|
|
 |
||||
|
||||
 Even before the No Impact project came along, my interest in moderating my footprint had been growing. I was an obsessive recycler, feeling that putting my mountain of plastic in the blue bin made it better. Then I did some research and found that much of the waste was being shipped to China only to be processed and shipped back. The key was to reduce, but everywhere I looked, everything was disposable. I started to examine other aspects of my life and found more and more conundrums. Keep my old gas-guzzling car? Or buy a new one with better mileage, but made from a ton of new metals and plastics? Do I switch to CFL light bulbs and just throw away the old ones? It became maddening. As a filmmaker, I had been inspired by environmental documentaries such as SUPER SIZE ME and AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH. Thus, when I learned about Colin and Michelle's project, it seemed the perfect way to begin looking at these issues in my own work. As a condition to agreeing to participate in the film, Colin, our subject, asked the filmmakers to commit to be environmentally conscious in our production. As it turned out, trying to keep in the spirit of the No Impact project came naturally. Spending time with Colin and thinking about the issues has had a profound effect on my life, beginning with small changes, like not using plastic bags and not drinking bottled water, and moving to more drastic things like line-drying my laundry. On a political level, all of us on the filmmaking team became engaged - my family now volunteers for an environmental organization, and I write letters for the Natural Resources Defense Council. Once I started to think about the choices I was making and the effects they have on the environment, I could not go back.  Read More in Our Film Blog  Laura Gabbert earned her MFA from UCLA’s School of Film, Theater and Television. Her first documentary, THE HEALERS OF 400 PARNASSUS, aired on PBS in 1997. Gabbert then went on to develop and produce the 1999 Sundance Competition feature film GETTING TO KNOW YOU (dir: Lisanne Skyler), which had its European premiere at the Venice Film Festival. In 2003 she directed and produced the critically acclaimed ITVS documentary SUNSET STORY (Special Jury Prize, Tribeca Film Festival and Audience Award, Los Angeles Film Festival). Her future narrative projects include STARR BRIGHT, a Joyce Carol Oates adaptation, and HABEAS ON THE GATE, a feature film about the unlikely friendship between a Park Avenue lawyer and his client, a Guantanamo detainee. Laura is also in the research phase on two new documentaries. In 2004, she was honored with the UCLA Distinguished Alumni Award and frequently returns to the university to speak to graduate film students. She has also served on the ITVS documentary selection committee. Laura lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two daughters.Read Laura's Postings  Justin Schein is an award-winning director/dp with over 50 credits to his name. Presently Justin is in production on UPSIDE-DOWN AND BACKWARDS, a hybrid animated documentary about dyslexia with Academy Award winners Peggy Stern and John Canemaker. He is also shooting IMAGINING PEACE, a film about Israeli and Palestinian teenage girls. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, filmmaker Eden Wurmfeld, and their son Micah.Read Justin's Postings  Eden Wurmfeld is a producer of feature and documentary films. Among her award-winning credits are KISSING JESSICA STEIN, SWINGERS and the documentary SUNSET STORY. She is currently producing GET OFF THE COUCH! CARTOONS, an animated video series rallying kids and teens to save the planet and HABEAS ON THE GATE, a feature film about the unlikely friendship between a Park Avenue lawyer and a Guantanamo detainee. She was named one of Variety's "10 Producers to Watch for 2002” and was a finalist for the 2003 Indie Spirit Motorola Producers Award.Read Eden's Postings Impact Partners is a film investment services group for high-net worth individuals who seek to promote social change through film. IP pursues a dual-bottom line: we aim for both profit and the creation of films with significant social value. Films that IP members have financed or co-financed include BORN INTO BROTHELS (winner of the 2005 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature); FREEHELD (winner of the 2008 Academy Award for Best Documentary Short); GHOSTS OF ABU GHRAIB (winner of the 2007 Emmy for Best Documentary Special); VERY YOUNG GIRLS (world premier at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival); and both SECRECY and THE RECRUITER (world premiers in the Documentary Competition of the 2008 Sundance Film Festival). IP has four films at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival: CHILDREN OF INVENTION, NO IMPACT MAN, SERGIO, and THE GLASS HOUSE. IP is currently in production or development on eight films, including new projects by Rachel Boynton (OUR BRAND IS CRISIS), Jose Padilha (BUS 174), Jennifer Dworkin (LOVE & DIANE), Susan Motamed and Melanie Judd (ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM and DAY NIGHT DAY NIGHT), Ross Kaufman (BORN INTO BROTHELS) and Greg Barker (GHOSTS OF RWANDA). The Executive Director of Impact Partners is Dan Cogan. Geralyn Dreyfous is the Director-at-Large. |
||||
|
||||||||||||
