BLUE PLANET FESTIVAL FOR PLANTS AND ANIMALS
If you love animals and care about our mother earth, the Blue Planet Film Fest in Santa Monica is where you had to be this Labor Day weekend. Blue Planet is one out of the 60 festivals around the globe that only focuses on such issues as environmental and animal welfare.
The fest featured themed animal, water, and earth days that included gardening and cooking workshops with different films each day. The event also included workshops on creating a green roof, a rehabbed pelican release event, and a small art exhibit.
With every ticket sold, a tree was planted in their buyers' honor. The opening gala featured the lighting of 6,000 blue lights in tribute to our mother earth accompanied by the Blue Planet film previews, delicious gourmet vegan food, and staggering music.
The festival's mission was to educate the audience about the vital problems of our time, in the hope of bringing up awareness to push people into taking action in saving our mother earth.
Each film shown in the festival told a different appealing story to the audience while educating them on the issues. Such films like "Earthlings," "Fowl Play: The Untold Story of the Incredible Edible Egg," and "Young Voices on Climate Change" tore the blindfold off the audience's eyes to the unwanted truth our planet is facing. In "Earthlings," narrated by Joaquin Phoenix, the essential connection between nature, animals, and humankind is made by showing every earthling as equal and dependant of each other.
"Fowl Play: The Untold Story of the Incredible Edible Egg" uncovers the hidden cruelty the egg industries put chickens and chicks through. It unveils the freezers the chickens are placed in and the mutilation of the chicks and chickens that are of no use to them.
The film "Young Voices on Climate Change," was about children who are focused on stopping global warming by speaking up and influencing other children around the world to do the same. These films drew the people in instantly by showing them the possible causes of global warming if nothing is done, and the behind the scenes reality of animal cruelty in the American farms and food industries.
The films helped the audience make the needed connection to take action. Audience member Myra Martinez said, "These images made me cringe with guilt and definitely changed my way of thinking." Because of these heartfelt images in the films, it seemed to have caused an impact on each audience member to take action and do something to help the earth.
Although there was a small amount of people attending the festival during the morning and afternoon, in the night more people rushed in to take a seat and enjoy the films. While some films exposed the unwanted truth, others bared the important beauty of nature and its inhabitants.
The film "Hummingbird Magic" captured the magical birth of a hummingbird and its first days of life. Other films like "Little Miss Dewie: A Duckumentary" were about the importance of looking after a pet duck, or any animal, and taking care of it as if it were a child. All of the films shown were great pieces of work that captivated the viewers and gave them a new perspective on life.
From the blue-lit opening gala event on Thursday night honoring our planet, to the hands on workshops and inspiring films, the Blue Planet Film Fest was an eye opening experience everyone should go through. It touched on the everyday little things we can do to help save our mother earth and completed its mission to educate the audience about the vital problems of our time.