Praised by critics as one of the best films of the year, THE ELEPHANT IN THE LIVING ROOM takes viewers deep inside the controversial American subculture of raising the most dangerous animals in the world as common household pets.
Set against the backdrop of a heated national debate, director Michael Webber chronicles the extraordinary journey of two men at the heart of the issue - Tim Harrison, an Ohio police officer whose friend was killed by an exotic pet; and Terry Brumfield, a big-hearted man who struggles to raise two African lions. In the first of many unexpected twists, the lives of these two men collide when Terry's male lion escapes its pen and is found attacking cars on a nearby highway.
Winner of five Best Documentary awards, the film exposes the shocking reality behind the multi-billion dollar exotic pet industry with stunning photography, inspiring storytelling and unprecedented access into a world rarely seen, right in our own backyard.
Discussion will be led by Janet Frick, Ph.D., Associate Head of the UGA Department of Psychology and Director of the UGA Infant Research Lab. Dr. Frick has a professional and personal interest in the psychological relationship between humans and other animals and teaches a freshman seminar on this topic. She also teaches introductory and developmental psychology classes where she leads her students in an examination of the ethical issues surrounding our use of animals and the nature of intelligence in humans and other species.
2010, 94 minutes. film website
A FALL FROM FREEDOM explores the controversial captive whale and dolphin entertainment business with a revealing look at marine parks and aquariums.
These fascinating marine mammals have captured the hearts and imagination of people all over the world, but there is a darker side to life in the tanks that house these entertainers. Many of these marine parks and aquariums are directly or indirectly responsible for the death of thousands of the very animals they use for public entertainment.
Illegal captures, premature deaths, trainer injuries, educational misrepresentation, government incompetence, secret deals and other issues are presented and documented for the first time in this powerful documentary, narrated by actor Mike Farrell.
Discussion will be led by Lori Marino, Ph.D., Senior Lecturer in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology at Emory University, where she is a leading researcher on intelligence and self-awareness in cetaceans such as dolphins, porpoises, and whales. She is also a Research Associate with The Smithsonian Institution. Dr. Marino's work was featured in the Oscar-winning film The Cove and she is actively involved in advocating for the protection of dolphins and whales around the world.
2011, 82 minutes. film website
FORKS OVER KNIVES features leading experts on health and tackles the issue of diet and disease in a way that will have people talking for years. The film examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting animal-based and processed foods.
The story traces the
personal journeys of a pair of pioneering researchers, Dr. T. Colin
Campbell (a nutritional biochemist from Cornell University) and Dr.
Caldwell Esselstyn (a former top surgeon at the world renowned
Cleveland Clinic). Their groundbreaking studies led them to the same startling
conclusion: degenerative diseases such as heart disease, type 2
diabetes, and even several forms of cancer, could almost always be
prevented - and in many cases reversed - by adopting a whole foods,
plant-based diet.
The idea of food as medicine is put to the test. Cameras follow "reality patients" who have chronic conditions from heart disease to diabetes. Doctors teach these patients how to adopt a whole foods plant-based diet as the primary approach to treat their ailments - while the challenges and triumphs of their journeys are revealed.
Discussion will be led by
Neal Priest, MD, a board-certified Emergency Medicine physician and
Chief of Staff at St. Mary's Hospital in Athens. He is co-host of the news/talk radio show, True South. He became a vegan when he saw that the humane, environmental, and health arguments lined up so dramatically. He is a third degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do.
2011, 96 minutes. film website
America has a nasty secret. Almost all of the cute puppies sold in pet stores come from “puppy mills.” Their mothers spend their entire lives in tiny, unsanitary cages, never walked, never petted, never doing anything but making puppies. When these dogs can no longer produce litters or money for their owners, they are put to death – stoned, shot, drowned or starved.
MADONNA OF THE MILLS tells the uplifting story of Laura, an office manager from Staten Island, who creates a modern "underground railroad" and rescues 2,000 dogs condemned to death in Amish Country puppy mills. In the process, she forever changes her life and the lives of those families fortunate enough to adopt one of these remarkable “puppy mill” survivors.
The film follows four of the dogs – Vivian Leigh, Danny, Liberty, and Maisy – from the time their lives are spared until they are nursed back to health and placed with their forever families. We see the dogs leave the cages where they have spent their entire lives and watch these dogs, who were given up for dead, transform the lives of the people who adopt them.
Discussion will be led by Christy Champagne, Supervisor of Athens-Clarke County Animal Control, and by Michelle Rabold, Outreach Coordinator for Athens Canine Rescue.
This film screening is part of World Spay Day, an annual campaign of The Humane Society that shines a spotlight on spay/neuter – a proven way to save the lives of companion animals, feral cats, and street dogs who might otherwise be put down in a shelter or killed on the street.
2010, 51 minutes. film website