Film Festival Is Turning The Silver Screen Green

No bituminous coal was harmed in the making of this film festival.

That is the message from the organizers of Silverdocs, the nonfiction movie series that opens tonight at the AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring. The five-day festival, which boasted former vice president Al Gore as a participant last year, has emerged as a major annual showcase for environmental and other independent documentary films. This year, by securing wind-generated electricity for the entire run, the series is billing itself as the country's first carbon-neutral documentary festival.

"We're doing our part this year to walk the walk," said Silverdocs Associate Director Amy King during a news conference in front of the theater yesterday. "We decided that if we're showing films that explore these environmental issues, we should set an example as a big public event that can influence its audience."

Interrupted frequently by the natural-gas-powered Metro buses rumbling up Colesville Road, King detailed the steps the festival was taking to reduce its environmental impact. They include posters and playbills produced on recycled paper by an environmentally certified printer, concession stands stocked with organic cotton T-shirts imprinted with water-based inks and souvenir bags made from reclaimed soda bottles. The opening night gala, following the kickoff showing of a Pete Seeger biopic, will feature biodegradable cutlery and recyclable cups.

Even the festival's Web site ( http://www.silverdocs.com) was designed with a low-watt color palette, muted tones and lots of dark spaces that use less electricity when they appear on computer monitors.

"Black is the new green for Web sites," King said.

The most significant measure is the acquisition of 100,000 kilowatt-hours of "carbon offset" wind-power electricity to power the theater's projectors, marquee and popcorn machines for the duration of the festival. The power was donated by Clean Currents, a Silver Spring energy broker that specializes in green electricity. The company purchases energy from wind-powered, solar and other environmentally friendly generators to offset the electricity made by coal and petroleum-fired power plants. The 100,000 kilowatt-hours of wind power represents an average of 120,000 to 160,000 pounds less carbon dioxide than would be produced by traditional energy plants, according to the company.

"In the past year, we've started doing this with every kind of business," said Clean Currents President Gary Skulnik. The company brokers green electricity for such local businesses as Fitzgerald auto dealerships in Maryland, Ben's Chili Bowl in the District and the Bullis School in Potomac. "Interest is really at an all-time high. Businesses realize that customers care about this," he said.

Skulnik said the power cost Clean Currents about $1,500.

Silverdocs' 100 scheduled films are heavy on environmental and global warming subjects. They include "Garbage Warrior," the story of a New Mexico architect who builds with trash, and "New Home Movies From the Ninth Ward," a post-Katrina documentary by director Jonathan Demme. The festival, which is co-sponsored by the Discovery Channel, ends Saturday with "Arctic Tale," a family-oriented account of wildlife of the frozen North and its disappearing habitat that King described as "the march of the polar bears."

Silverdocs was launched in 2003 by the American Film Institute, the Los Angeles-based organization that uses the Silver Theatre as its East Coast headquarters, and the Discovery Channel, based a block away. The first year attracted about 10,000 attendees. By 2006, the audience had more than doubled, and the series has become a draw for well-known filmmakers, actors and activists. Martin Scorsese has attended, as have director Jim Jarmusch, actor Richard Dreyfuss and onetime pop-jock couple Lance Armstrong and Sheryl Crow. One of last year's entries, "The Blood of Yingzhou District," went on to win the Academy Award for best short documentary.