Between2Worlds

Dir: Jose Jaramillo. U.S./Mexico 2008 118 min

According to the Mayan Prophecies, humanity has always stood between the Old World of technology, money, power and control and the New World of peace, love, unity, harmony and balance with nature. These prophecies assign humanity the task of balancing these two worlds before the end of the Mayan cycle in 2012. This film contends that the secret of the Gregorian calendar, codified after the “Doctrine of Discovery” ( which sanctioned the Christian Church to seize any land owned by non-Christian peoples} led into the codification of the calendar to control subjects for economic purposes Mayan scholars and a Mayan Shaman Aumrak reveal why the calendar of the Old World was created to keep people in a perpetual state of control. It invites us to use a natural way of counting time, as the Mayan calendar does, to foster a greater understanding of the spiritual evolution throughout human history; to help us align ourselves toward an enlightened state of consciousness at the end of the Mayan Cycle in 2012.

Check out the trailer: www.youtube.com

Sunday, January 11 at 5PM
$5/$3 University of Hawaii – Manoa campus
Further info: (808)223-0130
FREE PARKING ON SUNDAY

An overview of the film program at UH Spalding Auditorium this fall:

This weekend:

Sunday, September 3 at 3 PM

The Gem Hunter from Afghanistan

Gary Bowersox has just returned from Afghanistan with new gems for display and will answer questions about the present state of the country after the screening of “Gem Hunter” this Sunday. He will be joined in discussion by fellow gem hunter Mir Waees Khan Jegdalek, a ruby miner from the Jegdalek ruby mines of Afghanistan.

Sunday, September 3 at 5 PM

Of Wind and Waves: The Life of Woody Brown

Repeat showing of the beautifully told story of the life of 94-year Woody Brown.

Special screenings coming up:

Thursday, September 7 at 7 PM, Sunday, September 10 at 5 PM

The Celestine Prophecy

Repeat showing of the film based on the best-selling book by James Redfield.

Thursday, September 14 at 7 PM, Sunday, September 17 at 5 PM

The Peaceful Warrior

Honolulu premiere of the film based on the best-selling book by Dan Millman, with Nick Nolte, Scott Mechlowicz, and Amy Smart.

Sunday, September 17 at 3 PM

The First Battle

Honolulu director Tom Coffman’s stirring account of the behind-the-scenes struggle for the civil rights of Japanese-Americans in the first days of America’s entry into WWII.

Thursday, September 28
Ocean Planet Film Series begins

Repeat of the BEYOND OIL film series:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 1, 2006

Contact: Don Brown
Programmer, UH Cinema Series
Information: 223-0130
donbrown@hawaii.rr.com

“BEYOND OIL: ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOLUTIONS”
FILM SERIES REPEATS FALL SEMESTER

Due to popular demand, the UH summer film series, “Beyond Oil: Alternative Energy Solutions” repeats at the University of Hawaii at Manoa on Wednesday nights during the fall 2006 semester. The series will take advantage of the expertise of the many university staff advocating alternative energy solutions to Hawaii’s dependence on foreign oil, and Dr. Stephen Meder, Director of the Center for Smart Building and Community Design will advise on bringing speakers to address the issues raised after each film at 7 PM in the UH Spalding Auditorium.

In addition to films on solar energy, wind power, hydrogen fuel cells, bio-diesel, geothermal energy, and water power, new films on wave energy, global warming and electric automobiles complete the schedule. The full series begins Wednesday, September 6 at 7 PM with “Power of the Sun”, a 2006 film produced by Nobel Laureate (for Physics) Dr. Water Kohn, and narrated by John Cleese.

Jon Webster Abbot, director of The Greenhouse, will demonstrate some of the latest breakthroughs in solar energy technology after the screening of “Power of the Sun” on Wednesday, September 6.

Admission is $5 for general audiences, and $3 for UH students, faculty, and staff.

The full schedule:

Wednesday, September 6 at 7 PM
Solar Energy
The Power of the Sun
Dir: David Kennard. USA 2006 56 min.
As fossil fuels run out, the search for renewable sources of energy becomes more urgent. This film about the discovery of the power of light, the genesis of solar energy technologies and their vast and promising potential, begins with the findings of Isaac Newton and other early visionaries. It covers the groundbreaking work in 1905 of Albert Einstein on photons, and the work at Bell Laboratories in the 1950s where the first silicon solar cell was produced. The film provides insight into the clean logic of solar energy, its efficiency and many applications. Winner of the Nobel prize in physics, Walter Kohn produced this optimistic and timely presentation, narrated by John Cleese.

Wednesday, September 13 at 7 PM
Peak Oil and U.S. Needs
The End of Suburbia
Dir: Gregory Greene. USA 2005 78 min.
Since WWII Americans have invested much of their wealth in suburbia, a promise of space, family life, safety, and upward mobility–the “American Dream”. But in the 21st century, serious questions are emerging about the sustainability of this way of life. With a touch of irony, this film explores the issue as global demand for fossil fuels begins to outstrip supply. World Oil Peak and the inevitable decline of fossil fuels are upon us now and the consequences of inaction in the face of this global crisis are enormous. As energy prices skyrocket in the coming years, what does depletion of oil reserves mean for North America and how will the populations of suburbia react to the collapse of their dream? This timely film focuses on what can be done immediately, individually and collectively, to avoid the collapse of a country built on the quicksand of cheap oil.

