(c) Deep Green Films Ltd - 200 KB
“I’m excited to show ‘Deep Green,’ because Matt is one of those fresh voices who has put together a beautiful film that is engaging, uplifting and filled with useful information about how we can change the way we collectively operate on Planet Earth before it’s too late,” says Earth Day Dallas Artistic Director Robert Ganger. “It is truly exciting to see documentaries emerge as a transformative art form. Where else can you be moved, inspired, informed and entertained in under two hours? Documentaries have become a primary voice of investigative journalism, and have taken it to an artful level where aesthetics and presentation are no longer an afterthought.”
Based on six years of intensive research, “Deep Green” travels to nine countries, including China, as Briggs and his international crew of award-winning cinematographers search out the best, most realistic and cost-effective solutions that can stop global warming, if we start now. Among the film’s unique highlights is rare new footage of China’s green revolution—featuring the world’s largest solar water heater, electric bike, and solar electric panel manufacturing facilities; high speed train lines under construction;
“Deep Green” and its companion animation, “The Krill is Gone,” were recently honored with the 2010 Environmental Preservation Awards for feature and short subject by the Los Angeles and New York Artivist Film Festivals. “Krill”
Briggs’ intense interest in human-caused global warming began long before “Deep Green” was conceived. A pioneer of the wild mushroom industry in the U.S., founded in 1981, the entrepreneur-
In 1999, he attended the first of ten Bioneers conferences, and subsequently became active in politics. While working with the members of one national campaign in 2005, Briggs lamented that the candidate didn’t know enough about environmental issues, so he offered to write a summary of the latest information that could help make good policy. “I figured it would take a couple of weeks to draft,” he recounts with a laugh. “It stretched to over a year.” One book led to another, and before he knew it, Briggs had read some 400 tomes, thousands of articles, and attended over two dozen conferences. The science behind it was so convincing that Briggs says it changed his life.
At home, he set out to reduce his own carbon footprint by moth-balling his SUV for a high mileage hybrid car and giving his mid-century home the first of three major energy-efficient makeovers. The house was subsequently filmed by a local video crew for Al Gore’s “Live Earth” concert event in 2007. It was while watching the 32 animations commissioned for the broadcast that Briggs had the epiphany that would eventually lead him to write, direct, produce and finance “Deep Green.” “I thought, what a fantastic teaching tool. I decided to make a short film about what one person can do to live lighter on the planet,” he says, adding with a laugh: “It started as a weekend shoot.”
When “Deep Green” began principal photography in July 2007, “many of the solutions—such as the first solar thermal plants, hybrid electric cars, and living buildings—had not advanced beyond the concept stage, or were just being built while we were shooting the movie,” he says. “We know that over 75% of global warming is human-caused, and we know how to fix it. Now, it’s just a matter of getting the job done. International treaties would be nice, and legislation is critical. But it really comes down to what each community can do.”
DVD’s of “Deep Green” are available at Amazon.com for $15.99 and through the film office for $12.99 each. Affordable public performance licenses are also available for community, public service, and educational screenings by calling (503) 635-4469 or emailing matt@deepgreenmovie.com.
For more information about the film or this event, please visit, www.DeepGreenMovie.com and www.EarthDayDallas.org.
Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/
