world by supporting our neighbors who are food producers, helping keep local agricultural lands in the hands of the families who tend them, and using fewer fossil fuels to transport food..."
Ellen Frankenstein, on 08.24.10 @ 16:51AKT [link]
Friday, July 30th
EATING ALASKA BROADCAST KICKS OFF IN SEATTLE
We're starting to air Eating Alaska on public television.
Our first broadcast is a special release on KCTS 9 in Seattle and Yakima too.
Wed. 8/4 @ 10:00 pm & repeats 8/8 @ 3:00 am on KCTS 9 in Seattle & KYVE in Yakima.
Something to chew on
"We are living in a world today where lemonade is made from artificial flavors and furniture polish is made from real lemons."
-Alfred E. Newman
(from title page of a report called the Upside Down Fate: Analysis of a Priming Survey Exploring Views of the Food System by Meg Bostrom, April 2006)
How do we fit it in?
So the director of Eating Alaska was up until midnight vacuum packing smoked king salmon.
In fact it might be time to check the next batch in our little home smoker now...and the other night was a late one, cleaning, processing and jarring wild beach asparagus we harvested. Being close to what you eat is so awesome, but it is not fast and not always convenient --as we exemplify in the scene in Eating Alaska, when we get stuck goat hunting. In uncertain times, with the oil spill and more, all this reflects something good, something hopeful, even if it generates a long list of "to dos" or is it "to dues?"..."
Ellen Frankenstein, on 07.30.10 @ 16:42AKT [link]
Monday, July 5th
WHAT'S COOKING
SOME RANDOM FOOD AND SUSTAINABILITY NOTES
-The slugs are getting more of the director's lettuce than friends and family.
-Salmonberries are on-line and we're eating lots of kale and chard.
-Check out this list of food & sustainability books from Dog Eared Books
EATING ALASKA HEADS TO POLAND
Its the Kuchina Food and TV Festival in Warsaw, plus a national broadcast.
EATING ALASKA RELEASED TO PBS
We're officially releasing the film in September. Check your local listings.
We'll post broadcast times as stations set them.
Philadelphia and Seattle are doing special pre-broadcasts:
Wed. 8/4 @ 10:00 pm & repeats 8/8 @ 3:00 am on KCTS 9 in Seattle & KYVE in Yakima.
SOME UPCOMING CONFERENCES & EATING ALASKA
Paths Across the Pacific, July 20-23rd
Rural Sociology, August 13th
American Sociology Association, August 14th
Society for the Study of Social Problems August 14th
National Environmental Education Association Sept 29-Oct 2
A SURPRISE HIT WITH PUBLIC LIBRARIES
Libraries across the country are not just ordering this documentary about a vegetarian who moves to Alaska and sets off on a search for a sustainable and ethical meal, they’re also setting up screenings and events.
One public library director simply called Eating Alaska, “a quirky Food, Inc.” Others are inviting chefs, urban gardeners, homesteaders, food activists and the filmmaker to speak; sharing wild, local and artisan nibbles, and talking about food justice and the impact of the industrial food system on our bodies, families and communities. One upcoming event is at the Scranton Library in Madison, Connecticut on July 15th.
We’ve also created a 43 page downloadable users and discussion guide to give teachers and screening organizers ideas for creative and educational use of the film.
Ellen Frankenstein, on 07.05.10 @ 17:05AKT [link]
Thursday, June 3rd
EARLY SUMMER NEWS FOR EATING ALASKA
Eating Alaska reviewed on the Slow Food USA's website:
"The story is charming, The movie is accessible and thought-provoking. For those of us in urban and suburban area where living sustainably means shopping conscientiously and buying from local producers, this movie provides a new lens through which to view sustainable eating."
Screenings and Community Discussions Continue!
From the Beading and Eating group in Kake, Alaska to East Coast college campuses and public libraries, the film is in use and a part of people talking and about health, environment, local foods, sustainability and more. We've heard that Community Health Aides from all over Alaska are watching Eating Alaska as part of their nutrition training and women learning survival, huting and fishing skills in a program called "Becoming an Outdoors Women," are seeing it as part of their workshops.
