"Above All Else": Movie screening

The Hollywood Reporter called the Above All Else "an inspiring, dramatic and very timely eco-doc." The Austin Chronicle said: "Above All Else is a devastating, beautifully shot portrait of an intimate, deeply personal struggle embedded with broad implications, from indigenous peoples’ tribal autonomy to permanent climate change. It’s a movie everyone should see."

In short, the documentary (director: John Fiege) shows how one man enlists the help of neighbors and activists to keep the tar sands of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from crossing his land. The film, which was shot in rural East Texas, premiered last year at the SXSW Film Festival. It won the award for Best North American Documentary at the Global Visions Festival and a Special Jury Prize at the Dallas International Film Festival. The Laemmle Playhouse will screen the documentary next Thursday. Ticket reservations required.

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What: Above All Else (a documentary)
When: Thursday, January 22, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Laemmle Playhouse, 673 East Colorado Blvd, Pasadena

Pasadena weekend: November 21-23

Share your produce and homemade items, watch a movie, explore the Arboretum. Plus: ongoing and recurring events and this week's random read.

Share Faire in the Park. RIPE Altadena is hosting its monthly Share Faire on Sunday. Bring your fresh produce, homemade items and delights that might accompany a Thanksgiving meal to Farnsworth Park and share your abundance.

Occupy the Farm. Beginning this Friday, November 21, the Laemmle Playhouse 7 will show Occupy the Farm. The documentary tells the story of a community in California's urban East Bay taking action: 200 farmers occupy a piece of farmland, plant 15,000 seedlings to feed the community and disrupt plans to build a shopping mall.

Walking tour. The Los Angeles County Arboretum is holding a one hour long, docent-led walking tour that will provide visitors with an introduction to the Arboretum.

The Arroyo Food Co-op is now open on Saturdays and Sundays for shopping and pick-ups. Orders placed online by Sunday midnight will be available for pick-up starting next Tuesday.

Exhibition, ending. Only ten days left to see the an exhibition at Descanso Gardens in La Canada. Titled Signs of Life, it aims to look at water "in all its moods and states." Ends November 30.

Gardening. Transition Pasadena's Throop Learning Garden (usually) meets on Sunday morning.

Survey. Pasadena Water and Power is conducting a survey on the city's energy future. To participate go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PWP_Energy_Future2014. (Note: PWP has not posted any information on when the survey period ends, but as of this printing the link was still up.)

Cycling. On Sunday morning Pasadena Cyclery will hold Gwen's Group Ride and the Sunday Morning Neighborhood Stroll. For details see the calendar page of Pasastainable, CA.

Got kids? On Saturday morning, the Eaton Canyon Nature Center is hosting a family nature walk. Bring your small children, walking shoes, sunscreen, water and a hat. Also on Saturday morning at the Nature Center: the weekly Nature Tails Story Hour which includes stories, nature walks and puppet shows for children ages 3-5.

Pasadena's watering schedule for the winter now applies. Pasadena Water and Power customers may water on one day a week only. It must be a Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday.

Exhibition, continuing. As part of the Pasadena Arts Council's AxS Festival, the Armory presents Karin Apollonia Müller's World’s Edge, a photographic exploration of the intersection between the natural landscape and complex urbanization. Ends next summer.

Random read. In the Clear Fork Valley in East Tennessee a root digger named Carol Judy aka "The Forest Granny" tries to reconnect people in her community with the mountains they inhabit. Knowing precisely which plant will cure which ailment (jewelweed for nettle stings!) she roams the woods for sassafras, yellowroot and black cohosh, and shares her findings and expertise freely with the locals. Holly Haworth's profile of Judy, Place to Root, was published last month in The Southern Magazine of Good Writing. A warning to readers in California: A scene toward the end of this beautifully written story could cause rain envy.

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Unless otherwise noted, all events take place in Pasadena. For times, addresses and other details please see the calendar page of Pasastainable, CA or the event owner's webpage.

