At Payap Reel on Thursdays at 5 pm – Room 419, Pentecost Building.
The Film Series Payap Reel is a community project which screens films/ documentaries on regional issues, social awareness, and international topics.
"Payap Air": A Season of Five Free Films on the Atmosphere, Biosphere, and Society – continuing today!
Every Thursday from 21January through 18 February at 5 - 7:30 pm.
"Payap Air" is a Payap Reel film series to be shown in Room 419, Pentecost Building (formerly the Graduate and International Studies Building), at Payap University, Mae Khao Campus (behind Carrefour). It’s a presentation of the Office of Global Awareness at Payap University, in collaboration with the Northern Climate Crisis Network (NCCN). Organized by Steve Green and Ricky Ward. Telephone for further information at 084-985-9668.
Each screening will be followed by an opportunity for discussion, facilitated by a member of the NCCN.
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
"Every empire finds a way to destroy itself."
The films: Home – Jan 21;
Crude Impact – Jan 28 (this afternoon);
The Power of Community – Feb 4;
Blind Spot – Feb 11; and
What A Way To Go – Feb 18.
At Payap University Thursday, January 28 (this afternoon), 5 pm: Crude Impact (2006) by James Jandak Wood – 97 mins – US, Documentary/ History.
Crude Impact is a powerful and timely story that deftly explores the inter-connection between human domination of the planet and the discovery and use of oil.
This documentary film exposes our deep-rooted dependency on the availability of fossil fuel energy and examines the future implications of “Peak Oil” — the point in time when the amount of petroleum worldwide begins a steady, inexorable decline. Journeying from the West African delta region to the heart of the Amazon rainforest, from Washington to Shanghai, from early man to the unknown future, Crude Impact chronicles the collision of our insatiable appetite for oil with the rights and livelihoods of indigenous cultures, other species, and the planet itself. It is a thought-provoking story filled with discovery, sorrow, outrage, humor and ultimately, hope.
Rotten Tomatoes: Crude Impact takes an unflinching look at the human race’s dependence on fossil fuels--and at the future that lies in store for us when those fuels run out. The engaging, aggressive documentary discusses the notion of peak oil and investigates the efficacy of various alternative energy sources.
Roxie Theater: This timely, eye-opening investigative documentary stylistically pairs the high-powered drama of Syriana with hard information citizens need to understand our dependence on fossil-fuel energy. A story filled with discovery, sorrow, outrage and hope, Crude Impact uncovers the entanglement of the fate of humankind and oil, while providing a vital inspiration for citizens who want to make a change. Journeying from the West African Delta region to the heart of the Amazon rainforest, from Washington to Shanghai, from early Man to the unknown future, the filmmakers chronicle the collision of the modern world’s insatiable appetite for oil with the rights and livelihoods of indigenous cultures, other species and the planet and humankind itself. Dispelling underlying myths about oil with great depth and insight, the film exposes what is propelling us toward what many experts believe will be a cataclysmic period for humanity.
Chicago Tribune, Tasha Robinson: Crude Impact goes deep and expansive on the political, environmental, and cultural costs of American dependence on oil. Arguing that we’ve reached the point of “Peak Oil,” where the amount of petroleum that can be drawn from the Earth will inevitably start to decline, a handful of authors and activists illustrate the negative impact American oil drilling has had domestically and overseas. As oil becomes harder to find, they explain, the oil companies will become even more ruthless and profit-driven, and their track records of economic and political exploitation offer no hope of moral restraint.
Some of Crude Impact message comes via the inevitable animated charts and graphs, plus broad, simple statements, and some of it feels like pandering, with its cutesy use of vintage cartoons and jokey visual juxtapositions. But the message is earnest and sincere, and Wood argues it well, with chilling case studies of Texaco’s wholesale pollution in Ecuador and Shell’s fatal interference with politics and protests in the Niger Delta. Using an unsettling clip of an indulgent TV “news” piece about Ronald McDonald that could double as a corporate commercial, he illustrates how news and entertainment have merged, and shows how viewers need to be actively involved in their world if they want real information about the damage being done in their name, and real information about how to fight back.
