...on the last Tuesday of every month!
Film Screening:
Premiere Screening in Malaysia
August 27th
8 till Late
In December 2005, Daniel McGowan was arrested by four federal agents in a nationwide sweep of radical environmentalists involved with the Earth Liberation Front (ELF).
The ELF had launched spectacular acts of arson against dozens of businesses it accused of destroying the environment. No one had ever been hurt in any of the fires, but the FBI considered the group the "No. 1 domestic terrorism threat" in the United States, and McGowan faced a sentence of life in prison.
If a Tree Falls is a layered narrative that weaves together a variety of clashing points of view which asks its audience to wrestle with questions intentionally left unresolved.
Director Marshall Curry says, "I'm always intrigued when reality cuts against my expectations or stereotypes. How did this guy — who could be anyone's little brother, or employee, or next-door neighbor — wind up facing life in prison for 'eco-terrorism'?"
More
If A Tree Falls Disucssion Guide:
Interview with Rik Scarce, author of 'Eco-Warriors', the history of the environmental movement and the splintering of radical factions over the past 30 years.
Visual Timeline of 70 Years of Environmental Change from The New York Times
Environmental History Timeline - the history of environmentalism from the rise of civilization in Babylon to the 21st century.
Milestones in Environmental Protection - comprehensive listing of governmental and NGO' attempts at preserving the environment from as
early as 1849.
The world's 10 most threatened forests (interactive) from The Guardian
The 1970s saw an explosion of interest in environmental issues, in part simply because of growing awareness, and in part because of the establishment in the 1970s of Earth Day, which united various environmentally related issues under one larger umbrella.
As environmental awareness increased, new environmental groups formed... butbefore too long, members of the movement became frustrated with the failures of traditional protest and legislative action and turned to more radical methods to have their voices heard - sabotage and property damage.
Many supporters consider such actions to be in revoultionary tradition of the Boston Tea Party - symboic property damage designed to draw public attention to important issues. Others consider these actions terrorism.
The term "eco-terrorism" is widely understood to have been coined by Ron Arnold, executive vice president of the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise, an education and research organization affiliated with the mining and timber industries.
Background
"One of the best documentaries of the year."
- Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
"An extraordinary documentary...[a] fearless exploration of complexity in a world drawn to oversimplified depictions of events and problems, heroes and villains."
- Andrew Revkin, The New York Times
"A true life outlaw tale, as stirring as it is tragic, the story of the Earth Liberation Front offers a DeLillo-flavored draught of high-proof righteous excitement."
- Michael Atkinson, The Village Voice
"Very thoughtful and articluate... pushing past the familiar activists-vs-the-corporate-state paradigm to hear from those whose sympathies lie on both sides."
- Steven Boone, Chicago Sun Times
"If a Tree Falls' is nothing if not troubling, complicated and thought-provoking... [the film] provided a common text from which everybody — radical or moderate, liberal or conservative — was able to work, interpret, converse.
- Dylan Walsh, Yale Daily News
Reviews
for conversations fit for the 21st century