A "Film"raiser for Friends of Skagit Beaches

Join Friends of Skagit Beaches for a Meet the Filmmakers social hour with appetizers followed by illuminating presentations from environmental multi-media journalists Michael Werner and Katie Campbell. Michael and Katie will share video clips and their experiences from behind the camera including bloopers and wild happenings that take place when making a documentary film.

Michael Werner is an award-winning independent filmmaker, photographer and writer. His work has been featured in/by: The PBS NewsHour, HBO Films, The Associated Press, Earthfix, Oregon Field Guide, KCTS-9 Seattle, Voice of America TV, The World Channel, the U.S. Olympic Committee and the Cannes International Film Festival.

Katie Campbell is a multimedia journalist at KCTS 9, the public television station in Seattle. Her journalism experience runs the gamut from newspaper writing and editing to photojournalism, documentary filmmaking and multimedia projects.

Tickets are $25/per person: REGISTER ONLINE or purchase paper tickets at BayShore Office Supplies (M - F) or Penguin Coffee Company in Anacortes. 

2014 Environmental Film Series - Free film screenings on topics timely and relevant to our Puget Sound & Salish Sea. Trail Tales will premiere a short film by young, local filmakers each night.

October 10th: The Last Ocean

Watch the trailer.

Synopsis: "The Ross Sea, Antarctica is the most pristine stretch of ocean on Earth. A vast, frozen landscape that teems with life – whales, seals and penguins carving out a place on the very edge of existence. Californian ecologist David Ainley has been traveling to the Ross Sea to study this unique ecosystem for more than thirty years. He has written scientific papers describing it as a 'living laboratory'. Largely untouched by humans, it is one of the last places where the delicate balance of nature prevails. But an international fishing fleet has recently found its way to the Ross Sea. It is targeting Antarctic toothfish, sold as Chilean sea bass in up-market restaurants around the world.The catch is so lucrative it is known as white gold. Ainley knows that unless fishing is stopped the natural balance of the Ross Sea will be lost forever. He rallies his fellow scientists and meets up with a Colorado nature photographer and New Zealand filmmaker who also share a deep passion for this remote corner of the world.  Together they form 'the Last Ocean' and begin a campaign taking on the commercial fishers and governments in a race to protect Earth's last untouched ocean from our insatiable appetite for fish."

Our goal for the day is to come togther as a research and restoration community to:

* Update the status of current projects in Fidalgo Bay.

* Present on future projects that have been proposed or are planned.

*Share current concerns that still need to be addressed.

*Learn how reserach guided projects in Fidalgo Bay can be used as a model for other locations around the Salish Seas.

*Discuss possible data gaps that may exist and address potential solutions to close these gaps.

*Explore partnerships and next steps for future research efforts.

2014 Environmental Film Series - Free film screenings on topics timely and relevant to our Puget Sound & Salish Sea. Trail Tales will premiere a short film by young, local filmakers each night.

October 24th: Bag It - Is Your Life Too Plastic?

Synopsis: "Americans use 60,000 plastic bags every five minutes, disposable bags that they throw away without much thought. But where is "away?" Where do the bags and other plastics end up, and at what cost to the environment, marine life and human health? Bag It follows "everyman" Jeb Berrier as he navigates our plastic world. Jeb is not a radical environmentalist, but an average American who decides to take a closer look at our cultural love affair with plastics. Jeb's journey in this documentary film starts with simple questions: Are plastic bags really necessary? What are plastic bags made from? What happens to plastic bags after they are discarded? What he learns quickly grows far beyond plastic bags."

Watch the trailer.

NOTE:  Access to NW ESD may require detour due to road construction.