About the director
Crude Impact is the filmmaking debut of James Jandak Wood, as writer, director, and producer. Inspired by a trip to the rainforest in the summer of 2004, James read obsessively on the effects of oil exploration and use on the rainforest, world climate, humanity, and other species. His passion for the issue motivated him to produce a film in order to bring awareness of the situation to a wider audience.
At Payap University Thursday, February 4, 5 pm: The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil (2006) by Faith Morgan – 53 mins – US, Documentary.
In Cuba there is a recent era which is called “The Special Period in Peacetime.” The term refers to an extended period of economic crisis that began in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The economic depression of the “Special Period” was at its most severe in the early-to-mid 1990s. It was defined primarily by the severe shortages of hydrocarbon energy resources in the form of gasoline, diesel, and other petroleum derivatives that occurred upon the implosion of economic agreements between the petroleum-rich Soviet Union and Cuba. The nation lost half of its oil imports, and 85 percent of its international trade economy. Cuba began a slow recovery focused not on finding new energy sources, but on rejecting consumption in favor of sustainable growth. The period radically transformed Cuban society and the economy, as it necessitated the successful introduction of sustainable agriculture, decreased use of automobiles, and overhauled industry, health, and diet countrywide. People were expected to live without many goods.
The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil is an American documentary film that explores this “Special Period in Peacetime” and its aftermath. The film was directed by Faith Morgan, and was released in 2006 by a non-profit organization called The Community Solution, which seeks to educate audiences about “Peak Oil” and the impact it will have on transportation, agriculture, medicine, and other industries.
At Payap University Thursday, February 11, 5 pm: Blind Spot (2008) by Adolfo Doring – 86 mins – US, Documentary.
Blind Spot is a documentary film written and directed by Adolfo Doring that illustrates the current oil and energy crisis that our world is facing. It explores the subject of “Peak Oil” and its implications for the future of civilization. It includes interviews with sociologist William R. Catton, evolutionary biologist Jason Bradford, environmental analyst Lester Brown, NASA's James E. Hansen, author Bill McKibben, and others. The film was shown in 2008 at the Woodstock Film Festival, London Independent Film Festival, and European Film Festival Moscow.
Adolfo Doring is an award-winning American documentary filmmaker and director of music videos.
Blind Spot investigates the causes for the current crisis we find ourselves in. It establishes the inextricable link between the energy we use, the way we run our economy, and the effect it has had on our environment. It takes as a starting point the inevitable energy depletion scenario know as “Peak Oil” to inform us that by whatever measure of greed, wishful thinking, neglect, or ignorance, we are at a crossroad which offers two paths, both with dire consequences. If we continue to burn fossil fuels our ecology will collapse, and if we don’t, our economy will. Either path we choose to take will have a profound effect on our way of life. Refusing to whitewash this reality, Blind Spot issues a call to action, urging us to face up to the perilous situation we now find ourselves in so that we might begin to envision a realistic, if inconvenient, way out.
Rotten Tomatoes: Synopsis - Blind Spot offers an intriguing look at "peak oil," also known as the moment (believed by some to be on the horizon) when humans will have almost entirely depleted the Earth’s fossil-fuel supply. The documentary examines the current level of energy consumption, and analyzes both the difficulties of conservation and the risks of doing too little to protect the environment.
Noam Chomsky: Doubtless “Peak Oil” will come; the timing is a matter of debate. However we may be better off if it is not too long delayed, because it will accelerate what must be done to prevent environmental catastrophe.
Bill McKibben, author of “The End of Nature”: The next few decades aren’t going to look like the last few-not at all. And the sooner we come to terms with that, the better. This documentary is a good place to start.
Map of Payap
Here on this map from May 2008 the Pentecost Building is labeled as "Graduate and International Studies." Just northwest of the Chapel.
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