SEAS launching Environmental Film Series for spring semester

The School of Environment, Arts and Society (SEAS) in the College of Arts & Sciences is inaugurating its first Environmental Film Series from January to April during of the spring 2012 semester.

“As the first film series for the school, we consciously tried to connect each film with each discipline in SEAS,” said Elaine Pritzker, coordinator for SEAS. “We’re looking to create stronger presence within the FIU family and the community at large, while showcasing a few of the exciting and innovative programs our school has to offer.”

The film series will feature a total of four documentaries, each with a theme closely related to the school.  The film screenings will be followed by brief talks and a question and answer session with FIU faculty that are experts in their field.

“The films are a great tool to help us present issues and ideas that are being talked about worldwide and then look at what we at FIU are doing to engage in this,” Pritzker said. “The guest speakers help put a more local and personal perspective on issues that can seem overwhelming large or foreign.”

The first featured film, Ingredients, is narrated by Bebe Neuwirth and explores the unsustainability of our nation’s current food production methods and the local food movement that started 30 years ago to encourage good nutrition and healthy living in our communities.

Mahadev Bhat, associate chair of the Department of Earth and Environment, and other representatives from the Agroecology Program will lead a discussion on the issues raised by the film and what FIU is doing locally to address those concerns.

“Students like interactive forums where they can learn and exchange ideas,” Bhat said. “Instruction in a traditional classroom environment can sometimes be boring. Because the program is in the business of educating our future leaders, we want to train students so they can make sound decisions that positively impact urban, small-scale local agriculture and our community.”

Ingredients will be screened at 6 p.m. on Jan. 17 at the Wolf University Center (WUC) Theater at the FIU Biscayne Bay Campus.

Click here for information on the SEAS Environmental Film Series.