The Debut of Richard Paradise ‘s Boulder Environmental/ Nature/Outdoors Film Festival brought out the city’s heavyweights in the climate activism community
When Richard Paradise was formulating his plan for the brand new Boulder Environmental/Nature/Outdoors Film Festival there were a couple thoughts he had to distinguish it from the number of other environmentally-focused film festivals that were rapidly gaining prominence across the country.
First, he wanted to combine the vital call-to-action films informing and enlightening audiences as to the dire condition of our world and its creatures due to various forces with films that celebrated our life and activity in that very world we all seek to save.
Second, he wanted to focus on what frequently follows after the viewing of those films – the Q&As and panel discussions that add further depth to the viewing experience. He wanted to highlight and underline one of the hallmarks of a film festival – the thing you don’t get after watching a film screen on the TV in your living room: the conversation about the film and it’s subject with filmmakers, experts, and special guests.
Representatives and environmental activists from the city of Boulder, as well as experts from Ocean First, and Martina Halik from THIS MOUNTAIN LIFE came out to the Dairy Arts Center to add further depth to the conversation the films inspired.
In fact, the panel discussion following the screening of Richard Sorkin’s CURRENT REVOLUTION was a passionate back-and-forth about the adoption and availability of solar power as well as the updating of electricity grids. (Then, ironically, the power actually did go out during the next screening, which validated a key discussion point made in the film and during the panel.)
BCRES (Boulder Colorado Renewable Energy Society)’s Chris Nichols (Photo by Wildman)BCRES’s Chris Nichols being interviewed (Photo by Wildman)BCRES’s Kristen Frisinger (Photo by Wildman) Google’s Dusty Reid (Photo by Wildman)Google’s Dusty Reid being interviewed (Photo by Wildman)Boulder ENO FF supporters Karma Coker and Helen McRay (Photo by Wildman)Ocean First Institute’s Alex Halverson (Photo by Wildman) Fjallraven’s Jordan Griffler (Photo by Wildman)Fjallraven’s Jordan Griffler being interviewed (Photo by Wildman)Energy Freedom and Energy Should Be’s Ken Regelson (Photo by Wildman)Ken Regelson (Energy Freedom/Energy Should Be) being interviewed (Photo by Wildman)Boulder Magazine CEO Tom Brock (Photo by Wildman)Chelsea Paschall, Marinda Thomas, Compass Natural’s Steve Hoffman, and Boulder E/N/O FF’s Richard Paradise being photographed (Photo by Bob Carmichael)Chelsea Paschall, Marinda Thomas, Compass Natural’s Steve Hoffman, and Boulder E/N/O FF’s Richard Paradise (Photo by Wildman)Boulder Convention and Visitors Bureau’s Carrie E. Tomlinson and Clay Perry (Photo by Wildman)Heather Collins, Steve Hoffman, and Marinda Thomas being photographed (Photo by Wildman)Heather Collins, Compass Natural’s Steve Hoffman and Marinda Thomas (Photo by Wildman)Interviewing Marinda Thomas, Steve Hoffman, and Chelsea Paschall (Photo by Bob Carmichael)Compass Natural’s Steve Hoffman being interviewed (Photo by Bob Carmichael)Marinda Thomas weighs in on the debut of the fest (Photo by Bob Carmichael)Ocean First Institute’s Executive Director Mikki McComb-Kobza (Photo by Wildman)Jonathan Koehn (Senior Sustainability Policy Advisor for the City of Boulder), Micah Parkin (350 Colorado), Leslie Glustrom (Clean Energy Action), Ken Regelson (Energy Should Be/Energy Freedom), and Richard Paradise (Boulder E/N/O FF) (Photo by Wildman)The Nature Conservancy’s Director of External Affairs’ Nancy Smith (Photo by Wildman)THIS MOUNTAIN LIFE subject Martina Halik (Photo by Richard Paradise)
Debut of Richard Paradise ‘s Boulder Environmental/ Nature/Outdoors Film Festival brought out the city’s heavyweights in the climate activism community
