Screening of A Sea Change

Audubon Greenwich
613 Riversville Road
Sunday, June 27, 2010
3:00-5:00 pm

Award-winning film and filmmakers visit Audubon to highlight CO2 effects on ocean food web

Screening of: A Sea Change (85 min., 2009)

Imagine a world without fish. It’s a frightening premise, and it’s happening right now. Global warming of the atmosphere is only half the story of the environmental catastrophe that awaits us. Excess carbon dioxide is dissolving in our oceans, changing sea water chemistry. The more acidic water makes it difficult for tiny creatures at the bottom of the food web to form their shells. The effects could work their way up to the fish 1 billion people depend upon for their source of protein.

To increase awareness about this very real phenomenon called ‘ocean acidification’, Audubon Greenwich will host the Director, Barbara Ettinger, and Co-producer, Sven Huseby, on June 27th at 3:00 pm when they screen their highly-acclaimed film, ‘A Sea Change’.  Chock full of scientific information, this is the first documentary about ocean acidification. This feature-length film is also a beautiful paen to the ocean world and an intimate story of a Norwegian-American family whose heritage is bound up with the sea and a touching portrait of Sven’s relationship with his grandchild Elias. As Sven keeps a correspondence with the little boy, he mulls over the world that he is leaving for future generations.

A disturbing and essential companion piece to An Inconvenient Truth, this scientifically-based film brings home the indisputable fact that our lifestyle is changing the earth, despite our rhetoric or wishful thinking. The filmmakers hope its message about ocean acidification will reach millions of people and leading policy-makers across the globe ahead and influence future UN Climate Change conferences designed to stop the massive amounts of carbon being released by coal, oil and natural gas fuels.

A Sea Change has played to sell-out crowds at major film festivals in Washington, DC, San Francisco, Seattle in 2009 and its many awards include: Best World Documentary, Sedona International Film Festival; Best Green Film, Kosovo International Documentary Film Festival; Grand Prize, Feature Documentary, FICA International Environmental Film Festival; Dumosa Award for Best Coastal Film, Cottonwood Environmental Film Festival; Best Nordic Country Film, Polar Film Festival; Aloha Accolade Award, Honolulu International Film Festival.

A discussion with the filmmakers will follow the screening at: Audubon Greenwich, 613 Riversville Road, Greenwich, CT 06831. Space is very limited and RSVPs are required. $5 donation per person will be collected at the door. To RSVP, contact Jeff Cordulack at 203-869-5272 x239.  For directions to the center, please visit: http://greenwich.audubon.org/AboutUs_Directions.html

~~~~~

MORE ABOUT THE FILM:
A Sea Change follows the journey of retired history teacher Sven Huseby on his quest to discover what is happening to the world’s oceans. After reading Elizabeth Kolbert’s “The Darkening Sea,” Sven becomes obsessed with the rising acidity of the oceans and what this “sea change” bodes for mankind. His quest takes him to Alaska, California, Washington, and Norway as he uncovers a worldwide crisis that most people are unaware of. Speaking with oceanographers, marine biologists, climatologists, and artists, Sven discovers that global warming is only half the story of the environmental catastrophe that awaits us.

Principal Screenings: San Francisco International Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival, DC Environmental Film Festival, Blue Ocean Film Festival, Woods Hole Film Festival, 2009 Seafood Summit, Planet in Focus, FICA, Anchorage International Film Festival

Excerpts screened: Capital Hill Oceans Week, American Geophysical Union, European Geophysical Union, National Marine Educators Association Annual Meeting, Marine Sciences Symposium

U.S. Telecast: Fall/Winter 2009-10, Discovery Planet Green

THE CREW OF A SEA CHANGE
DIRECTOR / CO-PRODUCER:  Barbara Ettinger’s previous projects include Two Square Miles, produced through Niijii Films, the production she co-owns with her husband Sven Huseby. Two Square Miles aired on PBS’s Independent Lens. Her first film was Martha and Ethel, which screened at Sundance.

CO-PRODUCER:  Sven Huseby co-produced Two Square Miles and serves on the board of several environmental organizations; he is a retired independent school head who worked as a teacher and administrator at The Putney School for 30 years.

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Claudia Raschke-Robinson’s experience includes Mad Hot Ballroom, Shoot Down, and Frame of Mind.

EDITOR : Toby Shimin has edited numerous films, including Everything’s Cool, A Leap of Faith, Martha and Ethel, and Out of the Past.

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER:  Ben Kalina has associate produced Two Square Miles, and directed and produced several short films including Diorama and Radical Notions.

REVIEWS OF A SEA CHANGE
A Sea Change looks terrific, with lots of breathtaking footage of the natural world, from the tiniest pteropod (the fluttery, planktonic sea snail that is most threatened by acidification) to the most majestic Norwegian scenery. And, at a time when plenty of documentaries want to be the “Inconvenient Truth” of fill-in-the-issue, A Sea Change brings a genuinely important subject to the fore with a welcome lack of jargon and preaching.” -Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post

“Huseby launches an adorable “About Schmidt”-like road trip to meet the world’s leading oceanographers and global warming experts to better understand the magnitude of the problem, and learn how to start curing it. The journey takes the genial narrator, and viewers, as far north as the North Pole and as local as Monterey in search of helpful news. Like “An Inconvenient Truth,” this film is both a love letter to the planet and an urgent plea to its citizens.” -Justin Berton, San Francisco Chronicle

“Ocean acidification is the flip side of global warming and if you have children, grandchildren or any investment in life as we know it continuing on this planet, this is a must-see film.” -Marin Maven

PRAISE FOR A SEA CHANGE
“Ocean acidification is a significant part of the climate change story. A Sea Change does a unique and excellent job of conveying this complex scientific issue to the public.” -Dr. Richard W. Spinrad, NOAA Assistant Administrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research

“A Sea Change could not be more timely. I believe acidification of our oceans is actually a greater threat to our survival than is temperature or sea level rise, the conventional ‘global warming’ threats. Acidification is confusing and difficult to even imagine for most people-we need your film.” -Rob Moir, PhD., Executive Director, Ocean River Institute

“A Sea Change offers a searching, emotionally powerful look at ocean acidification. This problem is sometimes called the “evil twin” of climate change, and many of us regard it as an existential threat to the future of fishing. The story is full of heart, scientifically accurate, and lyrical. It also offers good reason for hope, which is indispensable in the face of such a huge challenge.” -Brad Warren, Sustainable Fisheries Partnership

“A Sea Change follows ex-history teacher, activist and grandfather Sven Huseby as he travels to visit various scientists to learn more about the impacts of ocean acidification and tries to find ways to explain the problem to his 5-year-old grandson, Elias. I completely fell in love with Sven and the extraordinarily bright Elias. The people in the film are very real and approachable and the ocean footage is stunning. Optimistic, with a whole section of solutions at the end. Broad appeal for all ages.” -Dr. Cat Dorey, Sustainable Seafood Advisor, Greenpeace International

For more information on the film, visit http://www.aseachange.net

~~~
Please help Audubon secure additional funding for our Gulf response efforts.
Visit http://www.takepart.com/membersproject/vote.
Register. Then, vote for Audubon today and once a week through August 21!
~~~