We had a fabulous inaugural festival in March, 2010! Thank everyone for helping to make it such a resounding success. The opportunity to bring so many excellent films – and such important environmental information – was very exciting and gratifying for us.

Sadly, co-director Shirley Lasseter has decided she can’t continue to devote herself to organizing the festival. We thank her for her generous time and talents put forth to create a fantastic blueprint of the festival in 2010. Co-founder Trish Riley will continue as Director, and has assembled a team of professionals who are already hard at work putting together our second annual Gainesville Environmental Film and Arts Festival. You’ll notice we’ve come up with a new name – Cinema Verde – which we feel reflects our vision of Gainesville as the emerald jewel of Florida and the nation. We hope you agree!

Stay tuned for more information on our growth and plans for the 2011 Festival – we are about to launch our Film Competition via Festival Without a Box, which will be an invitation for submissions of film shorts, features and documentaries as well as Florida high school and international college student film contests, plus a special category for locally produced films and those about issues pertaining to Florida. As last year, all films will have an environmental theme, presenting issues of concern, and we are especially fond of films with a solution orientation. Deadline for submissions will be December 15, 2010…. we’ll post a link here when the contest officially opens.

We’ll also soon announce an ongoing series of parties to support Cinema Verde, beginning in September, 2010. Watch this space for further information!

In the meantime, if you’d like to learn more about our recent 2010 Festival, please enjoy the program below, and click this link for more information about our films, sponsors and events. Thank you for your interest and support!

Gainesville Environmental Film and Arts Festival 2010 Program:

Cinema Verde, P.O. Box 358711, Gainesville, FL 32635

Contact Trish Riley: 954-384-9466; trish@verdefest.org

Sadly, our community has suffered the loss of two of its most ardent environmental supporters in the past week. Both Kathy Cantwell and Wes Skiles were also great supporters of our Environmental Film Festival in March. We are grateful for their contributions to our planet and their commitment to helping make the world a safer, healthier place. Our hearts go out to their families and friends.

Details:

Green Burial Near Paynes Prairie for Kathy Cantwell

Film maker Wes Skiles, who entertained Gainesville Environmental Film Festival attendees with his films, tales and wit last March, died while diving off Boynton Beach, Florida, on Wednesday. Skiles’ death is a great loss, and our thoughts are with his family.

“Photographer and Florida springs advocate Wes Skiles died Wednesday while filming off the coast of Palm Beach County, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday.

Based in High Springs with Karst Productions, Skiles, 52, was a former member of the Florida Springs Task Force. During the past 15 years, Skiles produced and directed over a dozen major films on adventure and science. His work included most recently the IMAX film “Journey into Amazing Caves” and a film for National Geographic in Antarctica on exploring the largest iceberg in recorded history. He shot the August National Geographic cover photo of caves in the Bahamas.

via FloridaEnvironments.com: Cave explorer, springs advocate Wes Skiles dies while diving.

See also National Geographic blog posting: http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/news/chiefeditor/2010/07/national-geographic-photographer-wes-skiles-dies.html

“For three decades, Dr. Kathy Cantwell was a tireless advocate for preserving the environment and protecting the natural beauty of North Central Florida.

The Gainesville physician died early Tuesday morning at Haven Hospice of complications from a brain tumor. She was 60.

Fittingly, the activist will lead the way in yet another environmental cause.”

via ‘Green burial’ near Paynes Prairie for enviromentalist | Gainesville.com.