FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
DATE: NOVEMBER 4, 2009
CONTACT: PUBLIC RELATIONS 772/221-1403
2009-2010 Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers
Continues at Blake Library Nov. 15
Prize-winning producer/director David E. Simpson will screen
and discuss his film, Milking the Rhino, third film in six-month series
(Stuart, FL) – Martin County Library System will present “Milking the Rhino” with producer/director David E. Simpson as part of the Southern Arts Federation’s Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers at the Blake Library, 2351 SE Monterey Road, Stuart, FL on Sunday, November 15, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. in the John F. Armstrong Wing. Following the screening, the award-winning filmmaker will engage the audience in a discussion about the film and his career. Light refreshments will be served during the reception. Admission is free and open to the public. Reservations are not required.
The third in a series of six films to be presented by Southern Circuit at the Blake Library through April 2010, Milking the Rhino tells a nuanced tale of human-wildlife co-existence in post-colonial Africa where two of Earth’s oldest cattle cultures, the Maasai tribe of Kenya and Namibia’s Himba, are in the midst of upheaval. Emerging from a century of “white man conservation,” which turned their lands into game reserves and fueled resentment towards wildlife, these tribes are now vying for a piece of the wildlife-tourism pie. This new relationship with wildlife poses challenges to community-based conservation, especially in the face of drought.
Milking the Rhino tells a nuanced tale of human-wildlife coexistence in post-colonial Africa. The Maasai tribe of Kenya and Namibia’s Himba—two of Earth’s oldest cattle cultures—are in the midst of upheaval. Emerging from a century of “white man conservation,” which turned their lands into game reserves and fueled resentment towards wildlife, Himba and Maasai communities are now vying for a piece of the wildlife-tourism pie. Community-based conservation, which tries to balance the needs of wildlife and people, has been touted by environmentalists as “win-win.” The reality, however, is more complex. “We never used to benefit from these animals,” a Maasai host of a community eco-lodge explains. “Now we milk them like cattle!” His neighbor disagrees: “A rhino means nothing to me! I can’t kill it for meat like a cow.” And when drought decimates the grass shared by livestock and wildlife, the community’s commitment to conservation is sorely tested.
David E. Simpson has crafted award-winning films for 25 years. As a producer, director and editor he plies his trade in the belief that a well-told story can move viewers’ hearts and minds regarding crucial, human issues. David co-produced and directed When Billy Broke His Head, a documentary about disability culture that won the Sundance Film Festival’s Freedom of Expression Award, along with major prizes at dozens of other festivals. He recently co-produced and edited Forgiving Dr. Mengele, about an Auschwitz survivor’s controversial campaign of forgiveness, which won the 2006 Slamdance Grand Jury Prize for documentaries. David directed Refrigerator Mothers, about a generation of mothers who raised autistic children under the shadow of professionally-promoted mother-blame. The film won top honors at the Florida, Indiana, and Sedona film festivals and aired on the PBS series P.O.V. David also produced and directed Halsted Street, USA, a multi-award-winning snapshot of America through the prism of one multicultural street. His experimental narrative, Dante’s Dream, a re-working of Dante’s cosmology, earned five 1st place festival awards.
For more information on the film, visit http://www.southarts.org/site/c.guIYLaMRJxE/b.5243063/k.45BB/Circuit_2__D_Simpson.htm
or http://www.milkingtherhino.org/.
The 2009-2010 Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers is a program of the Southern Arts Federation, a not-for-profit regional arts organization making a positive difference in the arts throughout the South since 1975. Southern Circuit screenings are funded in part by a grant from the Southern Arts Federation in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and local partner organizations The Arts Council, Inc., The Friends of the Blake Library in Stuart, Inc. and the Martin County Tourist Development Council. Special support for Southern Circuit was provided by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. For more information on the Southern Arts Federation and its programs visit www.southarts.org.
The 2009-2010 Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers continues at the Blake Library February 14, March 14 and April 11. Bookmarks with a schedule and description of films are available at all Martin County libraries. To learn more about the Martin County Library System call 772-221-1403, pick up a Library Connection at any branch library or visit the library Web site, http://www.library.martin.fl.us.
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