Wednesday, September 20 at 7 PM
Wind Energy
Wind over Water
Dir: Ole Tangen. USA 2004 32 min.
With beautiful Cape Cod as its backdrop, this film chronicles an impassioned debate about land, energy and the environment, and helps clarify the issues surrounding the future of wind energy. Is wind-power the solution for clean energy for the future or are there adverse affects on the ecosystem? Are the windmills on the horizon actually a form of visual pollution? Are private developers attempting to profit from a public resource? A thorough, thoughtful, and informative look at a complex issue.
Velocity: Exploring Sustainability Through Wind Power
Dir: Michelle Voss. USA 2003 32 min.
The film explores several examples of sustainable-energy projects including wind-turbine manufacturing in Denmark, 100% wind-powered beer production at the New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins, Colo., and Green Building at the Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems in Austin. Austin Energy’s Green Choice program is mostly fueled by wind power.

Wednesday, September 27 at 7 PM
The Cold Fusion Wars & Hydrogen Power
Cold Fusion: Fire from Water
Prod: Infinite Energy. USA 1999 60 min.
The facts of Cold Fusion’s birth are far more dramatic than fiction. It promised to be the ultimate renewable energy source, but in this fascinating documentary, find out what happened to the Cold Fusion discovery in the years since the announcement at the University of Utah. In 1989, respected chemists Drs. Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons claimed that a table-top, glass cell filled with heavy water, fitted with a palladium electrode, produced so much heat beyond the power put in that the mysterious energy source had to be nuclear. They said it was probably related to nuclear fusion, which powers the stars. The new “fire” from water could not be coming from ordinary chemical reactions; it was far too much energy. If the shocking claim was real, the world might have a source of infinite, clean energy from the abundant fusion fuel in all water. Thus began the Cold Fusion controversy.
Element One: Hydrogen (Key to Sustainable Energy)
Dir: Geoff Holland. USA 1996 58 min.
This film heralds the coming hydrogen era, demonstrating how cars and homes can be powered by this clean, efficient energy source. This exciting video delivers the most complete and up-to-date overview of advanced hydrogen technology available today. It features a colloquium of world-class energy experts who review the environmental, political, economic, and historical consequences of our present dependence on fossil fuels. Hydrogen-powered vehicles and energy-producing hydrogen fuel cells are demonstrated in Germany, Canada, Japan, and the United States. Pollution-free, sustainably produced hydrogen is predicted to displace petroleum as the planet’s dominant fuel.

Wednesday, October 4 at 7 PM
Energy from the Earth: Ethanol & Bio-Diesel
French Fries to Go
Dir: Suzanne Harle. USA 2002 17 min.
The story about one guy, his truck and used vegetable oil. This funny and inspiring piece follows Charris Ford, ‘The Granola Ayatollah of Canola’ as he makes the rounds in his veggie fuel powered rig. Timely, and unlike many environmental films, really makes you laugh. With an eclectic roster of celebrities: Daryl Hannah, Dennis Weaver and Dr. Andrew Weill.
The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil
Dir: Faith Morgan. USA 2005 53 min.
Cuba lost over half of its oil imports after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1990. This spelled disaster for its oil-dependent economy and society. But by completely reorganizing its agricultural system and switching to alternate and renewable energy sources, Cuba survived. This film shows how they did it.

Wednesday, October 11 at 7 PM
Bio-Gas & Hydrogen Power
Biogas from the Sea
Dir: Hans-Ernst Weitzel. USA 1981 29 min.
German and Italian scientists are converting excess marine algae from the Venice Lagoon into biogas, a versatile, clean-burning fuel. Researchers in Calabria are cultivating phytoplankton in shallow seawater ponds. In both cases, with the help of the sun, biomass is created and fermented into biogas. The potential for generating fuel from algae culture is tremendous. Worldwide there are more than 18,750 miles of desert areas suitable for such energy plantations.
Hydrogen: The Safe & Clean Fuel
Dir: Geoff Holland. USA 2002 27 min.
This film not only presents the promise of a future featuring hydrogen as a mainstream energy source, it also shows us just how far we’ve already come in our movement towards a viable and sustainable hydrogen based economic infrastructure. The film shows hydrogen refueling stations around the world, tours homes powered by onsite hydrogen generators, and zero-emission bus fleets that benefit cities in the U.S., Japan and Europe. It explores how eight of the world’s leading car manufacturers are planning a transition to hydrogen fueled vehicles on a giant scale and are drawing from NASA’s decades of experience with this safe and clean fuel. The specific process of deriving energy from hydrogen is outlined and comparisons in safety and efficiency are drawn between hydrogen and gasoline as onboard fuel sources.