Here is a recent example of a local Eating Alaska event:
The director recently returned from an artist in schools project in Nome. As part of that, she shared the film with an audience of 25 people. Great for a small community. The discussion was awesome. Viewers talked about issues of finding time to do subsistence and grow their own food in the challenging subarctic climate. A couple Inupiat women shared the challenges they face, moving for work, and learning how to gather and prepare local foods, since there is such a variation within Alaska and usually families share and pass on this knowledge. One person said he couldn't find the time to do his own food growing or gathering. That led to some heated talk about "values" and time. Another local brought up the issue of gold mines in the region and the need to keep toxic chemicals from getting into the environment and the wild foods we eat. We then talked about the economy of rural Alaska, the need for employment opportunities and the hazards that often arise with industries like mining and, as we all are so aware of with the tragedy in the Gulf, with offshore drilling.
Ellen Frankenstein, on 06.03.10 @ 08:47AKT [link]
Wednesday, April 21st
EATING ALASKA, EARTH DAY & WAVY GRAVY AT THE SONOMA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Got to screen Eating Alaska with a spiffy amazing sound set up from Dolby at the Sonoma International Film Festival. Audience included Wavy Gravy and his wife Bobbie. During the Q & A it was great to talk about food justice and the need for access to healthy food, and see Wavy Gavy nodd, red nose and all.
"I am an activist clown and former frozen dessert," he says " but it is because of his good work on behalf of the planet and its least fortunate residents that Wavy Gravy has achieved his own brand of sainthood.Want to learn more about Wavy and the film Saint Misbehavin?
Click here
Excited by Earthday screenings from Earth Day Film Festival-Moving Toward Sustainability at the University of Connecticut, a series at the University of Maryland and at public libraries in Georgia & New York. Recently chatted with a public library director in Pennsylvania. He wanted Eating Alaska as a "quirky Food, Inc." He said Food, Inc, does not stay on the shelf and he feels a need for more films on food and the environment to feed his community.
Ellen Frankenstein, on 04.21.10 @ 10:29AKT [link]
Friday, March 26th
EATING ALASKA UPDATE ON SCREENINGS AND USE
Some upcoming screenings
Alaska Anthropological Association Meetings
March 26, 2010
Millenium Hotel, Anchorage, Alaska
Movies and Munchies in the Eureka Coop Community Kitchen
Friday March 26, 12 & 6 PM
4th & B street
Tenakee Springs, Alaska
Filmmaker in the schools (K-12)
Community Screening
April 2, 2010
Earth Day 40 Film Series
Saturday April 10, 2009 1 PM
Bethlehem Public Library
Delmar, NY 12054
Sonoma International Film Festival
Sonoma, CA
April 18, 2010
12:30pm Ramekins Cafe Cinema
Hosted by the Alaska Wilderness League. Reception after with Sonoma Wine and Wild Alaskan salmon!
"In keeping with the Cinema Epicurean theme, the festival always features a focus on food and wine." Last year that meant Food Inc, this year it includes Eating Alaska.Sonoma News
The Alaska Wilderness League hosts the screening.
The League exists to lead the effort to preserve Alaska’s wilderness by engaging citizens, sharing resources, collaborating with other organizations, educating the public, and providing a courageous, constant and victorious voice for Alaska in the nation’s capital from all 50 states.
Filmmaker/Director attends
University of Maryland’s Earth Day Film Festival
Part of Earth Month
April 21 & 22nd, 2010 4:05 PM
Earth Day Film Festival-
Moving Toward Sustainability
University of Connecticut-Avery Point
Groton, CT
Marine Science Building, Room 103
Thursday April 22, 2010 6:00 PM
Sponsored by the University of Connecticut Libraries, with support from the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR), UConn's Department of Dining Services, retired veteran CANR writer Alexander Gavitt, and the Storrs and Avery Point EcoHusky student organizations.
Nome Community Screening
May 2010
Date TBA
(Director attends/during an artist in schools residency)
Twisp Rural Roots Film Festival
Twisp, Washington
May 29, 2010
CONFERENCES AUGUST-SEPTEMBER
Society for Social Problems, Atlanta
North American Assn. for Environmental Education, Buffalo, NY
Rural Sociology Conference, Atlanta
Paths Across the Pacific, Sitka
ALSO: LA City College, Earth Day and Slow Food and public library screenings in the works
USE NOTES
Alaska Fish and Game is planning to use Eating Alaska in community workshops and trainings. This is part of the "No Child Left Indoors" campaign to reconnect kids with the restorative, challenging, primal qualities of nature. Even in Alaska kids (and adults) are spending more and more time engaged in sedentary, indoor activities.
