The Power of Community:
How Cuba Survived Peak Oil
Monday, May 24
7:00 PM
Hooked on Colfax
3215 E. Colfax Ave, Denver
$5 suggested donation

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1990, Cuba’s economy went into a tailspin. With imports of oil cut by more than half – and food by 80 percent – people were desperate. This film tells of the hardships and struggles as well as the community and creativity of the Cuban people during this difficult time. Cubans share how they transitioned from a highly mechanized, industrial agricultural system to one using organic methods of farming and local, urban gardens. It is an unusual look into the Cuban culture during this economic crisis, which they call “The Special Period.” The film opens with a short history of Peak Oil, a term for the time in our history when world oil production will reach its all-time peak and begin to decline forever. Cuba, the only country that has faced such a crisis – the massive reduction of fossil fuels – is an example of options and hope.

Dirt! The Movie
Thursday, April 1
7:00 PM
Mercury Cafe
2199 California St, Denver
$5 suggested donation

DIRT! The Movie takes you inside the wonders of the soil. It tells the story of Earth’s most valuable and underappreciated source of fertility–from its miraculous beginning to its crippling degradation.

The opening scenes of the film dive into the wonderment of the soil. Made from the same elements as the stars, plants and animals, and us, “dirt is very much alive.” Though, in modern industrial pursuits and clamor for both profit and natural resources, our human connection to and respect for soil has been disrupted. “Drought, climate change, even war are all directly related to the way we are treating dirt.”

Fresh
Tuesday, January 26
7:00 PM
SAME Cafe
2023 E. Colfax Ave, Denver
$5 suggested donation or 1 hour volunteer

FRESH celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system. Each has witnessed the rapid transformation of our agriculture into an industrial model, and confronted the consequences: food contamination, environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources, and morbid obesity. Forging healthier, sustainable alternatives, they offer a practical vision for a future of our food and our planet.

Among several main characters, FRESH features urban farmer and activist, Will Allen, the recipient of MacArthur’s 2008 Genius Award; sustainable farmer and entrepreneur, Joel Salatin, made famous by Michael Pollan’s book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma; and supermarket owner, David Ball, challenging our Wal-Mart dominated economy.

A Farm for the Future
Monday, August 10
7:00 PM
Hooked on Colfax
3215 E. Colfax Ave, Denver
$5 suggested donation or 1 hour volunteer

Wildlife film maker Rebecca Hosking investigates how to transform her family’s farm in Devon into a low energy farm for the future, and discovers that nature holds the key.

With her father close to retirement, Rebecca returns to her family’s wildlife-friendly farm in Devon, to become the next generation to farm the land. But last year’s high fuel prices were a wake-up call for Rebecca. Realising that all food production in the UK is completely dependent on abundant cheap fossil fuel, particularly oil, she sets out to discover just how secure this oil supply is.

Alarmed by the answers, she explores ways of farming without using fossil fuel. With the help of pioneering farmers and growers, Rebecca learns that it is actually nature that holds the key to farming in a low-energy future.

ArgusFest Presents
Micro Film Fest
on Sustainability
Tuesday, July 21
7:00 PM
SAME Cafe
2023 E. Colfax Ave, Denver
$5 suggested donation or 1 hour volunteer

Tonight ArgusFest presents its first ever event at Denver’s SAME Cafe! A Micro Film Fest featuring short films and excerpts on sustainability issues including local/organic farming, reuse/recycling, bicycling, and more…

The SAME Cafe (SAME = So All May Eat) is a sliding-scale/volunteer restaurant providing the basic need for food in a respectable dignified manner to anyone who walks in the door. Come join us for an inspiring night of positive oriented documentaries, discussion, and community building.

Who Killed the Honey Bee?
Thursday, May, 7
7:00 PM
Mercury Cafe
2199 California St, Denver
$5 suggested donation or 1 hour volunteer

This program aired on the BBC on April 28, 2009 but has not been shown in the U.S. ironically because it talk about the disappearance of bees in America.

ArgusFest brings you this important documentary…

Bees are dying in their millions. It’s an ecological crisis that threatens to bring global agriculture to a standstill. Introduced by Martha Kearney, this documentary explores the reasons behind the decline of bee colonies across the globe, investigating what might be at the root of this devastation.

Honey bees are the number one insect pollinator on the planet, responsible for the production of over 90 crops. Apples, berries, cucumbers, nuts, cabbages and even cotton will struggle to be produced if bee colonies continue to decline at the current rate. Empty hives have been reported from as far afield as Taipei and Tennessee. In England, the matter has caused beekeepers to march on parliament to call on the government to fund research into what they say is potentially a bigger threat to humanity than the current financial crisis.

Investigating the problem from a global perspective, the programme travels from the farm belt of California to the flatlands of East Anglia to the outback of Australia. They talk to the beekeepers whose livelihoods are threatened by Colony Collapse Disorder, the scientists entrusted with solving the problem, and the Australian beekeepers who are making a fortune replacing the planet’s dying bees. They also look at some of the possible reasons for the declining numbers - is it down to a bee plague, pesticides, malnutrition, or is the answer something even more frightening?

I am so inspired by what Geoff Lawton shares in this video. He talks about how, using permaculture techniques, they were able restore a salty desert landscape into a lush healthy green area.

Global Gardener
Permaculture with Bill Mollison
Thursday, April 23
6:30 PM
NOTE: The film starts 30
minutes earlier tonight
Mercury Cafe
2199 California St, Denver
$5 suggested donation or 1 hour volunteer

BILL MOLLISON is a practical visionary. For nearly two decades he has traveled the globe spreading the word about permaculture, the method of sustainable agriculture that he devised. Permaculture weaves together microclimate, annual and perennial plants, animals, soils, water management and human needs into intricately connected productive communities. Mollison has proved that even in the most difficult conditions permaculture empowers people to turn wastelands into food forests.

Good Food: Sustainable Farming in the Northwest
Saturday, November 29
3:30 PM
Mercury Cafe
2199 California St, Denver
$5 donation or 1 hour volunteer

Something remarkable is happening in the fields and orchards of the Pacific Northwest. After leaving the land for decades, family farmers are making a comeback. They are growing much healthier food, and more food per acre, while using less energy and water than factory farms. And most of this food is organic.

For decades Northwest agriculture was focused on a few big crops for export. But climate change and the end of cheap energy mean that each region needs to produce more of its own food and to grow it more sustainably. Good Food visits farmers, farmers’ markets, distributors, stores, restaurants and public officials who are developing a more sustainable food system for all.