Wednesday, October 18 at 7 PM
New Ideas & Geothermal Energy
Clash of the Geniuses: Inventing the Impossible
Dir: J. Douglas Kenyon. USA 2004 56 min
Despite resistance from entrenched economic and political powers, the seemingly outrageous impossibilities of one generation often become the revolutionary breakthroughs of the next. In the 20th century, while Marconi, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse managed to capture most of the attention, others, with technological prowess bordering on the miraculous, have gone unnoticed. Men like Tesla, Moray, Reich, Russell, and Schauberger, largely ridiculed by the scientific establishment of their day, labored in nearly complete obscurity, achieving almost incomprehensible miracles like free energy, anti-gravity, transmutation of elements, physical rejuvenation technologies and more. Only a few decades later, a new breed of inventors, scientists and researchers is making rapid strides toward unraveling the secrets of these unsung inventors. Many of these new technological breakthroughs in energy promise a far healthier and cleaner world.
Geothermal Energy: A Renewable Option
Marilyn Nemzer. USA 2002 22 min.
This immense resource of natural heat‹ever-generating inside the earth‹currently produces clean, reliable energy to dozens of nations around the world. The use of geothermal energy, like that of other renewable energies, helps conserve depleting fossil fuels, promotes sustainable economies, and contributes to energy security by decreasing dependence on imported fuels. This film reviews the history of energy use, energy resources, and current environmental issues. It also introduces renewable energy sources, emphasizing wind and solar and explores clean renewables, outlining the science, technology and various valuable uses of geothermal energy. It further discusses how public policy in the United States affects development of renewable energy sources.

Wednesday, October 25 at 7 PM
Wave and Tidal Energy
Power for Change
Prod: Wave Power Group. Scotland, 2003 48 min.
The Wave Power Group dates back to 1974, when Stephen Salter invented the ‘duck’ as a means of converting into electricity some of the abundant natural power that arrives as ocean waves. However the development of the duck concept so that it could compete economically with conventional sources of energy required several new technologies. Above all, a need for very high-efficiency high-pressure bi-directional oil hydraulic transmissions that could implement the advanced control algorithms required to get the most energy out of waves. Robert Clerk’s groundbreaking designs ushered in new generation of high performance hydraulic machines. Building on that experience, Artemis Intelligent Power Ltd. developed the next generation of hydraulic machine, called digital hydraulics, which is the key to this energy breakthrough.

Wednesday, November 1 at 7 PM
Global Warming
An Inconvenient Truth
Dir: Davis Guggenheim. USA 2006 100 min.
This informative documentary about one of today’s most debated topics presents compelling scientific evidence that humanity is sitting on a time bomb. If the vast majority of the world¹s scientists are right, we have just ten years to avert a major catastrophe that could send our entire planet into a tail-spin of epic destruction involving extreme weather, floods, droughts, epidemics and killer heat waves beyond anything we have ever experienced. A catastrophe we have helped create. It offers a passionate and inspirational look at one man¹s commitment to expose the myths and misconceptions that surround global warming. That man is former Vice President Al Gore, who, in the wake of defeat in the 2000 election, re-set the course of his life to focus on an all-out effort to help save the planet from irrevocable change. With wit, smarts and hope, the film ultimately brings home Gore¹s persuasive argument that we can no longer afford to view global warming as a political issue–rather, it is simply one of the biggest moral challenges facing every person in our times.

Wednesday, November 8 at 7 PM
Electric Automobiles
Who Killed the Electric Car?
Dir: Chris Paine USA 2006 90 min.
It was among the fastest, most efficient production cars ever built. It ran on electricity, produced no emissions and catapulted American technology to the forefront of the automotive industry. The lucky few who drove it never wanted to give it up. So why did General Motors crush its fleet of EV1 electric vehicles in the Arizona desert? This searing indictment of big business and greed, is a well-tuned doc that simultaneously entertains and enrages. It chronicles the life and mysterious death of the GM EV1, examining its cultural and economic ripple effects and how they reverberated through the halls of government and big business. The electric car threatened the status quo. The truth behind its demise resembles the climactic outcome of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express: multiple suspects, each taking their turn with the knife. It interviews and investigates automakers, legislators, engineers, consumers and car enthusiasts from Los Angeles to Detroit, to work through motives and alibis, and to piece the complex puzzle together. But it’s about how this allegory for failure–reflected in today’s oil prices and air quality‹can also be a shining symbol of society’s potential to better itself and the world around it.

Wednesday, November 15 at 7 PM
Alternative & Renewable Energy Overview
Turning Down The Heat: The New Energy Revolution
Dir: Jim Hamm Canada 2000 46 min.
This film profiles innovative projects that show how Renewable energy sources offer economically viable solutions to climate change: Solar energy in Holland, Japan and California; biogas in Denmark and Vietnam; wind energy in Holland and India; and hydrogen fuel cells and ground source heat in Vancouver. We do have a viable solution to global warming…all we need is the political will.
Renewable Power: Earth’s Clean Energy Destiny
Dir. Geoff Holland. USA 1999 28 min.
An exciting vision of a world transformed by clean energy. See how solar, wind, and other renewably generated energy can be stored for later use by splitting water into oxygen and hydrogen to fuel transportation or electrical generation. Narrated by Peter Coyote.

reprinted from Dan’s email