Michigan State University recently screened Eating Alaska as part of a Food Film Series
The festival is part on an ongoing conversation at MSU on food, sustainability and the environment.
"A documentary about a vegetarian who moves to Alaska and is forced to confront a lot of the ethical issues she thought she had already settled on. The film chronicles her experience and the dilemmas she faces. Humorous and relatable to anyone who has ever pondered over the ethical questions of being a vegetarian or a carnivore." (from a blog on the Michigan State University Fisheries & Wildlife Club).
Other campuses are using the film in classes including:
Environmental Studies/Human Ecology/Ecology
Culinary/Nutrition Studies
Sociology/Anthropology/Geography
Humanities/Philosophy
Public Health
Community Agriculture/Fisheries/Food Security
Native American Studies
Women's Studies
Film Studies
SAMPLE RESPONSE AND A NOTE ON THE MEANING OF IMPACT
An e-mail from a public librarian below, provokes some thought on use and impact:
Festivals are fun, awards are great to mark getting through a project. However, it is school and community use, in whatever form, from clinics and churches to prisons and libraries is at the core of why I spend so much time scratching my head and trying to turn random ideas and issues into something a group can watch together.
"We showed Eating Alaska and we had 47 senior patrons come to the movie( for us this is a really good crowd. They thoroughly enjoyed the film. They commented about the breath taking scenery, the storyline and nutrition information. They especially liked the part with the children in the grocery store and learning about food labels- they said all schools should have an outing like this one."
Terri Campbell
Community Services/Adult Programming
Prospect Heights Public Library, Il
Ellen Frankenstein, on 03.26.10 @ 11:08AKT [link]
Monday, March 22nd
YOUTH PROGRAMS, QUESTIONS, STREAMING
URBAN GARDENING STUDENTS RESPOND TO EATING ALASKA
-Where does our food come from?
"What are the consequences of our current food system?
-Is it better to eat local or organic? To be a Vegan vs. Vegetarian vs. Omnivore?
-What can be learned from indigenous food practices?
-Could you actually kill an animal for its meat?
We made Eating Alaska to add to the conversation about how what we eat matters and connects us to the place we live. We wanted it to tie into efforts from community gardens and college campus efforts to promote sustainability to fossil fuel free days and electric car conversions that help us take care of our planet, our communities, families and ourselves.
Here is an example, from Austin Texas. We shared Eating Alaska with some participants in Urban Roots is a youth development program that uses sustainable agriculture as means to transform the lives of young people and increase the access of healthy food. On a 3.5 acre urban farm, the project brings together Austin youth ages 14-17 from diverse backgrounds to grow food, to serve people in need, and to gain valuable life, job, and leadership skills.
After the screening, one of the Urban Roots coordinators asked during the question and answer session, how do you talk with people about food choices?
The coordinator shared her experience of running into walls and defensiveness when she raised issues around food and making choices to eat more locally, more sustainably or just to eat good healthy food. Since I enjoy putting out questions, instead of attempting to provide answers, I turned to the students and asked them how being involved in their project had changed their thinking and the way they eat. They shared great stories of awareness and changes in their lives and their families by being involved in a program that connected to them to the source of their food. Seems like the answer to working with the walls is conversation, discussion, interaction, modeling, action. It all helps.
This is some response that also got passed on to us later:
"It was really great to see other kids. I was able to relate to this movie more because of the interviews they did with people my age. I was very interested in their lifestyle. How these teenagers are so accustomed to hunting. It would be like a different world to me."
Kayla, 16 years old, youth leader with Urban Roots
"It was cool that they used what they had. They ate what was near them.
What I thought was cool was how the main character and the other women were so strong. They survived in the forest for a long time. I don't usually see women doing that kind of stuff."
Mohammed, 15 years old, agriculture intern, Urban Roots
"It was amazing to see him harvesting sea cucumbers under water in freezing temperature."
Raymundo, 16 years old, agriculture intern, Urban Roots
EATING ALASKA ON NEW DAY DIGITAL
You can now look at Eating Alaska on-line!
This is a great option for previewing the film for a community screening, home viewing and for out of class assignments for students. This week a university student contacted us after he missed an screening in a Geography class. It was great to be able to send him to the site, where for a small fee he can stream the film on demand. School and Institutional use can be arranged too. Click here to go to Eating Alaska on New Day Digital.
Ellen Frankenstein, on 03.22.10 @ 10:59AKT [link]