Fuller Seminary to screen "Disruption"

Two weeks ahead of the United Nations Climate Summit on September 23 in New York, Fuller Seminary will screen a documentary that explores the science, politics and lobbying around climate change. According to its promotional website, "Disruption" promises to show "the terrifying science, the shattered political process, the unrelenting industry special interests and the civic stasis" that have brought us to "our unique moment in history." Created by Kelly Nyks and Jared P. Scott, the film also offers a look at how activists are planning what is already being called the largest climate march in history for September 21 in New York.

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What: Disruption, a documentary, free screening and discussion
When: Monday, September 8, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Where: Travis Auditorium at Fuller Theological Seminary, 135 N Oakland Ave

Pasadena weekdays: "Urban Fruit"

Conscientious Projector to screen documentary about urban farming.

Cinematographer Roman Zenz' documentary "Urban Fruit" follows four urban gardeners in Los Angeles who gave up promising careers and fought their families and the local bureaucracy to set up farms in city backyards or on street parkways. The film is an official selection for the American Documentary Film Festival 2015.

After the screening, Rishi Kumar and Manju Kumar, who feature in the film, will lead a panel discussion.

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What: "Urban Fruit," a documentary (68 minutes,) followed by a panel discussion
When: Thursday, August 14, 7 p.m.
Where: Armory Center for the Arts

Admission is free, and the facility is wheelchair accessible

Pasadena weekdays: Grid Off! and "Arise"

Sustainability events on Tuesday and Thursday

Presentation on reducing home energy bills. On Tuesday evening, energy expert Elena Christopoulos will speak about innovative and inexpensive ways to reduce home energy bills. Topics at the event — the title is Grid Off! — include solar, solar thermal, wind and lighting. The Pasadena chapter of the United Nations Association of the USA and All Saints Church will host the event. 

Film documentary about women as protectors of the natural environment.  In its debut run at the Old Pasadena Film Festival, Conscientious Projector will screen "Arise"on Thursday evening at the Armory. The documentary, which was made by two women, Lori Joyce and Candice Orland, tells the stories of 13 women from Ecuador and the South Bronx to Kenya and Israel who are leading the movement to protect and restore the natural environment.

Beneficial bugs in the garden. On Thursday afternoon, horticulturist Lili Singer of the Theodore Payne Foundation discusses some of the good bugs to look for in your garden with tips on how to attract and support them. (At the Huntington Library; plant sale to follow the talk.)

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Unless otherwise noted, all events take place in Pasadena. For times, addresses and other details please see the calendar page of Pasastainable, CA or the event owner's webpage.

Tonight: Conscientious Projector screens "The Wisdom to Survive"

Scientists agree that climate change has already arrived. In their documentary The Wisdom to Survive: Climate Change, Capitalism & Community filmmakers John Ankele and Anne Macksoud explore what the pursuit of unlimited growth is doing to our planet, to society and to the lives of individuals.

For the film, the producer-director team talked to thought leaders and activists including Bill McKibben (350.org), Gus Speth (co-founder of the Natural Resource Defense Council), the author Richard Heinberg (The End of Growth) and the Buddhist scholar and eco-philosopher Joanna Macy.

The documentary asks: "What is keeping us from action?"

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When: today, 7 p.m.

Where: Armory Center for the Arts, 145 N Raymond Ave

What: Screening of the documentary "The Wisdom to Survive", followed by a community discussion. Free admission. The facility is wheelchair accessible.

"Soil" film to kick off Earth and Arts Festival

Ever dug your mind into soil? Into what it is made of and what it represents? Into how it relates to us, to water, plants, animals and the atmosphere? Filmmaker Deborah Koons Garcia has done just that. Shot on four continents and featuring interviews with scientists, farmers and chefs, her documentary, Symphony of the Soil, explores what we like to refer to as dirt in all its facets.

"The film," so the SOS webpage, "examines our relationship with soil, the use and misuse of soil in agriculture, deforestation and development, and the latest scientific research on soil’s key role in ameliorating the most challenging environmental issues of our time."

Thanks to the Conscientious Projector film series the Pasadena Earth and Arts Festival next weekend kicks off with a showing of the documentary at the Armory Center for the Arts. Koons will be present for Q&As.

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When: Friday, May 2, 7:30 p.m.

Where: Armory Center for the Arts, 145 N Raymond Ave

What: Symphony of the Soil, a documentary, plus Q&A with the filmmaker