UConn To Screen Environmental Film '11th Hour'
Kate King
Issue date: 1/28/08
Whether you're interested in saving the environment or just want to listen to Leonardo DiCaprio for an hour and a half, you can have it all at the Student Union Tuesday night.
EcoHusky and UConn's Office of Environmental Policy (OEP) are co-sponsoring a free screening of the Titanic star's new film, "The 11th Hour," in the Student Union Theater Tuesday at 7 p.m.
The title "The 11th Hour" refers to the last moment that change is possible for the planet, according to the film's Web site. The film explores how humans impact the environment and what can be done to save the planet's ecosystems.
"Basically it's a summary of all the environmental issues that are sort of coming to a point right now," said Jennifer Sayers, an 8th-semester environmental studies major and an intern at OEP.
The "11th Hour" screening is UConn's kick-off event for a nation-wide environmental movement called Focus The Nation, Sayers said.
Focus The Nation is a project of the Green House Network 501C3, a non-profit organization aimed at stopping global warming, according to Garrett Reiss Brennan, director of media and public relations for Focus the Nation. This is the inaugural year for the event.
"What's been awesome about [Focus The Nation] is that faculty and student advisors have planned these events around what they think will be most compelling for their community," Brennan said.
EcoHusky and UConn's OEP decided to launch Focus The Nation at UConn with "The 11th Hour" because "we felt like it was a good summary of a lot of the issues that are going to be addressed by all the different Focus The Event events later in the week," Sayers said. Following the movie, faculty will be available if students wish to discuss the film.
Sayers hopes that the celebrities who appear in "The 11th Hour" will inspire students to attend who wouldn't otherwise be interested. The film is narrated by DiCaprio and includes commentary from former Soviet Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev, famous scientist Stephen Hawking and former head of the CIA R. James Woolsey, according to the film's Web site.
"I'm going [to see "The 11th Hour"] because I think that people must watch this film to better understand the catastrophe of our environment and their great ability to individually contribute to change," said Nicholas Frechette, a 4th-semester chemical engineering and physics major. "I think the entire campus should show up."
There are several events planned for Focus The Nation at UConn in addition to "The 11th Hour" screening, according to the event's Web site. A campus-wide teach-in will take place on Wednesday, Jan. 30 and Thursday, Jan. 31. On these days, UConn professors will discuss climate change as it applies to their discipline, according to the Web site. More information about times and locations of the teach-ins as well as other Focus The Nation events can be found on the EcoHusky Web site.
Contact Kate King at Katherine.King@UConn.edu.
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