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In just its third year the Greentopia Film Festival (September 10-15th) has grown to become the second largest documentary film festival in New York State. Filmmakers’ submissions to the 2013 event were triple the number of those received in 2012, coming in from 31 countries on six continents. Of those films selected as features, four will have their New York State premieres at Greentopia – revealing themselves to Rochester audiences even before New York City moviegoers can see them…

This year’s festival will feature a wide array of thought-provoking and entertaining programming, including films on topics as varied as:

• Urban design (The Human Scale )
• Green burials (A Will for the Woods )
• A solo ’round-the-world ocean voyage (Maiden Trip )
• And of course, hydrofracking (Dear Governor Cuomo )

Be warned, I’m told that last film might attract protesters on either side of the fracking debate. Very exciting.

Free festival events will include an outdoor screening from an Oscar-winning local filmmaker at the newly renovated Manhattan Square Park Lodge, site of the Greentopia Urban Forest Cinema ; and Kidtopia Film , a mini-festival of short films for children.

Greentopia also nurtures homegrown films and filmmakers with roots in Western New York. During the festival, documentaries that tell little-known local stories of sustainability will screen before select features…

One such film, Green Visions is the story of a group of young girls in the city of Rochester working to reclaim empty, city-owned lots for urban gardening by planting “hyper-accumulating” plants to clean up tainted soil. The girls then harvest and sell the flowers at the public market, developing valuable life skills in the process. Another film by local high school students, Green House, tells the story of an elementary school recycling program.

Each screening will conclude with an interactive Q-and-A session with the director (in person or via Skype) or a discussion led by a panel of local experts. Local buskers before each presentation and food trucks after most films round out the programming, making each night an event unto itself.

Don’t get shut out. Visit the Greentopia Film program page for complete program info and to buy passes or individual tickets now. Hint: You can save a few bucks if you buy early.

Tags: A Will for the Woods, Dear Governor Cuomo, Green Visions, Greentopia Festival, Greentopia Film, Greentopia Urban Forest Cinema, Kidtopia, Maiden Trip, Manhattan Square Park, The Human Scale

This entry was posted on Monday, August 26th, 2013 at 7:41 am and is filed under Art + Culture, Events, Rochester Destinations, Rochester News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.