One Earth Film Festival takes particular care to attend to the collaborative potential between film, venue and community when planning screening events. The match doesn't happen haphazardly. The sensitive pairing of particular films with venues and communities surfaced again and again during conversations with three venue partners—Elio DeArrudah at Universidad Popular, Liz Lyon at Plant Chicago, and Connie Spreen at the Experimental Station.
Festival audiences expect to leave screenings with information that will guide them in taking the next steps on their sustainability journey. That is the Power of We. When people feel connected to others by a common passion or commitment, much gets done. Problems are solved. Communities become healthier. The Earth gets healed.
Chicago is fortunate to have many advocates on the front lines of climate action and environmental and social justice.
Chuck Wolf, retired shareholder at Vedder Price, P.C. and current president of the Walter S. Mander Foundation, believes in the mission of the One Earth Film Festival (OEFF). The foundation he leads honors the legacy of Walter “Wally” Mander, who fled Nazi Germany to start a new life in Chicago, where he realized great success in the meatpacking industry. Part of the foundation’s mission is to support grassroots organizations that build community engagement, particularly in the areas of local and sustainable food and agriculture in Illinois.
The 2020 festival marks the foundation’s fourth year of support at the grantor level, and Wolf encourages others to support the film festival because, “Every dollar the festival receives helps attendees have a much richer and transformative experience.”
