Stony Brook Southampton's First Annual Green Film Series Continues with "Water First"

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y., March 17, 2009 – Stony Brook Southampton's First Annual Green Film Series continues on Thursday, March 26, at 7:30 p.m., in the Avram Theater with screenings of “Water First” and “Turtle World.”

Still from "Turtle World"

The series is free and open to the public, with films running each Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Upcoming films include: “Swim for the River” (4/2), and “Build Green” (4/16). All movies are produced by renowned environmental film company Bullfrog Films. Each event will also have a designated speaker to discuss the topic at hand. For further information, contact 632-5023.

“Water First” draws a clear correlation between clean water and all of the other Millennium Development Goals. The goals are a set of eight targets set by the UN in the year 2000 and endorsed by 187 nations. Sadly, at the halfway mark, we are less than halfway there. A highly acclaimed animated film, “Turtle World” follows a lone sea turtle traveling through space; her breath creates a whole new atmosphere. This becomes filled with forests, rivers, mountains and enterprising monkeys that are forced to learn about sustainability. The event will be moderated by new Stony Brook Southampton Dean/VP Mary Pearl and Professor Shopon Mollah.

Christopher Swain in his documentary, "Swim for the River"

“Swim for the River” focuses on the journey of Christopher Swain, the first person to swim the entire length of the Hudson River from the Adirondack Mountains to New York City. The film introduces a variety of people who are fighting to protect the Hudson against a range of threats from industry, inept regulatory agencies and public indifference. His experience links together stories of the river, which begins in wilderness and ends in one of the nation's densest population centers. Some of the obstacles included in his swim were whitewater, sewage, snapping turtles, hydroelectric dams, homeland security patrols and factory outfalls. This event will be moderated by Stony Brook Southampton Professor Alan Rice.

In its second year, Stony Brook Southampton, a model of sustainability that was featured in The New York Times this past summer and on “NBC Nightly News With Brian Williams” and “The Today Show” this past spring, is continuing with its plans to build one of the nation's truly green campuses.

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