ACFF to partner with Frederick’s Weinberg Center
The Weinberg Center for the Arts in Frederick, Md. announces the premiere event of its partnership with the American Conservation Film Festival (ACFF). On Saturday, Jan. 12, starting at 7:30 pm, three of the top films from the 2012 Festival will be shown at the Weinberg – Cape Spin, The Last Iceman of Chimborazo and Bidder 70. Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for students and seniors, and are on sale now at the Weinberg Center Box Office, by phone at 301-600-2828, or online at www.WeinbergCenter.org.
Bidder 70 is the first film to win both the ACFF Audience Choice Award and the Green Fire Award, presented to one film that exhibits an extraordinary level of excellence in filmmaking. Bidder 70 follows Tim DeChristopher’s dramatic and effective act of civil disobedience against a 2008 Bureau of Land Management oil and gas lease auction. This one act by a single individual redefined patriotism in our time, igniting a spirit of civil disobedience in the name of climate justice.
Runner-up for both the Audience Choice and Green Fire awards and very timely for Maryland audiences, Cape Spin! An American Power Struggle is the surreal, fascinating, tragicomic tale of the battle over America’s largest clean energy project. When energy entrepreneur Jim Gordon first proposed putting 130 wind turbines in fabled Nantucket Sound, he had no idea that a firestorm would erupt. Cape Spin! tells the incredible tale of how America’s first proposed offshore wind farm triggered a schism in this idyllic coastal region, pitting neighbor against neighbor and environmentalist against environmentalist.
The Last Iceman of Chimborazo won the Best Student Film award. This short documentary is a portrait of Baltazar Ushca, a 68-year-old Kichua Indian who lives in a small Ecuadorian village next to the volcano Chimborazo. Deep in the volcano is hidden an ingredient that people attribute healing and sacred powers. Baltazar is the last man on earth who knows how to find it.
To purchase tickets for the American Conservation Film Festival, call the Weinberg Center for the Arts at 301-600-2828 or online at www.WeinbergCenter.org.
The Weinberg Center for the Arts, a municipal facility of the City of Frederick, is located at 20 West Patrick Street in downtown Frederick, Maryland. The historic theatre opened in 1926 as the Tivoli, and was donated to the City of Frederick in 1978. Today, as one of the region’s premier presenting facilities, the 1,182 seat Weinberg Center offers the professional LIVE! Series, including dance, music, theatre, family performances and films, weekday performances for students, and classic movies. Performance space and professional services are available to a variety of community arts groups, civic and business organizations, and other arts promoters.
The 2013 American Conservation Film Festival will take place October 31 to November 3 in Shepherdstown, a vibrant arts community just 30 miles from Frederick. ACFF features films from a diverse group of filmmakers from around the world. This 501(c)(3) non-profit organization addresses conservation through the lens of film, providing a platform for education and dialogue about more sustainable ways to live. By presenting outstanding films, ACFF promotes solutions to pressing issues, respect for world’s natural and cultural heritage and passion for conserving our resources. Since 2003, the Festival has screened over 300 films to 25,000 audience members, and has inspired countless individuals and organizations to help make the transformation toward better ways to live, work, and play. To learn more, visit www.ConservationFilm.org or follow ACFF on Facebook and Twitter.