MISSION & OBJECTIVE
Greentopia | FILMs inspire, transform, and ultimately empower audiences to create innovative and sustainable changes in their own lives and communities. Local and global, online and in communities around the world, Greentopia | FILM showcases diverse works by independent documentary filmmakers which will elevate the conversation on topics with the power to help us understand and change the world.
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
Picture yourself taking a stroll down the Green Carpet - turf, of course - at the intimate, creative and carefully curated documentary film festival, Greentopia | FILM 2015. In its fourth year, the festival is moving to the Vernal Equinox so we can welcome Spring with a feast of docs on themes of sustainability and innovation, broadly applied, bracketed by high-level discussions and kick-ass events.
Greentopia | FILMs take on issues from water and wind power to sustainable health and healthcare, sustainable communities and their economic bases, and sustainable culture. Our aim is to elevate the conversation on a wide range of local and global issues like childhood obesity, the health of our food pipeline and the revitalization of our cities.
Your film will not be lost on a big buffet table - it will be part of an elite slate of non-fiction films. (Last year, nearly half of Greentopia | FILM's features were New York State Premieres - that means before NYC.) It is one of only two documentary festivals in New York State, and the only one emphasizing sustainability and innovation.
Screening your film in Rochester (where film was invented) it will be seen and discussed by savvy, spirited audiences from the campuses and laboratories of our world class universities, medical centers, and high-tech companies, as well as our farmers, artists and social entrepreneurs. Leavening the mood will be Buskers from Rochester’s deep and broad music and poetry communities, food highlighting the strong farm-to-table movement, and libations emphasizing Finger Lakes vineyards and local microbreweries and distilleries.
Come with your film to Rochester - last year’s filmmakers enthused about Greentopia | FILM’s warm caring staff, generous hospitality and support. Take a pilgrimage to George Eastman House’s amazing film archives, tour local production facilities, network with your fellow filmmakers at a roundtable or an intimate dinner.
And we know how to make film fun: last year’s wildly popular Opening Night “Short Courses” screening and dinner at Good Luck restaurant was not to be missed. Neither was the unique experience of watching a film under the stars in a recently restored historic downtown park, repurposed as the “Forest Cinema”. Shorts are creatively woven into the festival, including a special category, CSA’s (Community Supported Films) by and about Western NY(ers). And since you can’t start too young becoming a citizen of the world, there’s the innovative Kidtopia | FILM program.
Bring your film to the home of film, to audiences who crave authenticity and participation - as well as food, drink and song celebrating the return of Spring on the Vernal Eqinox!
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Greentopia | FILM is just one part of Greater Rochester's Greentopia, now with year-round programming and celebrations of sustainability and resiliency. Through the avenues of art, music, ideas and activism, and community engagement, Greentopia presents and guides public discourse and education on creating a more sustainable, resilient Rochester.
The Greentopia | FALL FESTIVAL has attracted over 50,000 to High Falls over the last 4 years. Visitors learn about big green ideas and how to apply them creatively in everyday life. There are special family activities, a community recycled art installation, mouthwatering organic and local food and beverages, and all kinds of live music and visual and performing arts.
Greentopia | FUTURES SUMMIT invites businesses and organizations to showcased products and programs that help to restore the planet, promote green living, and even save consumers money. The summit also brings to Rochester thought leaders from around the globe to talk about what’s happening in other parts of the world where people are creating their futures NOW.
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Although the soul of Greentopia | FILM is non-competitive, we do bestow the coveted Fork in the Road Award to a film that helps us understand how our choices determine the world we live in and and the possibilities for those who follow.