Category: 2011/2012 Films

What’s ‘Organic‘ about Organic? Directed and Produced by Shelley Rogers:  59 minutes   / 2010 /   Documentary 7:30 pm / St. John School of the Arts, Cruz Bay What’s Organic illustrates that the organic food debate extends well beyond personal choice and into the realm of social responsibility.  It delves into the debates that arise when a grassroots agricultural movement evolves into a booming international market.  As the film moves from farm fields to government meetings to industry trade shows, we see how our health, the health of our planet, and the agricultural needs of our society are all intimately connected.  The film compels us to look forward, towards a new vision for our culture and encourages us to ask, “How can we eat with an ecological consciousness?”   JOIN THE DIRECTOR, CO-PRODUCER AND A ST. JOHN ORGANIC FARMER AT OUR POST FILM DISCUSSION! Shelley Rogers grew up in rural East Tennessee. Shelley has a Master’s degree in Media, Culture, and Communication from New York University and a Bachelor’s degree in Art History from Smith College. She has worked as a freelance Assistant Director/Assistant Camera on several independent film productions in New York City and has served as a production intern at the Media Education Foundation and in GOOD Magazine’s web video department. She believes it is our social responsibility as citizens in a democracy to stand up for our right to live in a healthy environment and have access to diverse, independent media. She maintains an urban existence in NYC by growing vegetables on her fire escape and composting her kitchen scraps. Marty Mesh started his career as an organic farmer and now serves as an advocate for organic farmers throughout the world.  He volunteered countless hours of advice and input to this film because he feels that there is great potential for the film to empower and inspire audiences to support organic agriculture. Josephine and Hugo Roller started Josephine’s Organic Greens on St. John in November 2006.  Despite island challenges of poor soil, harsh weather and cost of land, they have persevered giving St. John restaurants, visitors and residents a flavorful, healthy, local choice for organic greens and herbs.   *An On Screen/In Person program made possible by Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, through the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts’ Regional Touring Program.

BEATBOXING – THE FIFTH ELEMENT OF HIP HOP* Directed by Klaus Schneyder:   55 minutes, 2011, Documentary 7:30 pm / St. John School of the Arts, Cruz Bay The film celebrates the incredible art form of making music using only the human body through vocal percussion primarily involving the art of producing drum beats, rhythm, and musical sounds using one’s mouth, lips, tongue, and voice.  Linked to the hip hop movement and stemming from the hardship of poverty and the lack of instruments, a pioneer was inspired to imitate drum rhythms with his mouth – his brilliance creating the term ‘Human Beatbox’. The documentary features artists from New York, California, Florida, Spain, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Belgium, Canada, Austria and Germany, who demonstrate their amazing techniques which often seem impossible to audiences at first sight, but see for yourselves…. MEET THE PRODUCER AFTER THE SCREENING! Angela Viscido is a videographer, editor, entrepreneur and president of Eclectrix, Inc., a full service multimedia company specializing in live performances.  Angela has been committed to the visual and performing arts for the past 29 years.  This includes starting a company to enhance talent in the actors, dance and music industries by creating and developing marketing visuals for the performers. Angela is currently working both in New York City and UK.         *An On Screen/In Person program made possible by Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation through the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts’ Regional Touring Program.

FREE SWIM Directed by Jennifer Galvin:  50 minutes   / 2009 /   Documentary 7:30 pm / St. John School of the Arts, Cruz Bay Free Swim is about the paradox of Caribbean coastal people not knowing how to swim. Taking place on the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas we follow a group of kids as they overcome their fears, and reconnect with their environment by learning to swim in open waters.  With fresh memories of a friend drowning and the conflicts of growing tourism, for these kids it’s not just about floating, but gaining new skills for their future. In the U.S. about 60% of ethnically diverse children are unable to swim and African-American children drown at three times the rate of Caucasian children. Free Swim uses the topic of learning to swim as a way to explore more complicated aspects of life on Eleuthera, such as influences on community function by the media, drowning, tourism, overfishing, and education.  The story thread is woven with footage of children learning to swim in their backyard sea. Underwater footage shows the challenges of learning to breathe in a new environment and the powers of discovering a beautiful, new world.  MEET EXPERTS IN LEARNING TO SWIM AT OUR POST FILM DISCUSSION! Learn about St. John programs that teach our youth how to swim.  Featured guests include Dean Doeling, “Using Sport for Social Change” and the ‘Just Swim’ event and Laurel Brannick, champion of the VI National Park ‘Learn to Swim’ program.