sundance

13 films make their digital premieres through Sundance Institute Artist Services program

A still from CLEAR CUT: THE STORY OF PHILOMATH, OREGON

Sundance Institute announced thirteen films supported by the Institute that are for the first time available to rent, download and stream. Look for the films on iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, Hulu, SundanceNOW and YouTube. Films will be available on Netflix on March 1. For a full list of titles and where they are available, visit sundance.org/nowplaying or join Sundance Institute’s social media communities on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ and Kickstarter.

Amazonia: art meets science to celebrate Amazon’s biodiversity

For environmentalists, scientists, and even celebrities, the Amazon rainforest has served as a vivid symbol of ecological and social degradation created by rapid global development. Artists Lucy and Jorge Orta traveled Peru in 2009 to see this environment for themselves in 2009, as well as to assist scientists in data collection. Their experience with the region’s biodiversity inspired them (of course); the Natural History Museum in London commissioned them to work with this inspiration, and is now has the resulting work on display.

Sigourney Weaver narrates Google Earth tour of Belo Monte dam impact

In April, I took note of James Cameron’s efforts to stop the building of the Belo Monte dam on Brazil’s Xingu River. Actress Sigourney Weaver (a co-star in Cameron’s AVATAR) joined Cameron on one of his trips to Brazil, and has now collaborated with Amazon Watch, Movimento Xingu Vivo Para Sempre (Xingu River Forever Alive Movement), and International Rivers to produce a 10-minute video (above) showing the probably impact of the dam project on indigenous people in the region, biodiversity, health, and even climate change (which were outlined in the previous post).

SECRETS OF THE TRIBE (World Documentary Competition)

SECRETS OF THE TRIBE (World Documentary Competition)

The Yanomami Indians are an Amazonian tribe who lived in total isolation from the modern world until a half century ago, when one anthropologist after another started showing up to observe, document, and eventually exploit what they saw (and, in some cases, fetishized) as a virginal society. Piecing together testimonials from key researchers in the field and from tribe members, Brazilian documentarian José Padilha (BUS 174, Sundance ’03) progressively complicates the picture. Underlying all the bitter accusations and recriminations are the starkly opposed views of cultural and scientific anthropologists (the latter emphasize the role of evolutionary biology) and the conflicting assumptions that these native others are either noble innocents or violent primitives.

Joel Makower Releases New Environmental Book

Large companies seek Joel Makower for his ability to develop green business strategies. His skills are so legendary that he has been dubbed “the guru of green business practices” by The Associated Press. He’s been advising start-ups and Fortune 50 giants for more than two decades. In this time, he has advised companies on the [...]

The Reincarnation of Warren Zevon

Earlier this month, New West released Preludes [www.amazon.com], a pared down stash of pre-’76 home recording and demos, usually the sort of item reserved for the hopeless fanatics to buy — or vilify. As far as we’re concerned, though, the more people turned on to Z’s sardonic craft, the better. So mine on, reintroduce, reincarnate. [...]

On the Eco-Road Again…

As noted earlier this week [www.sundancechannel.com], signs of summer’s impending arrival are starting to pop up. Along with chores like mowing your grass, for many of us summer often offers the opportunity to travel and vacation. Before you gas up, buy tickets or book a hotel, we have a few tips and resources to make [...]