Urban Ecology - The Garden, directed by Scott Hamilton Kennedy

When: February 28, 2009, 7 pm

Credits

Director, Cinematographer, Editor: Scott Hamilton Kennedy
Length: 80 mins

Introduced by: Nathan Andersen, Associate Professor of Philosophy, and Kelly Schiller, Senior in Political Science and Environmental Studies

The fourteen-acre community garden at 41st and Alameda in South Central Los Angeles is the largest of its kind in the United States. Started as a form of healing after the devastating L.A. riots in 1992, the South Central Farmers have since created a miracle in one of the country's most blighted neighborhoods. Growing their own food. Feeding their families. Creating a community.

But now, bulldozers are poised to level their 14-acre oasis.

The Garden follows the plight of the farmers, from the tilled soil of this urban farm to the polished marble of City Hall. Mostly immigrants from Latin America, from countries where they feared for their lives if they were to speak out, we watch them organize, fight back, and demand answers:

Why was the land sold to a wealthy developer for millions less than fair-market value? Why was the transaction done in a closed-door session of the LA City Council? Why has it never been made public?

And the powers-that-be have the same response: "The garden is wonderful, but there is nothing more we can do."

If everyone told you nothing more could be done, would you give up?

The film was an official selection of Silverdocs and the LA Film Festival and is currently nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary of 2009!

The Eleventh Annual Environmental Film Festival at Eckerd College

February 21 to 28, 2009

General Information

All programs are free and open to the general public.

Eckerd College is located at 4200 54th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, Florida. Click here for driving directions and maps to Eckerd College.

For further information, please contact the Eckerd College Office of Communications at 727-864-7979 or events@eckerd.edu.

Program

All screenings are at 7 p.m. in The Dan and Mary Miller Auditorium at Eckerd College except Sunday, February 22 at 2 p.m.

All programs will be preceded by a short reception with the presenter and will feature an opportunity for audience questions immediately after the program. Refreshments will be available in the lobby of The Dan and Mary Miller Auditorium