Trailers From Planet Earth
In September 2007, we began an environmental film production workshop,
as part of a semester-long environmental filmmaking artist-in-residency
featuring guest filmmakers Judith Helfand and Sarita Siegel.
We asked novice student filmmakers—majoring in everything from
landscape architecture to neurobiology, science journalism to art, religious
studies to land resources and the history of science—to engage in an
aggressive exploration into documentary filmmaking and the world around
them—both the “natural” and the “unnatural,” fact and fiction.
Seven students, one professor, two award-winning guest filmmakers,
one guest editor (she stayed a month), a Sundance award-winning
cinematographer (he stayed two days), a sound recordist (he stayed two hours), two months, and one big challenge—to
investigate, critique and expand on just what makes an environmental documentary “environmental?”
We started with the following question: What’s So Natural About Wisconsin?
We ended with the eight two-minute trailers you are about to see (well, okay, one’s actually three minutes). Enjoy!
I’m In a Badger State of Mind
a totemic cult so big . . .
only the high priests of
Badgerdom truly understand
Everyone knows that Wisconsin is the “Badger State,” but
what is a Wisconsin badger really? This film explores
the cultural history of badgers and meets self-proclaimed
Wisconsin Badgers, including UW-Madison’s elite team
of “Bucky Badgers.” Why are badgers so important to
Wisconsin? Everyone has answers at the ready, but are
their feelings about this icon grounded in fact or fiction? In
history, nature or imagination?
Cowcycles
the ultimate recycling machine
In a state where industrial dairies are replacing familyrun
farms, this dairy goliath in northeastern Wisconsin
is working to lessen the vast environmental impact of the
bovine lifecycle. In addition to significant fossil fuel usage,
a farm this size produces more than 150 million pounds
of manure each year or the weight equivalent of 60,000
Honda Civics. So... Holsum Dairy is striving to minimize
their environmental impact by recycling every part of the
cow. But the lingering question remains—what is the cost
of human interference in nature’s cycles?
Matt’s Turkeys
birds never had it so good
Thanks to the efforts of farmers like Matthew Smith of Blue
Valley Gardens, heritage turkeys have come back to their
native Wisconsin home. With a little love and respect, Matt
Smith gives them the best 35 weeks of their life.
For When the Buffalo Return
a meditative look at prairie restoration by any means
necessary
All across Wisconsin the dreaded garlic mustard,
buckthorn and purple loosestrife are WANTED—DEAD
or ALIVE. They are being burned out, weed whacked
and chemically treated. On the other side of the beloved
prairie, native seeds and heritage flora are being harvested
and replanted. What time will it be when the prairie is
restored?
Alternate Living
a story of one family choosing to live off-grid
John Ivanko and his wife, Lisa Kivirist, chose to leave the
hustle and bustle and intense consumerism of the big city
for a more energy efficient and conservation-oriented
lifestyle. They grow 70 percent of their own food, produce
their own biofuel that can be used in cars, tractors and
other diesel vehicles and generate enough electricity
through their solar and wind energy systems to power their
entire bed and breakfast and farming businesses. They
actually receive a check from their utility company for
producing a surplus! But for them, the money saved and
the ecological footprint reduced are not nearly as important
as the legacy of energy consciousness and environmental
awareness they’re leaving their son, Liam.
Freewheels and Freedom
a ride through Madison bike culture
Peering into the world of Freewheel, one will discover that
the ways people use and get their bicycles are as diverse as
the people themselves. Freewheel is a free bicycle repair
shop where anyone can build a free bike. After three hours
of volunteering in the shop and helping others to build free
bicycles, you get to build your own bike and ride off—
FREE. A meditation (mostly on wheels) into how Madison
is striving to make bicycling an easy alternative to motor
transportation for all people, no matter their income level.
Madison’s people of the bicycle agree: “winter, summer,
rain or shine,” bicycling provides a sense of freedom and is
just more fun!
Farmer John
(or) "How to run your farm from 500 miles away"
Here in the middle of “America’s Dairyland” the fields
of corn are golden brown, sun dapples the red barns
and peaceful cows dot the countryside. City folks like to
romanticize idyllic side-of-the-road notions of life on the
farm; but here’s a dairy farmer who loves his life ... and has
a lot more to talk about than milk yield.
Fish Fry
the tradition, the fish, the lakes... the ocean?
From the kitchens of one of Madison’s favorite Fridaynight
spots to the hallowed halls of the University, Fish
Fry traces the origins, meanings, and practices behind
this state custom, showing how a Wisconsin phenomenon
is connected to places and activities beyond the state’s
borders or even the shores of the Great Lakes. Hold fast to
your fork and discover how these pan-aquatic connections
do not diminish the Wisconsin-ness of the fish fry or its
adherents.
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